UCD Business at 100 - University College Dublin

JOHN TEELING Founder of Cooley Distillery and nine natural resource
companies, of which he chairs six
“UCD SCHOOL of Business, over the
past 100 years, has been a
powerhouse for the Irish economy,”
says John Teeling (BComm 1966,
MEconSc 1967). “A huge number of
senior civil servants and business
leaders are UCD commerce
graduates.”
According to Teeling, he owes a
debt of gratitude to UCD. “It was the
making of me. Iwas ascholarship
boy from an Irish-speaking, Christian
Brothers school and arigid,
single-sex education system, so
arriving at UCD was like landing on
Mars.”
Teeling taught at the Faculty of
Commerce from 1966-1988. During
this time, UCD nominated him for a
GINA QUIN Chief executive of Dublin Chamber of Commerce
AUCD business education can bring
self-belief and confidence. So says
Gina Quin (BA 1980, MBA 1988),
whose time in UCD endowed her
with asense of lateral thinking.
“I “learned that asense of lateral
thinking is very important, and that
there are solutions to everything”,
she says.
After graduating in 1980 with a
degree in psychology, Quin worked
in attitudinal market research. “I got
interested in markets and marketing
and wanted to formalise my
Most likely to say?
John McCullough, Director
prestigious Ford Fellowship at
Harvard University and allowed him
the flexibility to pursue outside
business interests.
own business
qualification. The MBA gave me
arounded view of all disciplines
and connected me with people in
various different industries –even
dentists and engineers were
represented.”
Quin enjoyed college life. “As an
undergraduate, Iexperienced the
environment, got involved in clubs
and societies such as the Drama
Society and the Philosophy Society,
and did abit of hillwalking.
“When you go back as agraduate
student, however, it is quite a
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“This was very far-sighted at the
time,” says Teeling. “They
recognised that in
what Iwas doing, Icould bring my
research into the classroom and
share my experience in the business
trenches.”
By 1988, Teeling’s business
interests had grown to the point
where he was no longer able to
continue lecturing. “I reluctantly gave
it up,” he says.
“But Istill believe in UCD:
university graduates will have to lead
us from the current recession and
UCD has aresponsibility to educate
them.
“I think they’re more than capable
of doing so.”
different atmosphere. You come
back to amasters with adifferent
approach. You’re there for the scope
of the subjects you are doing. You
become more involved with your
class and make great contacts.”
Since leaving UCD, Quin has gone
back as amentor for MBA students
at UCD.
“Having areal understanding of
business has been very useful,” she
says. “The business school has been
hugely influential in the
development of the Irish economy.”
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