CEO Outlook: Pat McCann, Dalata Group on surviving, re-building and operating in the new normal

After over 50 years in business, Pat McCann has weathered many storms. Starting out in the hospitality trade during the Oil Crisis of the 1970s, McCann successfully steered businesses through the many crises and recessions in the decades that followed. Now, as CEO of Ireland’s largest hotel operator, Dalata PLC, he is facing into his latest challenge with perspective and resilience, understanding that while the group will “face some short-term headwinds, it doesn’t mean that we should get blown off track completely, because that’s not what’s going to happen”. 

In this episode of The EY Podcast: CEO Series, Richard Curran talks to one of Ireland’s best-known hotel operators as he slowly reopens his doors to an unrecognisable and unpredictable tourism market. Forced to shut down the vast majority of his operations during Covid-19 with revenues reduced to zero, Pat McCann set out to develop a clear strategy for retaining senior staff while retraining others, seizing the opportunities that this crisis will present, and developing a post-Covid hotel experience for holiday-makers.  

In this interview, Pat reveals how he went about developing this strategy based on his vast experience in the sector and his unique approach to people-management. He also talks about:

+Why he predicts a big bounce in domestic tourism, and what the new hotel experience will be like for visitors. 

+The moment he opened the envelope containing developer Sean Dunne’s record €275m bid for Jurys Hotel, Ballsbridge. 

+The differences between leading a private company and a publicly listed one, his approach to delivering shareholder value, and his advice for achieving a successful IPO.

+How and why he applies an ‘internal-first’ approach to developing management.

+His personal approach to work and leisure (they’re one and the same); also, his love of Mafia movies, his business mantra, and the other business leaders that he most admires.