Dermot’s Profile.
Hi, I’m Dermot McKenna, Associate Director of Ardmac. I’ve worked for Ardmac longer than I can remember, but it’s over 30 years so far.
I am Ardmac through and through, I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I enjoy the challenges my job brings, the great culture within Ardmac and the world class clients we service.
Early Career
When I joined Ardmac, I started in the design department and over the years have been responsible for engineering, regional operations, group technical and currently; business development.
This wide-ranging level of experience combined with my MBA and mechanical engineering background has enabled me to develop a well-rounded view of the world of cleanroom solutions. My understanding of cleanroom applications, architectural product and their strategic selection, the move towards sub-assemblies and modularisation allows me to support our customers providing them with the best solutions for their fast track projects.
My Learnings
Looking back over my career, if there is anything I’ve learnt, it’s that when you’re starting your career, it doesn’t matter what it is, you shouldn’t think too linearly about where you should be going.
Be able to adapt, go sideways or go in a totally different direction. To move forward in life, you need to evolve your abilities, which will require ongoing education and changing direction to develop those essential skills.
At Ardmac we have people that joined us as designers and ended up become construction managers because they’ve allowed themselves to change their direction to develop their construction skills and be a more well-rounded individual at the end of it.
There are many benefits to this because not only do the individual still progress with their career, but from a customer perspective, they get the benefit of someone with a broader range of experience that can deal with all the challenges a complex project will bring. It’s a win win in my book.