ALEX SPAIN: ALEX SPAIN, who died this week at the age of 79, was a leading figure in Irish business life for more than half a century.
Born in 1932, his father was master of Holles Street maternity hospital in Dublin. He followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather by attending Blackrock College, where he excelled academically and on the rugby pitch. He graduated from UCD with a first-class honours degree in commerce and began his career as an accountant, first joining Forsyth Co, a small accountancy firm which subsequently merged with accountancy practice Kennedy Crowley.
Laurence Crowley, who along with his brothers Niall and Conor were partners in Kennedy Crowley, recalls the beginning of the partnership that was to serve as a springboard for Spain’s career. “At the time Forsyth Co was a very efficient and effectively run company. My brother Niall wanted that kind of efficiency for Kennedy Crowley. Together, Alex and Niall brought about the merger of the two companies in the late 1960s, which was transformational.”
Spain played a key role in the subsequent merger of Kennedy Crowley with Stokes Brothers and Pym in 1972 to form Stokes Kennedy Crowley (SKC), which was later to become the Irish division of KPMG. Spain became managing partner of the new firm in 1977, and was behind its rapid expansion as it became the largest accountancy firm in the State.
Having spent more than 20 years in accountancy, he departed SKC in 1984, eager for a new challenge. The following year, having set up a management consultancy, Zeus Management, he was asked by the then minister for communications Jim Mitchell to take control of the troubled semi-State shipping group BI. Spain implemented a radical rationalisation plan for the heavily indebted and loss-making company. In 1991 he advised the government that there was no alternative but to sell the company, and it was sold to Irish Continental the following year.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s he held a number of high-profile directorships. He was chairman of Xtra-Vision during a tumultuous period for the company ahead of its sale to Cambridge Investments in 1990. He was also chairman of Food Industries during a period when its main shareholder, Larry Goodman, was facing severe financial difficulties, leading to the sale of the company’s assets to Greencore in the early 1990s.
But he was perhaps best known in Irish business circles as the chairman of DCC, a position he held for more than 30 years from the inception of the company in 1976. While the position was not without its challenges – he was in situ when Fyffes took an insider trading case against DCC, though he was not called to give evidence – Spain was an influential force within the company as it diversified, and listed on the London and Dublin stock exchanges.
He was chairman of National Irish Bank between 1986 and 1998. While the overcharging controversy represented a difficult period for the bank in the 1990s, the board was cleared of any responsibility for the practices that led to the scandal.
Former colleagues recalled his leadership and professionalism during his career. Former colleague Jim Flavin, founder of DCC, described him as an “outstanding chairman” with a strong independence of mind, who continued to display the innovative streak evident from his Forsyth days throughout his career. “He was a natural leader and excelled at everything he did,” he said. “Academically he was very bright, captain of the rugby team, but he had a quiet authority. People naturally went to him for advice and assistance.”
Describing him as a “very talented man”, Mr Crowley said: “Alex was very driven to achieve the highest standards in his professional and personal life, but he also had an inherent kindness.”
Spain served as president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1975/76 and chairman of the Financial Services Industry Association in Ireland which which played a central role in attracting investment into the IFSC in Dublin.
A keen sportsman, he was heavily involved in Milltwon Golf Club, UCD Rugby Club, and Blackrock College Union. He is remembered for his dedication to his family – his wife Maureen, six children and grandchildren.
Alex Spain: born October 1st, 1932; died January 3rd, 2012