Today, we speak with Patrick Murphy — the second-generation CEO within Codex, a family-owned business set up by his father Brendan in 1979. Working on and off in the business throughout his career, Patrick has the first-hand experience in all aspects of running the business and really understands the journey that Codex has made to be the successful Irish business it is today.
Bringing education and learning together is key to Patrick, and having completed an MBA in Business Administration from the Smurfit Business School while working for Codex as the Director of Operations, he has just finished attending the prestigious INSEAD Directors Programme in Paris, one of the top courses in the world!
Here are his answers to the questions we asked him -
As the CEO here at Codex, my role is to oversee the day to day running of the business, shape our current strategy and guide the vision for the future.
Codex’s success as a business has not happened overnight; there are 40+ years of hard work, innovation and commitment that have gone into growing the company into the operation it is today.
Since we opened our doors in 1979, we have been lucky to have a supportive and dedicated team here with us on our journey. This has made the world of difference, as our staff — both past and present — have been an instrumental part of our business growth.
After 10 years of working in various departments across the business, I took over as the CEO of Codex last year. A large part of my role now is to build upon all the hard work that has gone into developing the company over the last 40+ years. By doing this, I hope to make Codex one of the brightest and best businesses in Ireland.
To me, success is not about the sales number, it is about driving great customer experience. If you get that aspect right, then I believe that the sales number will follow organically.
This is something Codex is working on in every department throughout the business and it is what drives me every single day!
As a family business, our values have played a role in shaping every aspect of our business ethos and company culture.
In my role as the CEO, I make decisions every day. Whether it is choosing a new back-end system, or implementing a new CSR initiative, our Codex company values inform all the decisions that I make — both big and small — and keep me aligned on why we, as a company, do what we do.
As our team continues to grow and expand, I want these values to become a force of habit across the company. If Codex wants to stand for values like “customer first”, “innovation” or “integrity” then these values need to drive the decisions that each and every one of us make on a daily basis.
The best advice I have gotten over the years is never to never stop learning or seeking advice. With this in mind, I choose to seek advice from people that will challenge my way of thinking and offer an alternative approach I may not have considered.
As a business leader, I believe that you have to be open to all feedback — good or bad — to continue to improve and adapt.
For me, it is important to have a clear understanding of the goal I am trying to achieve, along with what tasks need to be done to achieve that goal. With most companies working remotely at the moment, I believe keeping track of your progress has become more important than ever.
Even on the days that you don’t feel like you are getting something done, if you keep track of what you set out to do each day, then even the smallest win will still make you feel like you are making progress. This sense of accomplishment will help to motivate you in moving forward.
I am definitely a morning person from Monday to Friday, but transform into a night owl on the weekends. With a 20-month-old daughter, this routine has been challenged over the last year or so!
Founded in by Brendan Murphy in 1979, Codex is proud to be celebrating 40+ years as an Irish family business. From our inception to this very day, we have grown to be a much bigger company — yet still share those same family values of integrity, leadership, innovation and support across our Codex team. Find out more about our story here.
Originally published at https://www.codex.ie on May 19, 2020.
