63: Lorraine Heskin, CEO of The Gourmet Food Parlour
Hailing from Barna in Co. Galway, Lorraine Heskin studied in University of Limerick before heading off to New York for 4 years working in a diverse range of food businesses. On returning to Dublin in 2006, she founded the Gourmet Food Parlour, opening its first 25-seater café in Dun Laoghaire.
Since then, it has evolved to become Dublin’s most trusted restaurant group, with 12 locations across Dublin, Meath and Galway including a state-of-the-art catering kitchen in Santry. In 2023, they opened 3 unique dining concepts inside the iconic Arnotts Dublin department store, and now have a fourth there, as well as two in Brown Thomas, employing 320 people in total.
As CEO, Lorraine’s hands on approach to running the business is the driving force behind the company. Her dedication, determination, and hard work filters down throughout the company. She was an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist in 2023 and recently won CEO of the year at the inaugural Business Post, Leadership and Excellence Awards. She has her own consultancy business established where she works with female entrepreneurs on their business journey, guiding and encouraging them to grow and scale.
This is the 63rd episode in the Davy podcast series ‘Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly’ with special guest Lorraine Heskin, CEO of The Gourmet Food Parlour.
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62: Brian O’Leary, CEO DMC Foods
In 2005, Master Butcher Paddy O Leary and son David opened the first factory outlet butcher shop in Ireland and the Dublin Meat Company came into existence. They quickly became renowned great value products and a commitment to innovation without ever compromising on taste or quality.
As the years have unfolded, my guest today, Brian O Leary joined, and together the family noticed a shift in eating behaviours. Sensing the demand for quick, healthier meal options, they took a bold step forward in 2014 with the creation of Fit Foods ready meals.
Fast forward to 2022 when significant investment in the Dublin Meat Co business by the BGF group resulted in the purchase of Swift Fine Foods by Dublin Meat Company and the founding of DMC Foods. Still proudly Irish-owned and run by the O Leary family, DMC Foods operates from a 34,000sq ft manufacturing plant on the banks of Lough Egish. DMC Foods is a corner stone of local employment with 200+ employees.
This is the 62nd episode in the Davy podcast series ‘Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly’ with special guest Brian O’Leary, CEO DMC Foods.
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61: Garry Walsh, Chairman and Founding Partner at planow.ai
After formative years at Deloitte, DCC, Nestlé, Uniq, and Northern Foods—where he oversaw multi-site operations and delivered dramatic turnarounds—Garry was appointed CEO of Mezzan Holding in 2011, becoming the first non-family member to lead the Kuwait-based conglomerate. Mezzan Holding is one of the Gulf region’s leading diversified conglomerates, with deep roots in food, healthcare, and consumer sectors. Built on over 70 years of legacy, Mezzan is recognized for trusted brands, operational discipline, and its regional footprint across 7 countries.
Over his 14 years tenure, Garry guided Mezzan through an ambitious growth phase: spearheading its IPO, refocusing on core segments like food and pharmaceuticals, executing acquisitions and disposals, and establishing independent governance in a traditionally family-led enterprise. Now serving as a strategic advisor and non-executive board member in various enterprises, Garry continues to shape strategic initiatives in the region, while also pursuing ventures like Planow.ai—a retail analytics startup tackling real-time inventory insights.
This is the 61st episode in the Davy podcast series ‘Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly’ with special guest Garry Walsh, Chairman and Founding Partner at planow.ai.
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60: Ger Corbett, CEO of Sandyford Business District
Sandyford Business District (SBD) is a Business Improvement District representing 1,000 companies, covering industries like IT and Communication, MedTech, Fintech, Energy tech, Automotive tech, Education and Childcare, Hospitality, Retail and Leisure. It is home to marquee names like Mastercard, Microsoft, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Meta, Google, BNP Paribas, AIB, Avant Money and Cubic Telecom among a host of other companies, and works closely with government, local authorities and industry leaders to advocate for infrastructure and investment.
Ger Corbett has a wealth of experience and insight into business advocacy, infrastructure and planning development, and investment and policy promotion. As CEO since 2022, he guides SBD’s strategic focus- to serve as a cutting-edge example of collaborative improvement for businesses and their surrounding communities alike, and to position the district as a leading European business destination.
This is the 60th episode in the Davy podcast series ‘Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly’ with special guest Ger Corbett, CEO of Sandyford Business District.
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59: Marc O’Dwyer, Founder and Entrepreneur
After completing a Graduate program in Marketing, Marc O’Dwyer began his sales career at Allied Irish Banks, Pitney Bowes and Panasonic, before succumbing to his entrepreneurial spirit in 1992 when he set up his own business, Irish International Sales (IIS). Initially, this company was a reseller for Take 5 Accounts and Payroll software. Within four years, IIS became the largest reseller of Take 5 in Ireland, acquiring four other Take 5 resellers. He also found time to set up two mobile phone shops under the Cellular World brand and a web design company offering website design services for small businesses.
In 2001, he bought the majority share in a small Irish software business, Big Red Book. At that time, the company was losing money. The company became profitable within six weeks, and Marc then acquired a payroll company to compliment Big Red Books Accounting products. In 2003, IIS were appointed as Channel Partners with SAP for their new SME product, SAP Business One. Marc sold his Take 5 business and concentrated on developing this new market for SAP, and in 2008, IIS was bought in an MBO.
He launched Big red cloud in June 2012, the online version of big red book, which has been a huge success with a customer retention rate of 94% and unparalleled customer support. Marc sold both Big Red Book and Big Red Cloud in April 2025 at which stage the companies had supported over 75,000 businesses.
This is the 59th episode in the Davy podcast series ‘Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly’ with special guest Marc O’Dwyer, Founder and Entrepreneur.
In this podcast, Aidan Donnelly is in discussion with numerous guests to get insights into their journey, their highs and lows, their management styles, and the lessons they have learned along the way. Most of Aidan’s time has been spent focusing on the financials of these companies but what is more fascinating to him is how companies operate, how the entrepreneurs started them, and the business people/managements who run them.
But as with most things, a work/life balance is essential, so it won’t just be about the professional developments they have made through the years, but also the personal ones.
Aidan Donnelly, Head of Equities at Davy, has been working in, analysing, and investing in companies for decades. He has 27 years’ investment management experience. He joined Davy in 2005 and has worked as an analyst/fund manager for a range of global equity funds and is now responsible for the direct equity offering at Davy.
There will be a new episode released every two weeks, so please like, share and subscribe if you like what you hear!
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