Building on success: Henry McCann

For some, the task of assuming the leadership of a multinational company experiencing an unparalleled period of success may seem like big boots to fill. And when the boots in question belong to a universally respected CEO, who has overseen a US$412 million boost in revenue, you wouldn’t be blamed for having a degree of apprehension.

But for Henry McCann, the opportunity to lead Kirby Group Engineering as its new CEO is one he is both prepared for and relishing.

"Our outgoing CEO Mark Flanagan has led the company through an unprecedented period of profitable growth and international expansion during the last five years," McCann tells The CEO Magazine.

"He was absolutely key to establishing Kirby as an industry leader for mechanical and electrical engineering in construction."

While the leadership is changing, McCann is ensuring continuity by incorporating the key elements of Flanagan’s leadership that have created success.

"Mark is a lot more than just a mentor and a colleague; he’s a close friend of mine," he says. "We both share a passion for operational excellence and creating an environment that gets the best out of our people and encourages their success.

"I look forward to continuing to work closely with Mark in his new role as Executive Director on the Kirby Group Board."

A fruitful market

Tracing its roots back to Limerick, Ireland, the company was founded by the Kirby brothers in 1964. It has since expanded its reach, with more than 1,800 employees who deliver projects across Ireland, the United Kingdom and continental Europe.

"Kirby still remains a family business," McCann says. "We work in numerous sectors, with the core areas that we operate in being life sciences, data centers, industrial and power and renewables."

Fueled by the growing demand for cloud services and more recently by the emergence and explosion of AI, the data center industry has seen vigorous growth in recent history and was estimated to be worth US$256 billion globally in 2024.

"There is a tremendous amount of R&D investment coming to fruition right now across sectors. All of these projects require power, so on the back of that, there is an increased market for substations and an upgrade of the power infrastructure," McCann explains.

"These sectors have served us very well over the last 60 years. And as we look forward, our clients that we work for are optimistic and have solid pipelines of investment coming through."

Value-driven leadership

As part of its identity as a family-owned business, Kirby prides itself on a steadfast commitment to its core principles.

"We’re very much a value-focused business, and we have five core values that we work to: people, safety, quality, delivery and value," he says. "Every meeting, every project, every board meeting is focused around them. They ensure that we create value for our clients while also creating value for ourselves."

Although he emphasizes that these five values are all fundamental to the success of the company, there is one that he is particularly focused on as he assumes the top job. This has been informed by his own successful rise within the company, which began when he joined as a project manager back in 2006.

"As part of my new role as CEO, the ‘people’ value is the one that is most important. Investing in our people is absolutely key," McCann says.

"Every single person in Kirby, if you’re a first-year apprentice at 16 years of age or you’re a senior leader, has a potential curve. And as part of our culture, we want to give each and every one of our employees the opportunity to reach their full potential."

To this end, the company has created the Kirby Academy, which bolsters the professional development opportunities on offer for employees.

"We are heavily invested in our learning support function, and we’ve hired lots of new specialists to teach," he says.

As well as bringing in specialists, McCann is proud of the willingness Kirby’s senior executives have to share their time and wisdom with aspirational employees.

"The senior leaders in the business really have a hands-on approach when it comes to teaching and learning and just passing on their experience," he says. "When I was in my earlier days with Kirby, I got great exposure to the leaders of the business, the senior management team, and that gives you an appetite to make the most of your opportunities.

"We make sure that even the junior members of the teams get this access."

Creating a working environment that rewards its employees’ hard work is mutually beneficial, with McCann sharing that Kirby has achieved an impressively high employee retention rate.

"We recognize that this is where our future leaders will come from – from management roles in engineering, construction and project management," he says. "If we have the right people, everything flows from there."

Delivering for clients

Ensuring that the hard work of Kirby’s employees is rewarded helps meet another of the company’s central objectives: to create value for its clients. But to ensure that every project is delivered to the highest standards that clients expect, Kirby must be highly selective.

"We monitor our span of control very closely, so we will not take on a project we cannot deliver," McCann explains. "There are a lot of opportunities in the market, but we are always committed to our clients and to ourselves.

"We never want to lose a client, so we will always go the extra mile. Our clients can see that we’re investing in areas such as digital construction and off-site manufacturing, and they experience the quality of our people."

Nurturing its positive relationships with its partners will ensure the ongoing success of the company, according to McCann.

"We have the best clients in the world and happily they all seem to have a very good pipeline in the next number of years. If Kirby continues to focus on the core values that have served us so well, our clients will continue wanting to partner with us," he explains.

"We’ve done a really good job in delivering for our clients and on the back of that, Kirby has secured more projects."

An important part of nurturing long-term relationships with its partners and stakeholders is ensuring sustainability. Kirby’s sustainability policy outlines its commitment to reducing its environmental impact across all areas, including a plan to develop a waste management strategy, minimize its energy waste and promote sustainable transportation methods.

"The world is going greener, and we’re working on green initiatives ourselves internally," McCann says. "Our clients are setting strict carbon targets that we need to make sure that we front up to and deliver on."

This focus on delivering for its customers as well as for its employees continues the legacy of value-oriented business that has underpinned the success of the company.

With a clear strategy for continued growth, McCann is looking confidently into the future.

"In my role as CEO, putting people first will be significant for me, making a long-term commitment to our people and investing in their development," he says.

"I’m very excited that we can continue to grow. 60 years down, now we’re looking forward to the next 60."