Two West of Ireland companies lauded by Chairman of Irish tech giant Ergo

The Founder and Chairman of Irish tech giant Ergo lauded two well known West of Ireland businesses during his visit to Platform94 headquarters in Galway. 

John Purdy was a guest of Platform94 on Thursday, when he singled out Galway’s Pat McDonagh of Supermac’s and the Hughes family of Portwest, Westport for their excellence in business acumen.

He said Pat McDonagh has built “a phenomenal business” but stressed that “it didn’t happen overnight”. He praised the Galway businessman for his  many years of “hard work and sweat equity”, noting that sustainable growth – no matter what the business – happens day by day. 

Speaking about succession planning,  Mr Purdy  singled out Mayo’s Portwest. “Portwest is now in its third generation but there is a huge amount of planning around succession within the company. If someone in the family wants a position, they must go and achieve a relevant university degree and then spend a number of years working with a competitor outside of Ireland. After that, they can join the company but they must work their way up. That’s how succession planning should be viewed,” he said.