John O’Beirne, Square. Image: Connor McKenna/SiliconRepublic.com
Episode five of The Leaders’ Room’s season two features John O’Beirne, CEO and executive director Square International. 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, O’Dea spoke to John O’Beirne, CEO and executive director Square International about his approach to leadership at Square, a $50bn fintech company that began with a simple but game changing idea.
From its foundation back in 2009, by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, Square has grown from a single product to a whole suite of hardware and software for people to run every side of their businesses.
But it began with a very simple innovation – a way to turn a smartphone into a point of sale. This was a game-changer for small and medium sized businesses, and it was great to get O’Beirne’s perspective on leadership in a company whose had at its heart the economic empowerment of other businesses.
It has arisen again and again in this series, and O’Beirne too says that, when it comes to leadership, we can no longer rely on what worked even just a few years ago.
Those old reliable leadership attributes like astute decision making, independent thought and grit are no longer adequate, but in a fast-changing world rife with ambiguity and uncertainty – the ability to bring people together and understand individuals’ core drivers has really become key. O’Beirne describes the importance of bringing people with diverse backgrounds and views together to form the organisations strategy and direction.
And it’s interesting too in the current climate when some companies are still determined to bring everyone back to the office, Square remains a remote-first company – like ourselves here at Silicon Republic.
Yes, they have offices in Dublin, London and the US but most can work from home full time. I think it has a real advantage, if you build a team you trust to get the job done wherever they may be.
As O’Beirne says, it gives you access to a much broader pool of talent in an extremely competitive marketplace. And of course, it opens up opportunities for employees that might otherwise not be in a position to work fulltime, or indeed travel regularly – so good for business and society in my view.
It was fascinating to chat with O’Beirne on just how technology has transformed how we do business, and truly evened up the playing field. Today, Square serves clients large and small but its origins and heart were very much with the SME, and the idea of economic empowerment.
O’Beirne talks about using technology to remove the complexity and allow founders to work on their business rather than ‘in’ it. And I particularly like his idea of ‘local being a superpower’.
Small business is the beating heart of any economy and they have been badly served over the years. It is indeed refreshing that in the last decade or so, the technologies that they need to succeed have become more accessible and affordable.
So in a series that focuses on large global players, this episode was a nice opportunity to also celebrate the small businesses that are being transformed by new products and services.
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.
