Five Minute Focus On: Robin Fitzhugh, Meltwater
Tell us about Meltwater
Meltwater is the global leader in online media intelligence. We help around 20,000 clients globally gather insights on their business and industry from global news and social media sources. Customers then use these insights to strategically help manage their brand and stay ahead of their competition in the public sphere.
What’s your role in Meltwater
I am the Managing Director of the Dublin operation. I drive development of long-term new business relationships across the local UK/Ireland market, recruit and train new staff, develop the local management team and report to the UK/Ireland Area Director quarterly on growth, profit and forecasting as well as the Executive Director of EMEA.
Tell us something about Meltwater we might not know
Since 2008, Meltwater has operated MEST (the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology) in Accra, Ghana. It is a school and incubator program designed to provide training and coaching for budding tech entrepreneurs. The aim is to help local African entrepreneurs create globally recognsied startups that generate wealth and new opportunities in Africa.
What’s next for Meltwater?
Meltwater Dublin has huge ambitions to make significant inroads into the Irish market and bring sophisticated media insights to local companies as well as the mass of global companies with a significant presence in Ireland. On a company level, we are hoping to become pioneers in the field of what our CEO, Jorn Lyseggen, has termed ‘Outside Insight’; helping companies make more informed decisions by giving them insights gathered from many different types of data existing beyond the walls of their own company. He has even written a book about the topic which will be published in the summer!
What’s your favourite thing about working in Dublin?
Definitely the buzz about the place! It is an increasingly young, varied and ‘techy’ place to live but hasn’t lost what also makes it Dublin.
What do you like about being a Glandore Member?
The happy faces on reception; it makes coming to work even more enjoyable.
Friday nights in or Friday nights out?
Both! Meltwater has a company-wide tradition of Fredagspils (‘Friday beers’ in Norwegian) where we discuss how the week has been over a couple of casual drinks at the end of our day in our office. This generally morphs into a few more drinks in O’Briens afterwards.
What advice do you have for those struggling to find a work/life balance?
View down time as an effective prerequisite for you to do your job well. Either that or join a cricket club! Then you have to block off your entire Saturdays during spring and summer for games as well as evenings for net practice!
Meltwater helps companies make better decisions by allowing them to see how they’re brand is being discussed in the media as well as what is going on within their industry and amongst their competitors. Visit meltwater.com for more information. You can also check Meltwater out on social; Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
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