Down To Business

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair this week is Sean McKeown, Director of Fota Wildlife Park.

It seems that Irish Banks are all upgrading their forecasts due to rising ECB rates and in tandem with that the government sold a further 5% in AIB this week. If this keeps up there may soon be a call for the government to do away with pay caps and bonuses. To make sense of this and some other business stories from the week, Bobby is joined by Joe Brennan, Market’s Correspondent with the Irish Times.

Many of us have to decide the path we take in our professional lives soon after we leave school. But for professional sportspeople, that fork in the road comes much later. So, to talk about the challenges of finding their way after leaving the world of professional sport, Bobby is joined by: - Mick Dowling, Former Olympic Boxer - Marcus Horan, former Ireland, and Munster Rugby player - Cliona Foley, Freelance sportswriter & presenter of OTB's Off The Bench Podcast

Continuing this week we’re profiling some of this year’s finalists in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in the run-up to the Awards night on November 30th and look at some of the issues facing entrepreneurs. This week Bobby was keen on looking at the entrepreneurial experience itself and how sometimes it can be a lonely road and certainly not for the faint-hearted. Bobby is joined by: - Caroline Dunlea of Core Optimisation - Louis Copeland of Louis Copeland and Sons - Johnny Walker of HaloCare & Jinga Life

Bobby was out & about at Art Source in the RDS, Ireland's premier art fair, featuring hundreds of Irish and International artists and galleries. There he spoke to organisers and artists alike to find out all about it.

Whether it's a statement piece or just something that you can wear out on a daily basis, fashion underpins so much of how we express to people who we are. It’s an industry that has exploded in recent years with more and more quality being made available to people of all walks of life and so with that in mind, Bobby wanted to find out a little bit about how the Irish fashion sector is faring. Joining Bobby is: - Silvana Landa McAdam, Co-Founder and CEO at LANDA Handbags - Fashion designer, Heidi Higgins - Caoimhe Murphy of Caoimhe Murphy Design

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair this week is Séamus Clancy, CEO at Repak.

Michele Wucker is a senior advisor to Preventable Surprises, a 'think-do' tank that seeks to address systemic risks before they escalate into economic implosions. She joins Bobby to talk about her new book 'The Gray Rhino: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore'.

Starting this week we’re going to profile some of this year’s finalists in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in the run-up to the awards night on November 30th and look at some of the issues facing entrepreneurs. This week Bobby is joined by Helen Cahill from InvoiceFair and Justin Lawless of Intact Solutions.

Ballymaloe House is known the world over for its use of the freshest ingredients and its sustainable ethos. Bobby took a trip to east Cork to find out how things have been since things reopened following a challenging few years.