Dublin brewer drawn to business culture of the Cape

WILD GEESE: EMIGRANT BUSINESS LEADERS ON OPPORTUNITIES ABROAD: Diarmaid De Burca, General Manager, SABMiller's Newlands Brewery, Cape Town:WHEN IT comes to alcoholic beverages, South Africa's Western Cape province is probably best known amongst Irish people for its production of a wide variety of good wines at affordable prices.

But the region is also a corner stone of South Africa’s beer brewing industry, according to Dubliner Diarmaid De Burca, a man who should know given he has been central to beer production in the province since 2005.

A Gaeilgeoir from Clontarf, De Burca (42) has spent more than six years in Cape Town with drinks giant SABMiller, helping the multinational to satisfy the local beer drinking public’s unquenchable thirst for that amber nectar of barley, maize, hops, yeast and Table Mountain spring water.

He moved to the metropolis affectionately known locally as the “Mother City” in 1999 to work as a trainee manager at the company’s Newlands brewery, which is one of the oldest brew houses in the country as it dates back to early-1800s.

Since then he has steadily risen up through the ranks in SABMiller’s beer production to become general manager at the Newlands brewery, as well as Port Elizabeth’s Ibhayi Brewery which is located in Port Elizabeth, known as the Friendly City, in the Eastern Cape province.

When combined both breweries, which employ 475 full-time staff and approximately 180 contract workers, bottle an average of 3,100,000 beers a day.

“I have to say I love it here. There is a great history attached to the Newlands brewery that makes me feel part of something special. My position is very people based and social, which for me is what I want from a job. I thrive in inspiring people to do and be their best.”

"I also like the South African business culture. Which is typified by a real '' n Boer maak 'n plan' attitude to work, which means no matter what adversity you are faced with, a plan can be made to get the job done. I thrive in that environment," he says.

As we take a tour of the historic Newland’s brewery, which is located at the back of Table Mountain in the city’s southern suburbs, De Burca explains that deciding to study an international MBA in Paris facilitated his move to the southern tip of Africa.

“SABMiller came to the INSEAD Business School, which is south of Paris, in 1999 looking for graduates to join their management programme. At the time they were expanding globally, and needed new people at that level to fill the gaps left by departing executives in their South African Business.

“While most of my course colleagues were interested in banking, management consulting or becoming involved in the dot.com boom, I wanted to join the food industry, because I had already studied an engineering degree, and specialised in food and agriculture at UCD – and I had enjoyed working in the food industry with the PM Group.

“Having made some good South African friends while in Paris, I decided to give South Africa a go to see what it was like, and I haven’t really looked back since,” he recalls.

Today De Burca is married and lives with his South African wife Gill in a suburb close to his work. He says living in Cape Town is lovely, due to the beautiful natural surroundings and the outdoor lifestyle that is so easily accessible to its residents.

“There are a number of leading companies on a global level that operate across Africa, and I think people who are willing to move away from their home to these emerging markets can get great experience and opportunities from these companies.

“In addition, the level of self-development one goes through when living abroad is extremely beneficial when it comes to competing in the jobs market.

“In Ireland we also have a good education system, which many foreign companies are aware of. But saying that I think people have to be more proactive when looking for jobs these days due to the recession, so don’t be afraid to go knocking on doors to find the opportunities,” he says.

Another attribute that Irish people have in abundance that is very useful in modern day management, says De Burca, is their engaging personalities, which lends itself to a style of administration that many international companies are seeking to deploy in their work places.

“I find that large companies internationally are now trying to foster a more engaging leadership style rather than the older rigid hierarchical approach, which tended to be more autocratic and dictatorial. Now it’s about inspiring people to be the best they can be.

“Because of their history South Africans appreciate a more engaging management approach and they respond to it, which makes for a far happier and more productive work place,” he concludes.