Father:
Brian McConville When my wife Connie and I established the business in 1983 we were not long married and starting out on our family journey. Starting your own business is always a risk but one that needs to be even more considered when you have a young family. I was a joiner by trade and due to the early 80s recession opportunities for work were limited at home, so like many other young tradespeople I headed to England for work. I recall sitting at the bar on the B&I Ferry from Dublin to Holyhead chatting to the barman. I asked him who did the joinery work that surrounded us in the relatively fancy bar we were in and he told me to contact Head Office. Something struck a chord with me and I decided I would make it my business to get in front of these people. After many months of phone calls and faxes I got my opportunity and I was invited to a meeting. It was scheduled for 9am but what I didn’t realise, without the luxury of a mobile phone, was while I was driving to Dublin they were trying to contact me to cancel. I was so disappointed when I arrived to no meeting that they felt compelled to rearrange. A few days later I got my very first small piece of marine work. I would like to say the rest is history but it was a long, hard road. Connie and I spent many years knocking doors in places like Miami which was, and still is, one of the global centres of the marine and cruise ship industry. In fact, I would say we spent 12 years back and forth before we really got our big break. The important thing is that I always knew it would come. I had confidence in my ability, and that of the small team I had around me at that stage. Some of these people are still with me today and I feel that they are very much a part of my family because they have come through the ups and the downs with the McConville clan. You could say my four children have grown up in the business because it is so integrated into our lives. Connie is my sounding board, indeed she is the one who came up with the idea for our superyacht fitout business. While we try to separate work and home life, especially with Naoimh and Conleth in the business now, it is not always easy to do. All through the years I have focused on creating a profitable business which has a family ethos and family values. I wanted to build something which my children would eventually be proud to join and make their own impact upon. I am delighted that after they pursued their own studies – Naoimh in accountancy and Conleth in construction management – they both decided to get involved. It is important to have family focus on the business but also for the business to have focus on the family. It creates opportunities for them to follow the career paths they choose, in or out, of the business and I am very proud of all my children. I am proud of what Naoimh and Conleth have achieved in the business over the last few years as we work together, with our great team, to take it to the next level. They have worked in other businesses so they know what it takes to make a family business work and we work well together as a team. I have great ambitions for what we can achieve over the next few years and I know that Naoimh, Conleth and our team share that vision and drive for continued growth. I am very lucky to be able to involve my family in what I do and I hope that continues for a very long time.
Daughter:
Naoimh McConville Growing up we were very aware of the business and of how hard Brian and Connie worked as a team, with sacrifices along the way all in aid of “the big picture”. Growing up my parents treated us all as equals and instilled in us values that gave us the confidence that anything was possible with integrity, vision, hard work and determination. From the age of 16, I spent my summers in MJM and have worked through all our departments in some capacity which I believe has stood by me in terms of understanding our business from end to end. After obtaining my masters, I took an audit role with Ernst & Young for my chartered accountancy training. I made the decision to join MJM as a cost analyst, as I knew that the family business was where I really wanted to be. I firmly believe that as a family member in the business, it is important to take nothing for granted, I expect to work as hard, if not harder, than everyone else to prove that I can make a positive impact on the business and contribute to the strategic vision for the long-term sustainability of the company. I feel passionate and proud to be building a career that will transition our family business into the next generation along with a fantastic team of people that uphold the values and vision for our future growth. We have a very close family unit and as Brian has said, it is almost impossible to separate work and home life, however I think living the business helped us to develop a deep admiration and respect for what Dad and indeed Mum have been able to achieve. Although my sister has banned MJM discussion from the dinner table, it still can’t be helped slipping into the conversation! Conleth, Brian and I do make a conscious effort to have a dedicated meeting through the week to focus on the business, but often our best meetings and work discussions are when we are “offline” on the farm at home or out with the horses. It’s usually here we can chat through our day and think of the grand plans in building the legacy.
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