Russell Beggs is Vice President of Engineering at ESO Belfast. The company was established in Texas but set up a Belfast office in 2019 as a European headquarters.
It currently employs 90+ with a view to add a further 40 or so roles throughout 2022.
Name: Russell Beggs
Company: ESO
Role: Vice President of Engineering
What do you do (in 10 words or fewer)?
Lead our engineering teams across the company.
Three main attributes you need for the job: Emotional intelligence – to know how to motivate yourself, collaborate with colleagues and be empathetic. Leadership and salesmanship – to be able to influence people positively. Finally technical competency – needless to say, given we’re engineering products and solutions.
Path to this position: My path has been an interesting one. I did a Masters of Engineering at Queen's followed by various software engineering roles, initially in Belfast, then the UK before spending five years in Sydney Australia working across Asia Pacific. I began my career at a crucial time for the local industry, when tech companies were growing internationally and establishing offices here in Belfast, so I moved into roles that supported and facilitated this growth.
I was a senior engineering leader and Chief of Staff at Deloitte Digital, before taking on the new challenge of establishing ESO here in Belfast in 2019.
What’s your dream job (present position excepted)?
I’d like to explore coaching and mentoring professionally. I really enjoy that my current role allows me to build meaningful relationships with the team and I have the opportunity to nurture and support talent. I enjoy seeing our staff succeed – be it on a specific challenge or moving up the career ladder.
What are you most proud of (work-wise)?
ESO harnesses the power of data to improve community health and safety. We support fire, emergency services and hospitals to make the most informed decisions when it comes to patient care, safety, efficiency and clinical improvements, and we serve thousands of organisations in North America and more across the UK, Australia and other locations.
Working for a company with an important mission like ESO gets me up every morning. But perhaps even more so, is that all of the team at ESO value the work that they do too – they recognise that what we’re doing will leave a positive legacy on the world.
What are you most proud of (in life)?
My family! My three kids are thirteen, three and one, and I think I’m the luckiest Dad in the world. I’m actually on the countdown to my wedding so, I’m sure that will be a proud day for me and our families.
How did the coronavirus pandemic affect your business and how did you adapt?
Given how vital our products are to emergency services, we became an even more integral part of our customers’ day to day. We grew exponentially as a result, with more organisations wanting to adopt our technology to support them through one of the most challenging eras emergency services have seen. Interestingly, the pandemic also gave the Belfast office tangible evidence of how important their role is and I think we felt good to help our customers navigate the pandemic.
What lessons did you learn about yourself during lockdown?
I’ve a greater appreciation and new understanding of the human need to be social. Coming out of lockdowns and peaked anxiety around socialising, even the most extroverted of us have to retrain our brains a little to get back to the way we used to communicate and connect before.
Who is Northern Ireland’s brightest business brain?
That’s hard for me to answer as there are many talented people I have yet to work with but I can comment on the mentorship and great leadership I’ve experienced over the years. Mike Robinson is a seriously talented engineer and leader who is having an impact on organisations across the world. Jackie Henry at Deloitte was an excellent advisor to me; she is an excellent critical thinker and savvy communicator and her words of wisdom often come to me in times of need.
Tara Simpson at Instil has been a tremendous support and sounding board with a great philosophical outlook. Steve Orr, chief executive of Catalyst, has been a key contributor to Belfast’s technology revolution, and wholly deserved his OBE for services to innovation earlier this year. The list goes on, but I suppose I’ll have to stop here!
What do you wish you had invented?
I’d have to say the iPod. Largely because not long before it was released, I’d had a conversation with my brother who had a great idea for a portable device for music.
We quickly realised that there was a company who had invented a portable hard drive music player, so we left his brainwave behind.
Soon after, Apple released the iPod and I learned, the hard way, that it’s not always about being the first to market but rather being the first to do it right.
Favourite App on your phone: Apple Health. I’m a data-oriented guy so I enjoy being able to make improvements to my lifestyle and challenge myself right from the palm of my hand.
Apart from Belfast Live and your own, what’s your favourite website?
Apart from the obvious, Google, which powers everything, I have a ‘pic of the day’ widget on my desktop that serves me up a new image every day. I enjoy it.
If you were spending the day in Belfast where is your dream breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks?
The best thing about Belfast is its down-to-earthiness so I can’t pick exact spots, but I think that the city’s personality really comes to life in the likes of Henry’s, White’s, The Dirty Onion, Kelly’s Cellars and the Duke of York.
Where’s your hidden gem in Northern Ireland?
Walking from Bangor to Groomsport one Father’s Day with the kids, I came across Ballymacormick Point – a beautiful spot on the edge of Belfast Lough with impressive views north and west. And of course, as it was Father’s Day, I have an emotional attachment to this viewing point now as well.
Where’s your favourite place in the world?
No question about it – Frazer Island. It is a heaven on earth with sand that feels like a new carpet and so much nature to see in one place – dunes, rainforest, waterfalls.
How would you describe Belfast to someone who’s never been?
A phoenix from the ashes.
In 10 years’ time I’d like to… Retire. Be happy that my kids are all on the right path. Make more time for exercise and less time for eating.
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