There were two dreams I had growing up - I wanted to work in the music business, I played guitar, sang, wrote some good songs, and I wanted to travel… see the world!
I spend a year studying sound engineering and playing gigs around Dublin – turned out the chances of making it as either a musician/sound engineer in Ireland weren’t that good. I decided to pursue another dream and travel… to the US. I would use another skill to work there, and I signed up to a Nanny agency! I landed on Houston, Texas to the ‘Pasiewicz’ Family in Oct 1996, to take care of a four-year-old girl, Samantha and a one-year old boy, Derek. I was so excited to be there. The Pasiewicz family and I hit if off immediately and soon I was part of their family, benefitting from the values that underpin every family like respect and trust. My adventure with the Pasiewicz family lasted two and half years, ending in Anchorage, Alaska where they finally settled and where I had the opportunities to further my studies in Music. I returned to Ireland in September 1999 with broadened horizons and set out on my next chapter.
I noticed one statement about the job posting “if you are passionate about music and audio” – that was me! I replied to the ad for “Sales Executive” and I got the job, working in sales for the distributor of Sennheiser products in Ireland, employed by Gerry and Jacinta Forde in their family run business - Professional Audio Ltd. I continued my journey with the Professional Audio family for the next 11 years until 2015, then I was offered a position with Sennheiser as Country Partner manager in EMEA - a position that would see two dreams collide, travel and working in the audio business!
I began to travel, first stop Madrid to meet Magnetron and Magnelusa, Milano to meet with Exhibo, Prague to meet Panter, Tel-Aviv to meet Kilim, Reykjavik to meet Pfaff, Johannesburg, Istanbul… the journey continued. In every city I met with Sennheiser’s closest business partners but there was more to this than just business. In every meeting one thing was very evident, one familiar feeling that I had known from my time at Professional Audio Ltd and as my time as a Nanny in Alaska – this was family. The Country Partners in EMEA established by Professor Joerg Sennheiser are, like Sennheiser, family businesses. The same values that I had benefitted from during my time with the Pasiewicz family were continuing to benefit my working life 20 years later.
As my adventure with music, audio and travel continues and I meet with customers whose business has been formed by or is fueled by family values, I come to appreciate that although the PRO Audio industry in comparison to a lot of industries may be small, it’s great to be part of ONE BIG FAMILY.