Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly

Exemplar is Ireland’s trusted energy advisor, combining deep market expertise with personal, dependable service for businesses that cannot afford to get energy decisions wrong. They bring together expertise across energy procurement, market trading, engineering and on-the-ground performance. This joined-up capability allows them to look beyond price alone and help clients make smarter, more defensible decisions over the short and long term. Whether you are a large energy user managing significant risk exposure, or a complex multi-site business looking for clarity and control, their advice is tailored to the client’s reality.
Exemplar was founded by Jonathan and Vincent Fitzpatrick, with a clear belief: that better energy advice comes from combining technical expertise with human relationships. With over 15 years’ experience in energy markets, Vincent leads Exemplar’s trading strategy and market execution. He oversees hedging and risk management programmes for some of Ireland’s largest energy users, working closely with the procurement and engineering teams to ensure fully aligned client solutions.
With over 20 years’ experience in Energy markets, Jonathan leads product development and supplier engagement across Exemplar. He ensures clients benefit from innovative structures and forward-looking procurement solutions, working in partnership with trading and engineering colleagues to deliver a joined-up energy strategy.

This is the 76th episode in the Davy podcast series ‘Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly’ with special guest Jonathan Fitzpatrick and Vincent Fitzpatrick - Co-Founders and Joint CEOs, Exemplar Energy.

DPD Ireland is one of Ireland’s leading parcel delivery and logistics providers, specialising in domestic and international courier services for businesses and consumers. The company operates as part of Geopost (formerly DPDgroup), the parcel and express delivery arm of La Poste, the French national postal service.

DPD Ireland delivers tens of millions of parcels each year through a franchise-based distribution model supported by over 1,600 delivery professionals and staff. The company is recognised for its focus on innovation and sustainability in logistics.
The company recently announced a €5 million investment in their dedicated Out of Home delivery service ‘PickUp’, becoming the first parcel delivery company in Ireland to offer this service. This new service will allow customers to have parcels delivered directly to their dedicated branded lockers across the country, offering customers even greater flexibility, privacy, convenience, and affordability when receiving their parcels.

Colin Kennedy, is a Technology and Logistics leader with 30+ years’ experience devising strategy and leading transformational change for both domestic and international B2B & B2C organisations. He has held Managing Director, CIO and Innovation roles in the technology, logistics and Medical Industries, and is currently Managing Director of DPD Pickup and a board member of DPD Ireland.

This is the 75th episode in the Davy podcast series ‘Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly’ with special guest Colin Kennedy, Operations and Technology Leader and Board Member at DPD Ireland.

RKD is a leading international design and architecture practice with 113 years of heritage, redefining architecture through design-led solutions that balance scale with intimacy and precision with purpose. From transforming the Guinness Storehouse into the world's number one tourist attraction to designing LinkedIn's first purpose-built European headquarters, RKD delivers projects that are technically robust, visually stunning, and environmentally responsible.

With approximately 245 professionals working across seven countries and seven specialised sectors, RKD serves complex, global clients including Microsoft, Diageo, Equinix, MSD and Yahoo, thriving where ambition meets complexity across sectors that shape economies and communities; from data centres and life sciences to education, healthcare, and beyond.

David Petherbridge is RKD’s Managing Director. His practical economic sense and can‐do attitude create buildings and spaces for clients that form the physical manifestation of their organisational vision. He uses design responsibly as a force for positive change, helping clients to successfully navigate challenges in their real estate portfolios.

This is the 74th episode in the Davy podcast series ‘Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly’ with special guest David Petherbridge, Managing Director at RKD.

Neil Skeffington is the CEO and founder of Meath based Novelplast, an innovative PET plastic recycling company.  Beginning operations in late 2019, Neil’s passion for sustainability in  plastics and developing the circular economy has grown the company sales into a diverse range of industries, employing 60 people and becoming the largest PET recycling plant in Ireland by some distance. Neil has spent his career in the PET manufacturing industry both in Ireland and abroad, before setting his sights on developing recycling solutions for some of the world’s problem plastic materials.

Novelplast’s vision is to be a world leader in improving the sustainability of plastics by developing technologies that add value and create a better environment for future generations. Their process is leading the change in how polyester material is recycled and repurposed. They save 1000’s of tons of post-industrial and post - consumer pet materials  from landfill per year. The materials are cleaned and pelletised and a unique blend of additives is used to improve the mechanical and aesthetic properties of the end product, resulting in a viable alternative to using virgin PET material.Neil was an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist in 2023.

This is the 73rd episode in the Davy podcast series ‘Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly’ with special guest Neil Skeffington, CEO and Founder at Novelplast.

Colm Lyon is a payments and fintech entrepreneur with more than 30 years’ experience in financial services, spanning banking, payments infrastructure, regulation and digital transformation.
He founded Realex Payments in 2000, at an early stage of online commerce in Ireland and the UK. Realex grew rapidly alongside the rise of e-commerce and became one of Europe’s leading online payment service providers. 
By the time it was acquired by Global Payments in 2015, Realex was processing more than €35 billion in transactions annually for over 14,000 customers, including airlines, insurers, telecoms providers and major consumer brands.
Following the acquisition, Realex Financial Services was spun out and remained under Colm’s ownership. That business later became Fire Financial Services, now trading as Fire, and focuses on helping businesses digitise how they get paid and pay out. The company supports services including euro and sterling bank transfers, foreign exchange, open banking payments and debit card issuing, all built on its own in-house platform. Today, Fire processes billions in payments each year for thousands of business customers, including large financial institutions.
Alongside building businesses, Colm has been closely involved in shaping the wider payments ecosystem, and also invests in Irish and UK startups through his family office.

This is the 72nd episode in the Davy podcast series ‘Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly’ with special guest Colm Lyon, CEO and Founder at fire.com.