In our latest Inspiring Leaders piece, we spoke to Alan O’Connor, Managing Director at Chubb Ireland. Alan started his career as an electrician and decided to step up the pace on his career when he became a father. He grabbed the opportunity to rise up the ranks with both hands when a group of his seniors left the company, and he realised what he was capable of. 

Early years 

I was born and reared in Cork, the middle child of five. Being the middle child is an interesting place to be – you’ve got two siblings who’ve gone ahead of you and who’ve set the pace. Then you’re a bit of a role model for the two siblings that come next. 

We were a blue-collar family and lived in a nice house on a council estate. My father was an operator in a brewery at Beamish & Crawford in Cork. He left school at 16 and went straight into work, met my mother, and started a family quite young. 

It was all about providing for the family. My mother was the one who instilled in us the importance of education and working hard. I learned the values of hard work and respect from my parents. 

From an early age, I loved sports. I was a pretty good Gaelic footballer and played to a good level. I also dabbled in rugby and football. I’ve continued to be sporty into middle age with Triathlon and some mountain running – I believe it’s so important to have that “something else” in your spare time where you can switch to a different pace for yourself  

I had a great childhood. We had a holiday mobile home in Kerry, and we used to disappear there all summer – for six or seven weeks. I loved it so much that when I got married, I bought my own and carried on the tradition. 

Bright, but getting into trouble 

I was always in or around the top classes at school and was solid in exams, but I regularly got into a bit of trouble for overstepping the fun element. Nothing too serious, though. 

I didn’t go to university as I didn’t want to spend another four years in a school environment, so I trained as an electrician through an apprenticeship programme with Irish Rail. I moved to Dublin for my apprenticeship and lived there for four years. I learnt a lot about living on my own, and it matured me.  

When I qualified, I went back to Cork and accepted a job in an alarm company because, ultimately, it came with a car, which I thought was pretty cool. I met my girlfriend (now wife) and moved to a new job at Irish Superior Safety Systems – which Chubb then acquired. My first day in this company coincided with the birth of my daughter, so I never forget my actual start date. 

It was a seminal moment 

I started as a service engineer. I was doing mid-level servicing but had a bit of a flair for it, so the owner decided to put me into the pharmaceutical plants, and very quickly, I worked my way up into commissioning roles. 

I was given a project manager role in due course. Chubb then acquired the company, which opened up some opportunities beyond what can be achieved in a privately owned company.  

A few of the guys who had stepped up into management roles lasted a year or so in those roles, then moved on to start a business in competition to us. A number of us then met and decided we could either step up and accept the challenge to lead or we could just let change happen to us. 

So, some of us made representations to the Chubb company director and stepped up. That was a seminal moment. It taught me to never underestimate what you can bring to the table. Don’t underestimate your ability. It was such a key moment – realising I had value, I had strengths, and I wasn’t afraid of a challenge. 

Within six months, I became the general manager. I worked hard at that, made some good decisions and grew that business. Then, I took over the national fire role. I was open to the challenge and not daunted by the scale of the task. 

Never underestimate yourself 

If I have one piece of advice, it’s never to underestimate your own capability to do something. I see people now questioning that opportunities aren’t there for them. They are there – you just have to understand that you might have to seek them out. No one has their career mapped out for them in advance. Just take a chance – go for it. 

I love the fact that my kids, and some of my colleagues, can look at me and say, ‘that guy came from nothing aged 20”. Seeing people around you achieve is a positive thing. 

There’s a great sense of achievement. My parents always said, ‘do it with a bit of respect. When you’re down, never be too down, and when you’re up, never be too up. Try and be a bit balanced’. 

It’s a family business at Chubb 

The blend right now in our team is pretty good. We all come from different places, but we have the same outlook. It’s a family business. Many people in the organisation have siblings or children coming in behind them. It’s always a good sign when people want to expose their loved ones to their work environment. My own son Niall joined Chubb and now works as part of the team dealing with a global company’s data centres. 

The Ireland business is going from strength to strength. We had a very tough time during the pandemic. It was great to see how the whole business put its shoulder to the wheel and got to a place where we were stable and ready for growth.  

When you’re dealing with a high vertical level of clients, it becomes a partnership. If you approach it from a partnership point of view, it allows the client to come to you with concerns, and you go to them with ideas and collaborate. 

I was always taught to run it as if it were my own business. We’re trying to get into new markets and new territories, and that’s what gets me out of bed in the morning. 

I think if you’re consistent in your approach and your business dealings and professional relationships with people, things have a way of working out. Of course, there are triggers, but you will get that in a career. It’s never ‘so’ good or ‘so’ bad; it’s just a period of time. 

The Chubb culture of people first and Building Great Leaders has got to be ingrained – it’s how we live and approach things. I think patience is key here. If the culture change is too quick, people don’t buy into it. Chubb is product agnostic. We live to serve, so it has to be about the people. We’ve been knocking down hierarchy over the years and creating a space where people can share their ideas. 

Colleagues that I look up to would be anyone who has taken a chance in backing themselves in something they believe in and have the dedication and longevity to work towards that goal. To pick a specific individual, I would say, Craig Forbes, Chief Financial Officer – he’s certainly been a great mentor to me, and we continually bounce ideas off each other. Outside of the company, I’d have to say my father. He just worked all the hours God gave him to put food on the table.  A great guy who embraced life all through. 

As a leader, I like to think that I’m honest and I am certainly ambitious for me, the team and the company to do well. You have to bring people with you along the way. I like to think we’re fun. We don’t expect people to be working silly hours – it’s got to be sustainable. We are hard-working, but we’re balanced. 

Quick questions: 

What word best describes you? 

If my colleagues had one word to describe me, I’d hope they would say ‘fair’ – or maybe ‘balanced’ sounds better. My wife Gail might say ‘restless’.  

Where is your dream destination? 

My dream destination is where I go every summer – Glenbeigh in Kerry. That’s where I’ve gone in the summer since I was seven years old. It’s my place of comfort where I can go and read a paper on the side of a mountain or run on the beach. Somewhere I’ve never been that I’d like to is Canada, or I’d love to do six months travelling around South America. 

Are you a food maker or a food eater? 

I’m an eater. I don’t have time to cook. I’m not a fussy eater, but I’m not a big foodie, either. I’m a steak and egg man. 

Petrolhead or sustainable driver? 

I’m definitely not a petrolhead. However, I did have motorbikes for a number of years I just don’t think we’re quite there yet with the electric cars. The infrastructure in Ireland isn’t ready yet for wholescale deployment but it works for certain folks.