Leadership that elevates with Grifols’ Shane O’Brien

Episode three of The Leaders’ Room’s season two features Grifols Ireland lead, Shane O’Brien. This series is created in partnership with IDA Ireland.

Season two of The Leaders’ Room podcast again sees host Ann O’Dea get up close and personal with the Irish-based leaders of some of the world’s most influential technology, health-tech, software and engineering companies with operations in Ireland.

As well as getting their insights on the nature of good leadership and the strategies that define success in some of the world’s most influential companies, the series also gets their expert views on the big trends that are shaping their sectors.

In this episode, we speak to Shane O’Brien about his work and approach to leadership at Grifols, a global healthcare company with a focus on plasma-derived medicines and with its origins in turn of the century Barcelona.

There are many uses for blood plasma, but one very important application is the development of plasma-derived medicines, which can help patients with rare and chronic diseases to lead healthier lives. O’Brien spoke about the work Grifols is doing in this area and about his approach to team leadership in a company focused on patient health.

With his own family being plunged into the world of donation when he was just 18, and a background in accountancy, the role at Grifols seemed like a serendipitous fit for O’Brien when it arose. It’s interesting to see how lived experience can impact our career choices, and leadership philosophies, and O’Brien describes himself as very fortunate to be working with a team of ‘stars’ that are changing people’s lives.

O’Brien offers a deceptively straightforward view of leadership involving aligning and influencing our teams to work towards a common goal. But above all he sees leadership being about elevating the people around him, and making them the stars.

O’Brien approaches artificial intelligence with no fear and he believes it has huge potential for advancing science and healthcare solutions. He says it is all about “AI for HI” – that is to say AI for human intelligence, not simply as a tool for human interaction.

We’re extremely grateful to all our interviewees for taking the time to come into the studio and share their insights and their intelligence again for season two of the podcast. And big thanks as ever to our partners IDA Ireland who have made this series possible.

The Leaders’ Room podcast is released fortnightly, and can be found by searching for ‘The Leaders’ Room’ wherever you get your podcasts. For those who prefer their audio with visuals, filmed versions of the podcast interviews are all available here on SiliconRepublic.com.

Check out The Leaders’ Room podcast for in-depth insights from some of Ireland’s top leaders. Listen now on Spotify, on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.