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In the latest instalment of the ºÚÁÏÉç Alumni Spotlight, we speak to BSc in Environmental Science and graduate, James Ring. James will be familiar to many in the Mid-West as the former CEO of Limerick Chamber and now CEO of TTM Healthcare Group, Ireland’s largest healthcare recruitment company. 

James shares his experience of returning to UL to do an MBA, how the programme helped him to understand himself as a leader, and why his interest in the people who work for him keeps him curious. 

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I grew up in Limerick city on Athlunkard Street and then went to school in St Mary's national school and CBS Sexton Street secondary school. My interests focused on sports, and I played for Athlunkard Villa and Star Rovers. I’m now the father of two kids and I play music to relax and unwind.

Why did you choose to study Environmental Science and then later do an MBA at UL?

I studied Environmental Science at UL because I was always interested in the natural world. Science and Geography were my favourite subjects in school, so the course seemed like a good mix of both. I loved the field work – being out in the open learning about how our world works, why our climate is changing and trying to understand how we can combat and slow this down while at the same time allowing society to grow and flourish. I guess it was thinking about sustainability before sustainability was a thing. 

Once I qualified, I realised I didn't want to work in a laboratory setting so I went into the business side of the pharmaceutical industry. I then slowly migrated into management roles in various sectors outside of pharma. An MBA was an inevitable next step for me to help me blend the practical experience I had gained in my career with the academic theory that I wanted to learn.

What did you enjoy most about the MBA?

The at UL changed how I thought. Science teaches you to look at the world in black and white but when dealing with people black and white isn't real because people are grey and you need to learn how to deal with that greyness. These are the soft skills leaders need to develop to really be good people managers. I initially struggled with this concept that there could be more than one right answer to a problem or a question, but you need to get comfortable with this if you're going to be a people leader.

The MBA helped me to understand myself as a leader – to understand why I did certain things, to understand what type of leader I was, and what were the strengths and more importantly the weaknesses of my management style that I needed to watch out for and address. 

The MBA also gave me a greater general business knowledge and understanding of how all the various elements of a business come together under one common vision, for example how marketing plays a key role in achieving your financial goals and attracting talent.

Tell us about your career journey so far. 

I didn't sit down and plan my career the way some people seem to do. I knew that I wanted to go into general management roles and kept my eyes open for opportunities. This has resulted in me finding myself in public, private and not-for-profit roles. 

I now find myself in the healthcare sector as CEO of TTM Healthcare Group, which I wouldn't have predicted but sometimes that's the beauty of being a CEO – your skill set can be applied to numerous sectors if that skill set includes the ability to motivate, understand and lead people to deliver impactful results.

What did you enjoy about studying in UL when you were an undergraduate student and then when you returned as a postgraduate student 10 years later?

I really enjoyed my undergraduate years in UL. Life was simple! I didn't have any real responsibilities, so I guess my undergraduate was the same as a lot of others – fun and carefree.

Coming back 10 years later I had grown up and life was more serious, but being back in the UL campus, sitting in lectures and all that type of thing brought back a little bit of those fun and carefree times even if I still had to go back to a serious day job and pay a mortgage and do all that grown-up stuff.

Here at UL, we’re known as the ‘Home of Firsts’ – are there any important ‘firsts’ that you experienced as a UL student that you would like to share? 

There are a lot of firsts that I'm not going to tell you about, but I did win the inaugural ‘Stars in Their Eyes’ competition in The Stables when I sang as Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees!

How did UL support you throughout your studies? 

UL is fabulous and there are so many people that helped me throughout both my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. 

I have great memories of passionate lecturers that I encountered during my undergraduate studies who cared about the environment ever before it was headline news around the world. I think of lecturers like Professor Tom Harrington (retired), Professor Eoin McCann (retired), and Dr Tom O’Dwyer, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Sciences. I could name many more!

My postgraduate study support was at a different level. During the MBA my house was destroyed in a flood and financially I couldn't afford to complete the programme. I informed UL and Professor Michele O'Dwyer, MBA Programme Director, and Professor Phillip O’Regan, Dean of the Kemmy Business School at the time, offered me a full scholarship which covered all my fees, so this made it possible for me to finish the MBA programme. For that, I am forever grateful to both Michele and Philip, and to ºÚÁÏÉç. 

What advice would you give to anyone considering studying at UL, and in particular to those who might be considering doing the MBA?

Go for it! In particular in UL. It's a great university, on a great campus, in a great city. 

With regards to those thinking about the MBA, I would say be prepared for the level of out-of-hours assignments and work that you have to do. In my experience the MBA was more intense than a PhD. You need to have the support of your family and your employer to get you through, but it is worth doing and I would highly recommend it.

What are your hopes and plans for the future? 

Just to keep trying to do my best as CEO of TTM Healthcare Group and to look after my people as best I can. I live with the philosophy that if I can create an environment where people are happy and feel valued, then success and financial reward will follow.

Here at UL, we encourage our students to ‘Stay Curious’. What keeps you curious?

People. Every day is different because every person is different. I'm lucky to be in a position of influence and impact where you have to care about those who work with you. You have to be available to help them with their issues and problems. Usually there are professional discussions but sometimes there are personal discussions, and it keeps you on your toes. Every day it teaches me something new to make me better at what I do.