“I have been challenged over the last 35 years to be someone I’m not, and I’ve stood firm. That means you have to show vulnerability...to show people who you really are and what you stand for. And when you do that, your team will follow.” 

Leadership is something that Cathriona Hallahan does not take lightly. Keenly aware that it is a position of great privilege, she has spent a lot of time thinking about, and working on, the kind of leader she wants to be. The performance of Microsoft Ireland, and the role it has played in the Irish economy, is testament to the approach Hallahan has developed.  

Cathriona Hallahan joined Microsoft Ireland in 1986 as employee number twenty four, becoming Managing Director in 2013. In the thirty five years since Microsoft Ireland established, the company has spent almost €4.5bn in the Irish economy, donated over €100m in software to charities, and grown its employee count to over 2500. In this episode of The EY CEO Outlook Podcast Series, the outgoing Microsoft Ireland MD talks to Richard Curran about her fascinating journey to the top of one of the country’s most significant multinational technology companies. They discuss: 

• Ireland as a world-class hub for FDI companies 
• Why remote work will unleash vast new opportunities for talent acquisition 
• Ireland’s digital transformation journey and the role that lifelong learning will play in making it a success 
• Female entrepreneurship 
• Caitriona’s plans and ambitions for after Microsoft.