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The Lighter Side with

Paul Hacket, CEO of Click&Go and vice president of the Irish Travel Agents Association

Paul Hacket, CEO of Click&Go and vice president of the Irish Travel Agents Association
Paul Hacket, CEO of Click&Go and vice president of the Irish Travel Agents Association
Thu Oct 12 2023 - 12:19

· Which business person do you most admire?

  • Michael O’Leary in Ryanair. I know he seriously dislikes the travel trade but I like his straight forward no nonsense approach to business.

· What is your guilty pleasure?

  • Going to bed for an hour in the afternoon at weekends.

· How do you unwind?

  • I swim with Aer Lingus Masters Swim Club, it’s a great club and an amazing bunch of people. Pounding up and down the pool gives me quiet time to think, and problem solve. Competitive swimming is quite solitary, and I’d love a waterproof notepad and pen as I do manage to solve problems and think of alternative solutions whilst swimming. I’m sure Peter my coach would say that I should be more focssed on my times and technique!

· How much money is in your wallet?

  • €45, I never carry much cash, I’m surprised I even have €45 in there at the moment.

· The last book you read?

  • My Life in Full by Indra Nooyi, the former head of Pepsi Co

· What is the best business advice you’ve ever been given?

  • Stick to the knitting and I really do try and do that.
  • You’ll laugh at my mantra in work though - You live in a democracy, you don’t work in one!

· Who is the most famous person in your contacts list?

  • I have a few well known RTE people and some politicians in my contact list, not sure who is the most famous as it’s all very much local and that’s Ireland.

· How do you manager your work/life balance?

  • I work long days and I work in the office as I prefer that. Once I go home, I generally don’t work unless something serious happens. I am very disciplined about that. I don’t have my work emails on my phone, and I don’t turn on my laptop whilst on holidays unless some thing serious happens. To me home time and holiday time are precious, and I protect that as much as I can. I think switching off helps your brain repair and improves your mood.

· The last film you watched?

  • Operation Hyacinth

· What is your favourite possession?

  • Our home in Drumcondra

· What’s your most memorable holiday ever?

  • A trip to Rocky Mountains in Canada followed by a cruise to Alaska. We had time in Banff, followed by two days on the Rocky Mountaineer on a train trip through the Rocky Mountains, then a few nights in Vancouver followed by a cruise to Alaska. We’ll do that again as it was just so brilliant and it was the first time we did a cruise as part of our holidays.

· What social media do you use?

  • Twitter, I can’t get used to calling it X, Facebook, Insta and LinkedIn but also TikTok for work.

· If money were no object, what would your fantasy purchase be?

  • That’s easy … a front-line apartment overlooking the beach of San Sebastian in Sitges, just south of Barcelona. I even know the building!

· What is the first website you look at every morning?

· Are you an early bird or a night owl?

  • An early bird, I’m up around 530am or 6am but I go to bed early as bed is one of my all-time favourite places.

· If you were Taoiseach for a day what would you do?

  • I’d create a task force of the best brains from politics, the civil service and outside politics. 10 of the brightest people who can get your hands on and give them a remit to address the core issues impacting Ireland of Housing and Healthcare to begin with. We have such ability in this country but the speed of problem solving as in understanding the problems, developing solutions and implanting them just moves too slowly. This talented group of lateral thinkers from multiple disciplines would be given the power to deliver results.

· Which person do you most admire?

  • The people who I admire most are those who lead and work for the “Not For Profit” sector in Ireland. As a country we benefit from all the “not for profits” who work in some aspects of Irish life and deliver amazing care and benefit to our society.

· What’s your favourite place in Dublin and why?

  • Donabate beach – winter or summer and I think the entire north county Dublin coastline is stunning. It’s an amazing asset to have so close to the city.

· Anything you would like to plug?

  • Click&Go.com my baby since 2010
  • We have an amazing team of over 60 people working for us and delivering great customer care and amazing holidays to Irish consumers. Click&Go is the highest ranked travel company in Ireland, we are 100% committed to customer service and it’s great to see that our customers love what we do in return.
  • And if you don’t book with Click&Go book with an Irish based travel agent and ideally one who is a member of the Irish Travel Agents Association.