Membership Spotlight Interview
Causeway’s new dual corporate member with BITA, John FitzGerald, shares his career highlights from playing basketball for Ireland, to a global career in pharmaceuticals, to now providing innovative modular housing solutions with ISO Spaces.
John was born and raised in Dublin. Early in his life he was a serious basketballer, playing for Ireland at underage and senior levels, and also competing while studying at university in Pennsylvania, USA.
Transferrable skills from the court to the boardroom
This early international experience helped him move from the basketball court to the business boardroom, instilling in John a strong ‘work hard’ ethic to help him succeed, resulting in a long career in the pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries across Ireland, Australia, Sweden, Canada, and the USA. With experience in sales; marketing; corporate affairs; and general management, he has had many career highlights including attending the opening ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, which he described as “hard work, but I had to do it!”.
Sustainable growth solutions in tackling the housing crisis
John is now based close to London in business development with ISO Spaces as the company scales in the UK and overseas. ISO Spaces create portable, modular, affordable spaces for living and working, and John believes it is part of the solution to the current housing crisis in the UK and Ireland.
The United Nations wants everyone to have ‘access to safe and affordable housing for all by 2030’. John believes this cannot be achieved using a ‘brick and mortar’ solution, and alternatives must be explored. He says:
“While brick and mortar has been the go-to solution for generations, it can never adequately address the lack of affordable housing across the UK and Ireland. Encouraging people to seriously consider alternatives to traditional construction methods is critically important if we are to solve the affordable housing crisis”.
“This is where ISO Spaces fits in. It is a portable, modular, and affordable solution – a tried and trusted technology that can fundamentally address one of the major social issues of our time. ISO Spaces provide solutions that are ideal for affordable housing, for worker accommodation on large engineering projects, or wherever bespoke additional space is needed.”
Expansion goals to Scotland and over the Irish Sea
ISO Spaces currently has projects across the UK, including working with Cardiff City Council, Ealing Council, Portsmouth City Council, and the MoD, as well as working with high profile company brands such as the BBC, Channel 4, Stena Line, Jeep, Jaguar, and many others.
The business is growing fast and there are multiple opportunities for expansion across Scotland and all of Ireland, which is what encouraged John to join the Causeway network. He explains:
“Joining Causeway made perfect strategic sense, as it will allow us to plug into the existing network and forge new business relationships. By upcycling and transforming a widely available commodity item into comfortable, high quality accommodation, ISO Spaces helps create sustainable growth in cities, towns, and communities across the UK and Ireland, providing those people who need it access to an affordable housing solution.”
The value of joining the Causeway network
“As an Irishman living in the UK, a real benefit to joining Causeway is in making great connections. Knowing that there are a ton of like-minded business folks out there who want to connect and do business together in the Causeway network is hugely encouraging.
“Being very new to Causeway I am finding my way. Having now attended several events already, I have been really impressed with how well they were run, and also the quality of the speakers. It is great to attend events that add value to your day, and helpful connections have already been made!”
To find out more about ISO Spaces, visit their website; connect with John on LinkedIn; or contact by email at john@isospaces.co.uk
Interested in becoming part of our growing Causeway network of Irish-Scottish business professionals? Join us today!
