The Spaces That Shape Us: Don Swade

Don Swade Head of Office and Director First Trust Global Portfolios Management Ltd

When I moved to Ireland in 2023, I’d been with First Trust Global Portfolios Management Limited for just over a decade. It had grown tremendously since its founding as an asset management firm in 1991. Shortly after I joined the firm in 2012, we launched our first European investment fund— a UCITS, or Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities—in Ireland. These funds allowed us to offer investments across Europe under unified regulatory standards.

At first, our European operations were managed from London, but Brexit in 2018 prompted us to establish a Management Company—or ManCo—in Ireland. A ManCo oversees regulatory compliance and fund operations locally, so launching it in Dublin became crucial to continue serving European clients seamlessly after Brexit.

Although the ManCo officially launched in 2019, we didn’t set up our Dublin office until 2021, because of disruptions from Covid. At that point, a colleague of mine selected Glandore’s beautiful Fitzwilliam Hall as the home for our Irish base. From the US, I served as Designated Person of Capital and Financial Management. After a couple of years, she was ready to return home, and the team needed someone else to serve as Ireland’s Head of Office. Maintaining the culture and practices established in our US operations was important to keep our approach consistent as we expanded further into Europe.

I happened to be in Dublin on the day these discussions took place in April 2023. My general counsel casually asked, “Hey, would you be interested in putting your name in the hat to maybe work over here?” I hemmed and hawed, but then I looked around the welcoming Fitzwilliam Hall office, where I already felt comfortable from numerous visits, and thought, “Yeah, I could do that.”

That doesn’t mean I didn’t have my hesitations. Relocating to a new country is a huge transition, and I was a little leery about leaving Chicago, especially its food scene.

A big transition: Apprehension and appetite 

By the time I moved to Dublin, I’d been visiting the city regularly since 2013, coming over for various board meetings. Because of those visits, I’d grown familiar with Glandore and Fitzwilliam Hall, and that familiarity greatly eased my transition from Chicago. Having existing relationships with the staff, people like Michael, Clare, Rebecca, Fiona, and Ciara, made settling in much smoother.

However, that decade of biannual visits had left me with some concerns, especially from a food perspective. Having spent years living in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, I’d been–admittedly–a little spoiled. The Windy City has a vibrant restaurant scene, no matter your taste or budget. By comparison, would Dublin have enough options to keep eating out interesting?

It turns out, I needn’t have worried. The city has a culinary life that surpassed my expectations in both variety and quality. I can go to nearly any restaurant and get a great meal—from the elegance of Peploe’s to FX Buckley’s steaks. If you venture further out, you have even more options, like DeVille’s in Dalkey, which has excellent everything—fillet, fish, you name it, it’s great. Even the “faster food” options have come alive from a culinary perspective. I don’t mean like McDonald’s or Burger King, but the quick little spots that do fresh, quality sandwiches, soups and salads and make everyday work life easier, healthier, and more comfortable.

Discovering Dublin: Coffee and community

In addition to discovering my favourite restaurants and quick lunch spots, settling into a city means finding small, everyday spaces for those meaningful rituals and interactions that make a place feel like home. Sister Suesey, the coffee shop outside of Fitzwilliam Hall, has been one of those places for me. 

It’s wonderful to step outside around 10 or 11 for a coffee, especially when the sun’s shining on the front of the building. That’s not always the case in Dublin, but on days like today, when it’s bright and sunny, everyone wants to get out, and it’s great to have somewhere just a few steps away to take in that atmosphere. It’s been incredible watching the amount of life Sister Suesey has added to the building. Seeing ten or so people gathered around the front facade, chatting on the green or relaxing in chairs, makes that space come alive.

Grabbing coffee and tea always seems to bring people together. Inside Fitzwilliam Hall, the tea stations become organic meeting spots for casual conversations. I’ve met a number of people from various firms within the building at those stations. It’s great, especially for those just starting out and finding their feet in Dublin. People just strike up conversation, saying, “Hey, who are you? What do you do?” And then you bump into them periodically, walking in and out of the building or at an event. Even 21 months into my stay, I still regularly meet new people. I remember an alumni dinner hosted by Glandore, sitting next to someone who had helped launch Facebook in Ireland in the very same building. Glandore really makes an effort to get people from their extended community together, and interactions like that, through their events and community-building efforts, can really help you grow as both a firm and a person.

Finding space to grow 

In late 2023, we moved from the second floor of Fitzwilliam Hall to a larger space on the first floor, partly because we wanted to unify our team. As we’d grown, we’d rented a space in the building next door, splitting our team. When I toured the available space, I immediately fell in love with the Georgian feel and ceilings, which were notably higher than our second-floor office. After careful planning and customisation with Glandore’s team—including ideas about what we’d do as we continued to grow— we moved in, and it’s been great having our team together again.

Fitzwilliam Hall is a prestigious building—it’s part of the Georgian mile which is a beautiful part of the city. Every day, whether I’m walking or cycling, my journey to work takes me along the Grand Canal.  I appreciate its peacefulness and seasonal beauty. The trees along the canal turn a red and yellowish colour in the fall, and they look beautiful dotting the banks of the canal. I love coming into work every day, and getting to experience that connection to water. I think it’s really profound because you get to think about how things ebb and flow. I reflect on my leadership style—and how I’ve grown into a leader who’s hands-on but not overly so, whose presence ebbs and flows, much like the canal itself. I think about how First Trust has had a slow, meandering path as it’s moved steadily closer to a big open future—just like the Grand Canal eventually entering the Liffey River. And that’s exactly why I appreciate my time in Dublin–it’s quietly but significantly shaping the way I think about growth, leadership and everyday community.

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