Hi, I'm Stephen.
I'm the HAPPY People Guy.
My life's work is helping people be happy. Not the fluffy kind of happy.
The right career, the right people in the right roles, and a family business that doesn't wreck the family. I do that in three areas:
- careers: helping people find work that fits without blowing up their life
- teams: helping managers hire the right people without first hiring the wrong ones
- family businesses: helping families hand over what they built without wrecking it
Design your life so happy becomes your default.
What I do
I'm the CEO of CareerFit, Talent Select, and Successful Succession, and founder of the HAPPY People Project. I'm a global keynote speaker, author and MC, a personality psychometric profiler, and the creator of the HAPPY framework and the Leadership Profile. My philosophy is simple: design your life so happy becomes your default.
Track record
Delivered keynotes, workshops, and facilitated strategy conversations in 58 countries. Former Global Chair, GSEA (Entrepreneurs' Organization). Hosted the EO Global Leadership Conference in Dublin, 2,200 entrepreneurs from 60+ countries. Built and sold a business before taking on the companies I run today.
I am also a Disney Princess! (Ask me about it.)
Why family business is personal, not theoretical
My parents built two businesses together: ETC Consult and an English language school called Alpha College. I came back from interning in New York, started at the bottom, and worked my way up.
I nearly walked away entirely: the "we've always done it this way," the question of whether I'd ever actually be trusted to lead. I didn't walk away. I bought both businesses from my parents, ran the language school for nine years, and sold it just before COVID. That experience is the foundation of Successful Succession.
Why the HAPPY framework isn't theory either
A few years ago I went through a genuinely difficult stretch, later explained in part by a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis that had been affecting my mood and energy without anyone realising it. I built HAPPY, five dimensions covering Highlights, Appreciation, Progress, People, and Your Contribution, because I needed it myself, not as a product.
Closer to home
I live in a three-generation home in Dublin with my wife Teresa, our two daughters, and my parents, who are still involved in the business from a steering perspective. Neither daughter is being pressured to join it. I wasn't either.
On a mission to make the world a better place, with happy people in fulfilling, rewarding careers.
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