Do you remember when you first met Redmond O'Donoghue?

He's a shareholder on Beat FM, but I knew him when I was working in news and I would have interviewed him several times in his role as chief executive of Waterford Crystal. He always stuck out as someone who really knew what he was about. Then when I was "rst appointed interim CEO back in October, he was very helpful.

Did he give you any particular advice?

He always stresses the importance of knowing every aspect of the business. You can't be hands on with everything but you have to be aware of what's going on in every single department. And you need to check and double-check everything. It's generally about putting in the hard work. You put in the long hours but you do reap the rewards at the end of it. He's also very knowledgeable on the marketing side in particular. Beat is a very young brand. It's not yet four years on air, so marketing is crucial and he had huge input into the marketing of Waterford Crystal when he was CEO there.

What are his main qualities as a mentor and a leader?

He respects the people he works with and they return that respect to him. He has great passion for what he does, a lot of charisma, and a great turn of phrase. People really warm to him. I've learned the importance of clarity and communication from him. People have to know where they stand with you and with your vision, so you need procedures in place to facilitate that. He's been very helpful on how to communicate with each head of department, and how to develop policies and procedures so everyone knows where they stand.

To sum up I'd meet him regularly. I might have two hours of a meeting with him, where he'd go through all his experiences. That's an enviable situation because he has had such broad leadership experience in the world of business. He'd de"nitely be rated as one of the top businessmen in Ireland. I'm sure he's been doing it so long that there have been instances over the years where he's learned the hard way and made a few mistakes. If that's the case, then I'm benefiting from it.

In conversation with Patrick Freyne