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Exclusive interview with Glencar CEO Eddie McGillycuddy

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Construction Wave has launched its first Executive Chair, exclusive interviews with key figures from across the construction industry, kicking off its first episode with the co-founder and CEO of Glencar Eddie McGillycuddy.

(L-R) Eddie McGillycuddy, Miles Rebeiro. Credit: Glencar

McGillycuddy started Glencar in 2016 alongside co-founder Chris Gleave, spotting a gap in the industrial and logistics (I&L) market.

By 2018 the Hertfordshire-headquartered firm had picked up the Best B2B Business Award at the UK Startup Awards and has since gone on to post turnover of more than £400 million.

Construction Wave reporter Miles Rebeiro sits down with McGillycuddy to discuss how the County- Kerry-Born CEO got his start and how the firm rocketed to early success.

Over the course of the conversation they discuss McGillycuddy working his way up in the industry, carving out a space in the booming I&L market, the early moments of doubt and trepidation striking out on his own and how he finds a work-life balance.

For McGillycuddy, capitalising on a great idea is one thing, having the right conditions to allow that idea to flourish is another, and that’s exactly what helped Glencar find success.

He says: “Stuff like Brexit actually drove the demand for what we do because the UK was in essence becoming a massive island on its own. 

“That required there to be a lot more on-shore manufacturing, a lot more on-shore storage, and people’s shopping habits were changing, COVID drove that even further.

“When everyone was told to stop working, we’re like, ‘bloody hell, what do we do here?’ 

“But our people, we managed to react to that; we adapted and when you’re of a certain size, you’re agile, you can react and you can change directions.”

McGillycuddy also shares his advice as the construction industry continues to be challenging place for many smaller firms.

He adds: “People – trust your people, empower your people and likewise your supply chain.

“The people that work with you, empower them and trust them because working as a team and believing in each other is far more, you can achieve so much more, so much greater things than going individually. “

For the full conversation, watch below:

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