- Back
AV is not about technology, it’s about customer service
15/09/2017
Face to Face with Paul Murphy, Managing Director at AVCOM, Croke’s Park’s AV & Production Partner
Ballinteer to Firhouse on Dublin’s South side is not a long distance but for Paul Murphy, Managing Director of Croke Park’s AV & Production partner, AVCOM, it represents an entire career trajectory. Born into the family business in Ballinteer, Paul’s early memories are of loading the van with his Dad and heading to a swanky hotel with overhead projectors (remember them?), sound desks and 4-way bars. Today he resides in Firhouse with a young family and stands at the helm of Ireland’s leading AV and tech provider with an ever-expanding inventory of kit and techie guys and girls to operate it.
Paul worked his way up the ranks at AVCOM spending 4 exhausting but exhilarating years on the road as a technician before going “in-house” at the Burlington Hotel then – and now – Dublin’s largest city centre property catering for conferences, meetings and events of 1000 delegates and more. As a fresh faced 22 year old with final responsibility for big spend meetings at the property he had to work extra hard to win the confidence of some very dubious global CEOs:
“The crowning glory for me was to be invited to the celebratory wrap event after one such business event and to be approached by a tired and emotional CEO who tried to set me up with his daughter!”
Two years on Burlington Road was followed by two more years on Simmonscourt Road at the newly opened Four Seasons Dublin.
“AVCOM was selected as the in-house AV partner so I was part of the pre-opening team at Four Seasons Dublin and benefited from the legendary service training that makes Four Seasons what it is in the world today. After 4 years in 2 great hotels the core training was complete and I knew that AV is not only about technology, it’s about customer service.”
Paul has been Managing Director at AVCOM for 7 years now, taking over in 2010, as austerity and recession took grip across the Irish corporate landscape.
“My career highlight to date is successfully steering the ship through very stormy waters. The bottom fell out of the market, nobody was doing meetings and events, we had to let people go but we survived and we’re stronger than ever today”
Croke Park has been a wonderful partnership for Paul and AVCOM and this year he’ll have 3 full time technicians at the venue. Revenues are way ahead of projections and Paul puts that down to team work.
“When you work at Croke Park you naturally absorb the ethos of an organisation that’s been encouraging team work for scores of years all over Ireland. It’s in the venue’s DNA so all the players, whether they’re sales or events or catering or AV & Production, pull together on behalf of the client to create winning event experiences”.
Paul played two roles at Croke Park’s recent “Event of the Future” conference powering the entire AV and Production installation but also speaking on stage on the future of technology.
“It was an amazing event as the entire team here put its best foot forward. We installed a digital backdrop and dressed the Hogan Suite with digital panels and intelligent lighting. It was a “sustainable” set but had a massive “wow” impact on the 330 delegates who participated. In my speech I highlighted some of the exciting technology innovations that are coming soon – get ready, Dublin, for holographic displays – but stressed, too, what I learned years back at the Burlington and the Four Seasons. It’s not about technology, it’s about the human touch, it’s about customer service.”
- Back