After gaining a PhD in quantum physics at Trinity College, Dublin, Ciarán Seoighe (pronounced “Show-i-geh”) lectured and was a researcher in an area “that only about six guys in the world cared about”, he says with a laugh. After a while, the lure of the general became too much and he decided to become a consultant. He joined Accenture in 2000 as an analyst.
He moved to South Africa after marrying a South African. “Ireland is full of South Africans chasing our jobs and our women, so I thought it would be good to redress the balance,” he quips.
Seoighe has made his desire for an eclectic work experience come true. “I’ve never done the same thing twice in the last 11 years,” he says with satisfaction, and indeed has worked across most of Accenture’s operating groups and service lines. He is currently splitting his time between the retail and automotive sectors, and is providing programme leadership for a project to replace the financial systems for a major retailer’s financial services subsidiary.
In Seoighe’s estimation, the primary challenge facing South African companies across all industry sectors is a grave shortage of skills. “Of course there are other more specific challenges that each industry and each individual company has to face, but at the base it’s all about a lack of skills. This shortage is exacerbated by the fact that the world is now a smaller place, and South African companies have to compete on a global platform.”
Even though he has two children young enough to keep him awake at night, Seoighe looks for challenges in his spare time. Last year, for example, he ran the Comrades Marathon. Squash is his sport of choice. He also has a passion for do-it-yourself projects and there is very little in his house that isn’t electrified, automated and/or operated by remote control.