S-P O’Mahony, Heraldist’s COO, on the road again

I guess you know the story of the shoemaker without shoes, right? Probably you’re in the same situation, we definitely were 2 years ago. By 2018, we had worked on over 40 brand or communication strategies for our clients, but guess what, we didn’t have the same for Heraldist. Of course, we knew who we were, we know what we did and why, but we couldn’t express it in unison and let’s face it, we were a bit all over the place. 

It’s so hard to talk about ourselves or to take care of ourselves either. Basically we help our clients to bring clarity to their “life”, to build their own voice and help them express themselves out there. But who was going to do the same thing for us? 

When working on your strategy, you need to put things in order and prioritise. That means you need to say pass to a lot of things you love and we looooove a lot of things. How could you give up on things you love and which are they? Really tough decisions to make for yourself and that’s why you never do it, but that’s how we met S-P, this sweet Irish guy in love with Transylvania who always has an interesting story to tell. 

He came to put things in order at Heraldist as COO. We spent 2 years together in Cluj, but now he’s back to London, working on some big plans, so I definitely had to have him on the top of my list for this interview series.

I hope he has some good stories now, but I won’t tell you what his name stands for, we’ll keep that mystery...

S-P, tell me a secret!

I have an extensive Securitate file in the archives of the state security authority in Bucharest - apparently I was considered quite a threat to the post-communist Romanian state from 1990 to 2005. 

Wow, I didn’t see this coming! You just moved back to the UK, you wanted to finally get rid of that file, right? Haha. What do you love the most about London?

I love the cosmopolitan nature of London more than anything else. Recently we were at IKEA and from the faces and voices I guess that we must have come across at least 20 nationalities in the short time we were there. In my opinion New York and London are the most diverse cities in the world in this respect.

What about Cluj?

I love the buzz in Cluj and the warmth of the people there. There’s an energy and a light that is special and unique, as if you can feel that something is just about to happen.

Oh, you love Transylvania so much! You visited a looot of places in a time when the world was not that connected, is there a place that changed so much that you almost can’t recognise it?

This is a hard one as I have been to so many places. Cluj stands out as our apartment is in a district of the City that was just fields when I first went there. But the most amazing place in this respect is Singapore, which I love. This tiny island, multicultural but predominantly Chinese, with a benign autocracy, is mind blowingly different now from when I visited friends there as a teenager. In particular beautiful colonial style buildings, such as Raffles Hotel, which used to be on the waterfront are no longer, as land has been reclaimed from the sea.

Are there some unusual places you’ve been?

If I exclude well known tourist spots such as New York, the Great Barrier Reef or Table Mountain, then the most unusual spots for me are all in rural Transylvania, rural Serbia, rural Kenya, rural Tanzania, rural Malawi, rural Malaysia, rural India. For me villages are the most exotic and wonderful places on the planet and the people living there face common challenges and, in my experience, share common values, independent of culture or ethnicity. In all cases the generous hospitality of those who have the least blows my mind and lifts my spirits.

Do you have a favourite place?

Now that is a hard one. My favourite places are on every continent and diverse, but number one has to be the west of Ireland. This is where my ancestors come from - it is wild and wet because of the landscape and ocean, yet cosy and warm because of the people.  I’d love to live there one day.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

A Mississippi River Boat Captain (yep, really!)

Then what are your plans for Heraldist London, Captain? Our freshly new office.

We are in the process of establishing Heraldist UK Ltd and seeking clients and partners here. We are fortunate enough to have a great network here already to support us in this endeavour. One of the people from our great network is our friend, partner and board member, Will Awdry, a seasoned agency professional, who has been super supportive to us. In fact, he is currently running an online masterclass in copywriting for our Heraldist St. Brendan, The Creative School for Explorers.

Where would you like to have a future office?

Ireland is a priority in this respect as we grow our connections and businesses there alongside those in the UK.

Are the offices relevant anymore thinking that 90% of our meetings are online now?

This is a good question. I am living for the moment when the pandemic has passed (and it surely will) and I am hopeful that we will have freedom to move again. Relevant here is Heraldist submission to become a certified B-Corps, which is a movement of businesses, large and small, all over the world, which are convinced that businesses are vehicles to bring about positive change in our societies. At a recent (online) seminar of the B-Corps in Europe the theme was “How to build a new normal”. For us as Heraldist it is all about how to build a “new normal” by taking advantage of the technology and approaches that enable us to make great stuff happen without in person meetings, blended with more traditional practices including in person meetings and events. In some ways the pandemic has made us all realise how important face to face communication is, both personally and professionally. I am sure that there is a purpose in having a presence in the important markets of Heraldist so that we can better serve our clients there.

Let’s go back to travelling because we all miss that. You were a marketing head at British Airways, can you tell me some tricks when we’re traveling? 

Sure, I did travel a great deal back then as all my jobs were international. And I do have three tips to share:  

1) always look presentable and be super polite throughout the process, as airline people have to deal with a lot of difficult stuff, so they always appreciate kind and understanding passengers (which often results in them granting you special favours such as an upgrade or going out of their way to solve a problem or simply another bottle of wine with your meal); 

2) always arrive early for your flight, factor in that something might not work out, so that your whole trip doesn’t get disrupted; 

3) know the specific rules of each airline you fly with as each one is different and it can get very stressful if you get something wrong because you assume that British Airways is like WizzAir or vice versa.

Do you still get some treats when you’re traveling just because you worked with British Airways?

Well, given I keep tip 1 above, then I often get a banter going with the crew, who ask me if I am actually still an airline person, which I haven’t been since 2008. I then appreciate being able to ask them for more detailed information in case of a severe disruption or they drop me some extra goodies as they pass down the aisle.

Speaking of goodies, what’s your guilty pleasure?

70% Green & Black’s dark chocolate with a glass (or two) of 12y old Jameson (Irish whiskey)

And 2 short ones: 

What’s the first thing you look at in a friend?

Loyalty and directness with kindness

What’s something that will always be in fashion?

Falling in love 

Alice

until next week, stay amazing