In Conversation with Brian Coogan

1 What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Hanging out with family and friends and if there happens to be a golf course nearby, all the better.

2 What’s your favourite holiday memory?
You know that moment when you run into the sea and dive… brilliant. That and our first holiday with all four kids in Spain, from which we started one of our family tradition – our first lunch no matter where we go, and that included Donegal this year, must be Prawn Pil-Pil with sangria (Fanta for the kids!)

3. What are you reading? Would you recommend it?
I would have been hooked on reading books by digital industry leaders. I’m fascinated by their thinking, why they made decisions and where they see the future. But these days, I’ve replaced reading with Podcasts. So many to mention but you must give it to those Ted Talks!!!

4. Which talent would you most like to have?
To swing a golf club like Seve Ballesteros…. and to putt like Steve Stricker.

5.What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement to date?
That's easy - being an early and passionate advocate for the digital revolution within the built environment. With fellow believers on this long journey, we have seen our work of the past ten years reach a tipping point. Today, it looks like the corner has been truly turned and that everything is now about digital innovation and data. Whiles there's more to do I'm pleased to continue to play my part in advancing this revolution.

6.What practice area do you specialise in and why does it matter?
Digital Services (Smart Buildings) - Ones & Zeros have the ability to solve so many of our problems. If we connect and visualise them in the right way, the advantages to be gained from human-and-machine interactions will help to build, reshape and direct our society, business and organisations. Within the commercial real estate industry, we have a place to start making a difference.

7.What is the quality you most admire in a leader?
With the speed of change forever increasing, it must be their Learning Agility and willingness to share what they have learned.

8.What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever been given?
First piece was given to me early on in my career and was suited for the time… Hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard… more recently and recognising how we work has changed greatly
“Work smarter not harder”as time is so valuable and not to be wasted working it away.

9.Name your favourite building (international only and why?)
https://edge.tech/developments/the-edge.
A front runner that set new standards for Smart (Intelligent) Buildings, it helped to define and create an industry. Without leading projects like the Edge demonstrating what’s possible, all our sustainability and user experiences goals would still be ideas and not the reality we are designing for today.

10.Tell us something not many people know about you.
I formed one half of this year’s 2021 winning team in the All-Ireland Mother and Son competition. Great day, lifelong memory. That said, I’m just glad I didn’t have to mention my addiction to disco (80’s style) dancing!!