Latest news with #JohnHegarty
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Keith Rossiter and John Hegarty set to remain in Wexford Senior roles
Wexford People Today at 10:30 Keith Rossiter and John Hegarty will be put forward again for formal ratification as Wexford Senior hurling and football managers at the next County Board meeting. Recommendations that they should continue in their roles were backed by the management committee, who are also in favour of Ronan Joyce and Dylan Gregan remaining at the helm of the Under-20 hurling and football teams. The appointment of Minor managers for 2026 won't be addressed until all games involving this year's Under-16 development squads are concluded.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
John Hegarty taking Wexford footballers onwards and upwards despite club reservations
Any ambiguities about John Hegarty's intentions as Wexford football manager were resolved last week with the announcement that he had been reappointed after a front-loaded season. Seven straight league wins shot the county out of Division Four and if the championship and Tailteann Cup campaigns had the feel of a hangover, Hegarty makes the simple point that in the management's third year, there had to be one overriding ambition. 'At the start of the year, we were very clear that our number-one priority was the league. Now, it wasn't our only priority and sometimes that got lost a little bit in translation. But if we didn't get promotion, no matter how you wrapped it up, then the project was a failure.' A year previously, Wexford were denied promotion because of an injury-time penalty conceded in February against Leitrim, which ended up being the crucial, head-to-head difference in the league table. READ MORE 'I know the cool thing is to talk about 'process' and that it's not about outcomes, but in year three, it had to be about the outcome. Everybody – the whole squad came back, the whole backroom came back – was with that primary goal. And we achieved it after five games.' Promotion was both a peak and a watershed. They lost the divisional final to a Limerick side they had already beaten, but not by much and with genuine alibis. 'We lost Glen Malone in the warm-up; Martin O'Connor was sick the night before. Having conceded three goals while getting none, we still only lost by two points. Disappointing but it didn't take any of the gloss off the league for us.' The new split-season structure was about to take its toll. A refixed match against Wicklow in early March meant that Wexford faced a sixth successive match in the first round of the Leinster championship. Had they won, the next round would have been seven matches in seven weeks. 'No matter how good your squad is, that's where the cracks start to show. So, our Leinster championship – we felt that we gave it what was in the tank but our GPS numbers were dropping around that time. 'They were still covering the ground, but going from Pearse Park's (Longford) surface to Croke Park should mean that lads' max speeds are increasing but they were going the other way.' Wexford football manager John Hegarty says the age profile of his team, combined with their ambition, bodes well for the future. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho Wexford stabilised for the Tailteann Cup and reached the quarter-finals where they lost to familiar opposition. Limerick , who impressed hugely in the tier-two championship and would come within a last kick of winning it, beat them again. Prioritising the league makes sense for any team with thoughts of upward mobility. Teams in the bottom division are more or less debarred from the Sam Maguire unless they get a lucky draw in their province, which is almost impossible in Leinster. 'If you want to be serious about sustaining progress,' he says, 'then you have to go up to Division Two and that is true until you hit that mark and become comfortable there. 'Then, you can realistically plan to peak in May. For everybody else, and I'm talking about the Westmeaths, the Downs of this world, the league is still very, very important to establish yourself, so that's the level you're comfortable playing at.' I don't think we'll be putting a limit on what we'll be aiming for — John Hegarty Hegarty faces into a close season which will start with keeping a close eye on the county championship. That has changed for this season. Wexford formerly made a virtue out of running its hurling and football seasons sequentially, allowing players to concentrate on one game and then the other. Now, the seasons will be alternated with football and hurling on successive weekends, an arrangement Hegarty believes will not benefit football in a county with possibly the highest dual involvement in the country. 'In the alternate-weeks model, football tends to lose out. I'm not saying they don't get to train, but if there's any extra required, it comes from football towards hurling. 'What we were finding when it was a split – hurling first and then football – even the likes of Rathmore and Oulart, who would have not entered football teams for a long time, got involved because players got tired sitting around for eight weeks. 'It also meant that everybody got a block of the same seven, eight, 10 weeks of football and you could see the standard improving the whole way along. It meant that I felt the standard was improving within club games.' He will keep an eye on all grades to look out for new talent. However, he is equally conscious that with a settled team, radical overhauls won't be on his agenda going into such an important season. 'I think to sustain what we did last year, staying up is an absolute necessity. That is crucial. The age profile of the group and the ambition of the group, they're things that say they can be around and can keep improving. 'Promotion next year is not a must but at the same time, just because of those two things, the age profile and the ambition, I don't think we'll be putting a limit on what we'll be aiming for. I think it's the most stacked Division Three I can remember for a couple of years. 'We'll be under no illusion either that other teams will be circling us as a banker. We're crashing the party this year but we've fought to get this opportunity for a long time, so we're going to be looking to maximise our impact. This is where we want to be and we want to be looking upwards from here.'
Time of India
17-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Cannes Lions 2025: Why boldness, not bigness, will steal the show
The fast-paced nature of today's business landscape means that sheer size can now be a significant disadvantage for companies. Large organisations often find themselves mired in cumbersome processes, shying away from bold ideas and ultimately losing the creative spark that once fueled their success. This was the central theme of Sir John Hegarty 's address, where he posited that "it's not scale, but bold thinking, speedy decision making and cultural courage that drives real success today." Hegarty opened by setting the stage for what he believes will be a dominant conversation at Cannes Lions 2025 : the profound impact of Artificial Intelligence . He drew a powerful parallel between the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg, which unknowingly ushered in the Renaissance, and the current advent of AI. "Nobody realized that actually, what he was heralded in was the Renaissance. And I think when you talk about AI and when you talk about what's going to happen, you have to think about it in those terms," Hegarty explained, emphasising that the full scope of AI's transformative power is yet to be seen. He asserted a crucial shift in competitive dynamics: "it's not the big, the big, the small or the small that beat the big, it's the bold that beat the bureaucratic." This highlights a growing trend where agility and innovation triumph over sheer scale. The current wave of mergers and realignments in industries, such as the rumored Omnicom and IPG merger, serve as indicators of this change. Hegarty stated, "Size is no longer a strategy. Size is now now it breeds bureaucracy, and that, of course, is amazing, and it is the size that makes it hard to adapt." AI's influence extends beyond merely streamlining processes; it's fundamentally reshaping the creative landscape. "AI hasn't just changed creativity, it's changed who gets to play," Hegarty observed. He provocatively declared, "everybody is now a creative director." This democratisation of creative tools necessitates a re-evaluation of traditional company structures. Hegarty envisioned a shift from the conventional top-down triangular hierarchy to an inverted triangle, where "The boss is at the bottom, and in a sense, is kind of recognizing the talent that is within the company and how to respond to it." For large organisations, this radical change in operational philosophy will be a significant hurdle. Creativity, Hegarty argued, is the sole remaining competitive advantage in an AI-driven world that has democratised opportunity. He clarified that AI should not be viewed simply as a tool, but rather as a collaborator. "It's a collaborator, which is why I say think about it as you're now the creative director. You can decide you have all the information around you, you instruct, you kind of give advice, you give guidance, and it does what you want it to do." For established "giants" to adapt and "dance," Hegarty proposed a return to foundational principles: a culture of creativity driven by philosophy. He cited examples of iconic brands like Patagonia, Oakley, and Apple, all of which built their success on a clear philosophy that underpinned their creative output. "Great brands start with a philosophy... then, of course, on top of that, you apply creativity, creativity that drives change and drives innovation." The "tragedy," as Hegarty put it, is that "big companies become operational, not inspirational." While size once provided stability and competitive resilience, that era is passing. He advocated for a "back to the future" approach, urging companies to rediscover and reignite the original philosophy that built them. He likened this to the enduring success of the Christian church, which has sustained its philosophy for centuries through storytelling, music and art, long after its founder. Intriguingly, Hegarty suggested that AI could even keep founders' philosophies alive indefinitely. "What if, in a way, you know, without now, with AI, founders actually never failed, maybe that's one of the functions of AI. It's going to keep the founder alive. They're going to be permanently there. They could be consulted." He envisioned a future where one could converse with historical figures like Coco Chanel or Bill Bernbach, with AI enabling them to respond with contemporary relevance. To illustrate this concept, Hegarty presented a simulated conversation with his younger self from 1980, showcasing the potential for AI to provide perpetual guidance. His advice to his younger self: "Start your own company. Don't be answerable to anyone but your clients. Take the chairman's role as well as being ECD... money is a tool, not a philosophy, so don't worship it." Ultimately, Hegarty's message was clear: "don't aim to be the biggest, aim to be the boldest." He urged companies to embrace AI as a democratizing force and a collaborative partner, rather than just a utility. The future, he believes, belongs to those who can master creative transformation by moving faster, building strong cultures, empowering bold ideas, and rethinking traditional structures, all rooted in a clear philosophy.
Time of India
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Cannes Lions: Where creativity finds its pulse
By Ananya Srikanth Rao It's my third time at Cannes Lions , and somehow, it still feels fresh. The people, the energy, the ideas flying around… it's like the industry's most brilliant minds are here for one week, and you can feel every pulse of it. From early-morning espresso chats to late-night award shows, it never gets old. I kicked off the day with a session by Apple- always a masterclass in clarity. But this one was more than just a case study. It was a reminder of why we do what we do. The theme? Humanity at the heart of creativity . We learnt about designing with empathy, not just efficiency; about telling stories that move people, not just sell to them. Next up was the legendary Sir John Hegarty . Blunt, brilliant, and exactly what the industry needs to hear. His message? Network agencies need to lose the ego and get closer to culture. The room laughed, nodded, and squirmed a little, which means it landed. The rest of the day was a masterclass in innovation and impact . I spent hours in live presentations for the Innovation and Glass Lions. These categories always cut deeper, highlighting work that's not just clever, but meaningful. From tech built for communities, to campaigns challenging gender norms, the ideas were bold, purposeful, and jealousy-inducing. Hearing the creators walk through their thinking gave each piece more weight. You could feel how much it mattered to them, and why it should matter to us. As the sun dipped, the awards kicked off, and with them, a healthy dose of FOMO. Seeing teams cheer, cry, and collect their Lions always gets you. It's part motivation, part magic. You leave feeling like anything's possible. Cannes has a way of reigniting your why. Of pulling you out of deadlines and KPIs and placing you right back into the heart of creativity. Third time or not, it always makes you feel alive. (The writer, Brand Director – Strategy, Saatchi & Saatchi India, is an attendee at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025. Views expressed are personal.)
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Dear Sir Hegarty, I need my 20 minutes back
By Mithila Saraf This morning, I had a choice to make with my time at the Cannes Lions Festival . I could attend a talk about winning a Grand Prix or Sir John Hegarty 's talk titled 'Adapt or Die: Why Giants Can't Dance.' I chose the latter, because: a. Sir John Hegarty is a legend. b. I'm part of a growing agency and it promised to talk about broader business. c. It was in Debussy while the other one was in the Basement Stage, and I might have been classist about that. As I stood in the queue, someone said, "What is he going to say that he hasn't said on LinkedIn already?" and I shrugged it off. In hindsight, even a recap of one of his LinkedIn articles would have been better. Sir John Hegarty's talk was a lesson in irony; here's why: His first point was that AI is not a tool, it's a collaborator. Which is funny because at that same moment I asked ChatGPT 'How is AI influencing advertising?' And it said the same. exact. thing. Here's a screenshot if you don't believe said a 'Founder should never die,' i.e., their philosophy should never be forgotten and should always be carried on by the company, quoting the likes of Disney and Chanel. Which is ironic because it is the opposite of what seems to have happened to his namesake agency, BBH, which is widely believed to be a shadow of what it was under his had a weird AI video clip of John Hegarty's younger self, and present John told past John to start an agency, work for no one but the client, and be the Chairman + ECD. In a talk all about being true to the brand's and founder's original philosophy, one would hope that we'd get to hear John's younger self's original philosophy. Instead, we got older John telling younger John to use moisturizer. This was only my first of the many, many talks to come, and I wish I had gone to the Grand Prix one. Here's a request: we all are already using AI like it's second skin; we don't think it's a bad thing. We've been talking about brand philosophy , including Nike, Airbnb, and Patagonia, since our first day in advertising, and we all know that one can make their clone using AI. Anselmo Ramos, legendary Founder of global agency Gut, posted this morning that only 0.06% of the advertising industry attends Cannes. People have chosen the best of the best of the best of their various companies to send them here. And many of us are already disheartened because our work hasn't won. Let's make Cannes Lions worth it. P.S. I'm the BIGGEST fan of Sir John Hegarty and his work. This rant is probably the result of my expectations being too high. Not taking away from his decades of excellence! (The writer, chief executive officer of Famous Innovations, is an attendee at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025. Views expressed are personal.)
