International Guest Speaker Series - Mistakes & Open Mind are key to business success

Speaker: George Mullan, School of Management alumnus, MBA 1988

Open to: All students within the Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences

Talk details: In this session George will focus on three key areas of business; honesty in situations where there is direct cost to the business, understanding and learning from mistakes, and creating teams where people are prepared to take risks. At SIS Group, when a mistake is made it can be in front of millions, or in some cases billions of people. However as a mid-sized company in an industry competing with private equity owned multi-nationals, SIS Group have to take risks, be more innovative, and work in areas of the world which can cause logistical and political questions to arise with teams. The talk will then be followed with a Q&A session.

The Key Learning Outcomes you will gain from the session include:

1) Appreciate that mistakes happen in business and it is how you recover from those mistakes to take the next step forward and succeed

2) Understand that risk taking is key to business and you need to have teams of people prepared to take risks to find success

3) Develop an innovative mindset and approach to your work to understand how to tackle questions and concerns that arise in the course of business

4) Appreciate how honesty is key to success

About George Mullan:

George graduated from the University of Bradford in 1988 with an MBA from the School of Management, and is the founder and owner of SIS Group, a manufacturing and sports construction company with offices in Europe, Asia and Africa. George’s background is as a turnaround specialist and he has completed turnarounds in South & North America and Europe for a major US multinational. He is a serial investor in start up companies ranging from healthcare to drinks.

The SIS Group has constructed sports surfaces for some of the greatest names in sport across the globe, with a client list including world renowned soccer teams such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus. In 2018 SIS Pitches completed six stadium pitches in Russia for the World Cup including the Luzhniki stadium for World Cup Final, however they subsequently closed their Russian office in August 2022 following the war in Ukraine.

In Qatar, SIS Pitches constructed over 40 pitches and installed hybrid patented SISGRASS system at seven of the eight 2022 World Cup stadiums. The European Championship, African Nations Cup, and Asian Cup are just a few of the competitions that SIS have constructed and managed pitches for around the world.

SIS Group employs 430 people and has offices in Turkey, UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands. In 2018 SIS opened a new factory in Maryport in Cumbria, which is the most modern factory in Europe to produce artificial grass. In 2019/20 every major football and rugby tournament was played on an SIS pitch globally.

George is also a graduate from Trinity College Dublin, and is a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.

International Guest Speaker Series - 'Mistakes & Open Mind' - George Mullan