Mary and her daughter Ava

Each month, we put the spotlight on a Glanbia Ireland employee and for our September newsletter, we spoke to Mary Banks, Glanbia Ireland Facilities Manager

Glanbia Ireland Facilities Manager, Mary Banks, has been burning the midnight oil for weeks now. The Galway native has been central to all return to office preparations – an onerous and demanding task in itself.

Coupled with this, Mary has been instrumental in working with the project team in all aspects of negotiations surrounding the planned establishment of Glanbia Ireland’s new headquarters in the flagship Brewhouse Building in the Abbey Quarter, right in the heart of Kilkenny City.
“It has been all go. This is a very exciting time for Glanbia Ireland, both in terms of the return to blended office work and our plans for a new headquarters. Lots of our Glanbia Ireland teams and employees that we’ve spoken to in the ‘return to office’ planning miss the collaborative and social elements of being in an office scenario. We are also conscious though, that not everyone wants to be back in an office full-time and this is why we’re working on a blended return that will also allow for an even greater work-life balance into the future.

“Being a working mum and working through Covid whilst taking on the biggest challenge to date in both my personal and professional life has been somewhat challenging and daunting. Yet it’s exciting to lead a project which will fundamentally change how we at Glanbia Ireland work together in our new headquarters.”

Outside of her working hours, Mary, who lives in Dublin, likes to keep active and healthy. She has done couch to 5K during Covid and at the weekends, she likes spending time with her friends and family and keeps up with the busy social calendar of her six year old daughter.

“I’ve taken up indoor rock climbing. It’s a fantastic form of exercise. It’s challenging both physically and mentally as it pushes the mind and body to new heights. I lived in Australia for six years and worked for four years for the Sydney Olympic Games in a similar role as Facilities Manager for the main press centre. During that time, I developed a fondness for traveling and exploring new cultures and new experiences and now really enjoy travel and food programmes. I am a qualified lifecoach so love to do that, whenever I get a bit of time.”
Mary joined Glanbia 10 years ago. One of her biggest projects in Glanbia Ireland up to now has seen her create an office space in Danville, which brought together three divisions on one site. It really showcased her skills and she has laid the foundation for much larger related projects since.

“The Abbey Quarter project is phenomenal. We have a great internal and external project team of over 40 people behind the scenes, juggling varied tasks daily. No two days are the same. You must love what you are doing to keep up with the fast pace and meet everyday challenges. I have no doubt the challenges of a construction project will be worthwhile when we take occupancy of Abbey Quarters. I will finish with one of my favourite business quotes by Steve Jobs: ‘Great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people.’”