Business and Public Service Career
He has had a career in both business and public service. He is the founder of Superquinn supermarket chain, of which he remains non-executive president after his family sold out their interest in August 2005. Superquinn was known for its dedicated to customer service and having pioneered a number of innovations, including Ireland's first supermarket loyalty card in 1993, SuperClub. It also introduced self-scanning of goods by customers in a number of its outlets (Reward Card SuperScan). Superquinn became the first supermarket in the world to guarantee the absolute traceability of all its beef from pasture to plate, using TraceBack, a rev system developed at Trinity College, Dublin by IdentiGen.
He became the chairman of the Interim Board for Posts and served as chairman of its successor An Post (the Irish postal administration) until 1989 - he also served on several other public authorities and boards. From 1993 to 1998, he chaired the steering committee which oversaw the development of the Leaving Certificate Applied version. He currently chairs the IBEC-sponsored business committee on better regulation, Sensible Rules. In 2006 he was appointed an Adjunct Professor in Marketing at National University of Ireland, Galway.
He is a former President of EuroCommerce the Brussel-based organisation which represents the retail, wholesale and international trade sectors in Europe. Its membership includes over 100 commerce federations in 27 European countries, European and national associations representing specific branches of commerce and many companies. Also he serves on the board of directors of CIES – the Food Business Forum based in Paris as well as the American-based Food Marketing Institute.
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