Running a technology services company may not seem like it has much in common with being in the Irish Army, but for Fujitsu Ireland's new chief executive, Tony O'Malley, there are lessons that carry over from his time in the armed forces.
“There are big learning opportunities in the Army: you’re exposed to people management at an early stage,” he explained.
There are also challenging situations to deal with in both environments, although Mr O’Malley’s Army role gave him a healthy perspective on things: “You may think the situation is grave and serious in the private sector but people’s lives aren’t at stake.”
Mr O'Malley took up the role after outgoing chief executive Regina Moran stepped back to take up a role as head of Fujitsu's UK and Ireland operations.
He has had a long career with Fujitsu, spanning 16 years since he retired from the Army as a captain.
Collegiate consent
Before he left, he was working in an IT role. Leaving in search of a new challenge, Mr O’Malley said there was a significant change between the “command control” structure of the Army and the more “collegiate consent” environment of the private sector.
“You can see why [command control] is beneficial from time to time,” he said. Once he had left, he said, “you can also see the limitations of formality and structure”.
Embracing change has been a part of his career – Mr O'Malley was previously as customer accounts director and as part of the Fujitsu Ireland leadership team he has helped develop the company's business here through strategic relationships with key customers.
Investment in people
“In the short term it’s fundamentally about growth,” he said, referring to his role at the head of the Irish unit. In the long term, he sees Fujitsu building on its reputation as an employer of choice, a feat he said would be achieved through its continual investment in people.
Another priority for the company is the commercialisation of Fujitsu Research currently under way in Ireland. That covers everything from big data and healthcare to the internet of things and its integration into our daily lives.
Research is one of its activities carried out in Ireland.
Mr O’Malley described the location of the research unit in Ireland as a “significant vote of confidence” by the global management team, recognising both the quality of research and the people carrying it out.
Fujitsu currently employs about 350 people in Ireland, primarily as an IT services provider, with services covering infrastructure development and management, and outsourcing across end user, networking and data centre environments, technology consulting and deployment. The company is still continuing to hire, however.
Among its customers are the Irish Courts Service, Office of the Revenue Commissioners, Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Department of Transport, SSE Renewables Holdings and the Department of Defence.
