Since graduating from Trinity College, Dublin, Mark Ryan has worked for Accenture here and in the United Kingdom and the United States, primarily in the financial services industry. Over the past three decades, he has amassed a wealth of experience which he now uses to chart Accenture’s course in Ireland.
Mark believes that businesses and government agencies in Ireland face four major challenges at present. The first, in the wake of the slowly receding financial crisis, is obviously cost management. “The challenge is to significantly reduce costs but in a sustainable way—while still making the right investments in capabilities that lead to future growth,” Mark notes.
“Aligning the operating model costs with the business strategy isn’t easy, but Accenture has worked hard to understand how high-performance businesses achieved it in past recessions, and that knowledge and experience is available to our clients today.”
A second challenge is the speed at which the business strategy can be executed—how to identify the critical business processes that really drive the value for the organisation and then do them better than anyone else. “Here, a major question is whether the organisation can move quickly enough, and adapt to meet changes in customer demands,” says Mark.
The third challenge relates to technology, and the new business models being driven by emerging technology trends such as the convergence of the mobile and Internet channels, and the whole concept of cloud computing. “The convergence of mobile and the Internet is likely to have a profound impact on many businesses, their customers and how they deliver products and services,” Mark explains. “Cloud computing allows companies to purchase software as a service on a pay-as-you-use basis, which again changes not only how the company uses technology but ultimately how it delivers services to its customers.”
The fourth challenge revolves around financial management. Companies need a laser focus on key performance indicators to achieve superior capital efficiency, operating margins and growth. Improving data quality and then using new methods of analysing it is likely to prove decisive in providing better decision-support systems and scenarios to guide investment decisions.
Mark believes that Ireland remains an excellent place to do business with a highly educated and skilled workforce. “The legal and regulatory environment is proactive and business-friendly, and the supply of fresh talent from our universities is excellent,” he says. “Added to that, we have become more cost competitive over the past number of years after some significant wage and cost deflation.”
Mark is married with four children. He plays golf and is a keen supporter of the Leinster rugby team. His other great relaxation is cooking. In addition, he is a Director of the Abbey Theatre. He was formerly a Director of the National Concert Hall and a former President of Trinity College’s Business Alumni organisation.
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