Talk the talk

MacNeice, head of the new Irish office of strategy consultants Genesis, talks to David Clerkin.

Tell us about Genesis please.

We specialise in supporting organisations that are facing change. Our head office is in Glasgow but we’ve recently set up an Irish office. We help clients with the demands of crafting their future direction. Our clients range from multinational, global companies, to sporting organisations, to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

We operate across the private and public sectors. We work with organisations in developing a strategic direction and put in place systems to measure the performance of the strategy.

What opportunities do you see in the Irish market?

We’ve been doing quite a bit of work over here, both in the North and the Republic.

We’ve done a lot of work in the textile industry in the North and a lot of sports work on both sides of the border.

Our first project in the Republic was for the Irish Sports Council, in developing a high-performance strategy after the last Olympics.

We since worked on a report for the Football Association of Ireland after their experience in Saipan (before the 2002 World Cup).

We’ve done further work with the Sports Council and also on a strategic plan for the Irish Rugby Football Union.

What sectors are in your main area of focus?

We’re looking at three primary sectors. The first is the general business sector, assisting with design and implementation of strategy.

The second is enterprise development. We’ve done a lot of work in Scotland with Scottish Enterprise helping out companies with high growth potential, and want to do something similar with businesses linked with Enterprise Ireland here.

The third area is the multinational sector.

We’ve been successful in helping local arms of multinationals in identifying sustainable positions within their global organisations.

The focus is on helping them win their internal battles to attract future investment.

What other Irish clients have you?

We completed a review of the European Year of People with Disabilities programme for the National Disability Authority.

We’ve also conducted studies on the textile industry for Ulster Weavers and an all-Ireland industry review for InterTrade Ireland.