by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Head in the Air Once you run the gauntlet of checking in, depositing bags, negotiating security and finally boarding, the time on board an aircraft can be good head time if only for the fact that you’re your own captive audience and are usually free from the… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC The Business of Incentives My reason for being in Cancun is to participate at the Incentive Research Foundation’s (IRF) annual invitational and thus support an organisation that carries out vitally important research into the business impact of incentives, particularly incentive travel programmes. This is my third consecutive… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC I Like Mexicans In a previous post I stated that I’d never met a Neapolitan that I didn’t like. The same applies to Mexicans and probably for the same reasons. It’s their relentless humanity, their passionate joie de vivre, their cultivation of chaos. This week I’m back in Mexico,… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC The challenge from The Irish Times was to pitch your “best place to holiday in Ireland” in less than 500 words. Like Robert Frost, I took the “road less travelled” and submitted a very personal piece about the townland in Co Offaly where my Father is from…. Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Naples and Ireland have many things in common none more so than the cast-iron connection, in both locations, between people and place. Ireland, as a destination, is largely defined in and through its people. So is Naples. This is mainly a good thing as it roots the… Read more »
By Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Florence – 18 April 2013 I’ve visited Rocco Forte hotels in Brussels, Berlin, Prague and St Petersburg but this was my first visit to a Rocco Forte property in Italy, the country of origin of the eponymous founder and of his talented sister, Olga Polizzi, interior designer… Read more »
Guest Post by Hugo Slimbrouck, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Ovation Global DMC Swiss Trophy Day 3 At 6am this morning, just when his fellow Irishmen had finally stopped singing in the bar, Padraic slipped silently away to attend a family event. He passed the blogging baton to me and this is my account of the… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC No Brunello Florian never showed so there was no Brunello for breakfast. But that was the only disappointment in a day that delivered constant peaks of satisfaction as we crossed Switzerland from Zurich in the east to the Valais region in the south west finally ascending to… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, VP, Ovation Global DMC If Carlsberg did travel … The Swiss flight from Paris to Zurich boarded on time, took off on time and landed slightly ahead of schedule. It was packed with efficient suits and brief cases, their boarding passes downloaded to a smart phone. Boarding was swift and easy and… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, MCI and Vice President, Ovation Global DMC I have always believed in “giving back”. One of the easiest ways to do this is to participate in industry associations. The meetings industry space is well populated with associations seeking your membership so it’s sometimes difficult to decide where to spend your… Read more »
Pádraic Gilligan is Vice President of Industry Relations at MCI, a global association, communications and event management company. He has written and spoken on many aspects of the meetings industry, regularly contributing to Site, MPI and other associations. Areas of interest include Social Media, Branding, Service Marketing, Regulations in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Measurement and Return on Investment, Business Case for Meetings and Events etc. His interests in these areas and in destinations in general are reflected in his blog which may be accessed on www.padraicino.com
Pádraic Gilligan holds BA and MA degrees in Italian and English literature from University College Dublin and a post graduate diploma in Marketing from Boston College. Following a 13 year career in education, teaching at second and third levels, he started Delaney Marketing Consultants in 1994 with Patrick Delaney. In 2002 Delaney Marketing acquired Ovation and re-branded as Ovation Group. In June 2007 Ovation was acquired by MCI Group and commenced a robust global expansion programme which has seen the establishment of Ovation offices in over 20 European, Asia, Latin American and Middle Eastern destinations under the Ovation Global DMC brand.
In 2004 Gilligan was elected to the International Board of the Site and served as international President of this global organisation in 2008. He has won many awards and was voted Industry Personality of the Year by Meetings.net for 2009. He serves on the advisory boards of IHG and The Special Event Magazine. Padraic is married to Rita Smyth and together they have 6 grown up children. In August 2011 he became a grandfather. He is a passionate supporter of Arsenal Football Club, a performing singer-songwriter and walks 5 km every day.
