Sean Price & Tomás O'Leary

The TPM Podcast

This week’s podcast hosted by Sean Price of Velez Managed Services is with Tomás O'Leary the CEO and founder of Origina.

Starting his career in the travel industry in Paris France, spending 2 years with an English wholesale tour operator company, often working a lot in the Asian market. To looking at his time in Japan and the business culture Tomás and his fellow colleagues’ (nicknamed “The Irish Businessmen Mafia”) transition into Japanese business culture, hearing stories such as working 20 hours straight after night out, practically sleeping in the office, to crazy schemes and feats to outwork his Japanese co-workers. Tomás stumbled across the IBM position originally from his mother sending him a newspaper advert for a job at IBM, then his mentor soon recommended the position as well. Little did he know that one decision set him on a path of high achievements and success, gaining experience and impressing colleagues and superiors as he shot up the ranks at IBM. We go into detail about his reasons to departure from IBM along with the politics and conflict involved in the business world.

We discuss how he set up and started his own company up, Origina, that in recent years has had major growth from €3million to currently €30 million! And how he came to join the SIA when attending a trip to Amsterdam with the other board members.