Shane Woods, Chief Strategy Officer at Mail Metrics

In the latest edition of the Deloitte Alumni interview series, Shane tells us about the impact of growing up as one of six kids, how a chance encounter changed his career trajectory, and why your relationships are everything in business.

If I was out until 3am when I was 15, my parents didn’t bat an eyelid. I still really value autonomy.

Growing up in a loving, busy household as the second eldest of six kids, I learnt to be independent from a young age. I remember my older sister and I babysitting my younger brother once and he didn’t stop crying the entire time. When my mum came home and picked him up, he stopped instantly. I still remember the stress of trying to keep him from crying!

My parents were a good team and between managing six kids, they also both had jobs outside the home. My mum was an architect turned teacher and my dad worked in Big Four.

It sounds chaotic, but it really taught me the value of taking care of one another and stepping up when my parents needed help.

I hear the way so many parents talk about their kids and the anxiety they have if, say, their teen is out until midnight. If I was out until 3am when I was 15, my parents didn’t bat an eyelid. They trusted me so I didn’t feel I had a lot to rebel against. If I was planning to go somewhere, like a night club, I just told them. There were no mysteries in our house.

I still really value autonomy, probably because of my upbringing. If I go for a cycle at 4pm and then I’m back at my desk at 7.30pm, that works best for me. As a CFO of a start-up, I don’t get a lot of downtime, but I feel better knowing I get to manage my time overall, and I feel I’m at my most effective and efficient that way.

Shane with wife and siblings

Relationships are the bedrock of any business deal

My first job didn’t go to plan. After finishing a Masters in Information Management at UCD, I had joined a consulting company where I thought I’d be helping companies achieve their strategic goals, but the work wasn’t what I expected or what I enjoyed. I decided to do a CIMA qualification in accounting which helped me move to my next role investing in small SMEs. I loved the work. I loved meeting the people who ran them, hearing the success stories and learning from the ones that didn’t work out. Many of the people we invested with are people I still consider friends. I learnt then that building relationships is something I’m good at and enjoy doing.

Even though I loved the work, moving to corporate finance felt like the next natural step and I started in Deloitte in 2007 in M&A. My timing wasn’t great - I did one M&A transaction before the financial crash happened, and I moved to debt advisory. It was a challenging time and as my area of expertise wasn’t debt management initially, it was a steep learning curve. I hesitated in the beginning to ask a lot of questions, but I learnt quickly that the best way to become good at anything is by asking loads of questions.

The Deloitte network still plays a huge role in my life. My job is fast-paced and the stakes are high, when we need external advice, it’s reassuring to be able to talk to people I worked with in Deloitte. I know from working with them that they are really good at their job, and being able to pick up the phone and have that level of trust is reassuring.

Soon I’ll be transitioning from the CFO of Mail Metrics to our Chief Strategy Officer after we acquired Adare SEC. I enjoy the negotiations and deal making side of M&A so I’m looking forward to doing more of this in my new role. (As opposed to I enjoy negotiations and acquisitions so I’m looking forward to doing more of this in my new role.). In my experience it’s not just about the money, there are usually a few other motivations. We acquired a business recently in Mail Metrics but while working on it, we reached a small impasse. I brought the shareholders and our CEO, Nick Keegan, onto a call and we had it sorted in 30 minutes. Having that conversation and understanding why people were looking at things differently was vital.

Shane and team at Fast 50

How a chance encounter changed my career path

By the time I reached my late 30s, I wasn’t where I wanted to be in my career.

But then I heard Colm Lyon, founder of Realex Payments, speak at an event. His story instantly resonated with me. He had done the same masters as me and when he was in his late 30s, he was working in a bank before he left to build Realex Payments. He eventually sold it to Global Payments for €115 million.

I was so impressed by Colm that I cold called him. He inspired me to realise no one has a set path, you can achieve what you want at any age.

Still, leaving Deloitte to become the CFO of Mail Metrics in 2020 was a big decision. I was definitely worried. We were a one salary household and I have two kids. My dad was old school and when I told him I was resigning, he was really worried for me.

But I wanted to be able to look at myself in 20 years and say that I had gone outside my comfort zone. Even if it didn’t work out, at least I’d had a go. I’d seen pals of mine fail at something new and I always respected them more for trying.

Mail Metrics was a small business when I joined, doing about €1 million in turnover so it was just about profitable.

Becoming CFO wasn’t initially the goal. I was helping them with acquisitions when Nick asked if I would join him as CFO. I said no, but as the year went on Nick and I developed a plan, and my mind changed.

The other shareholders were against the idea of hiring a CFO, but Nick said if it doesn’t work out, that I’d be gone in 6 months. I wasn’t aware he’d said that until a few weeks after I’d joined! Fortunately, we have successfully grown the business and five years later I'm still here.

My advice to anyone who is in the same position I was is to keep the faith and back yourself. If you work hard, things will work out, even if it doesn’t happen in the way you think it will. I also started using a meditation app 10 years ago for 10 minutes every morning, which has helped me recognise my thoughts and understand my mind better.

I feel like I was a late developer, in general. I started playing rugby in 6th year in school because I was too small when I was younger and all the lads around me were huge, and then I played rugby until I was in my late 30s. My career has been no different.

What’s next?

I’m not sure what’s next for me. After a run near my house recently, I said to my son that I’d covered my life in that run. I’d passed my childhood home, school, university, and my rugby club, so I sometimes think I should expand my horizons, but that’s harder when you’ve teenagers at home. Dublin’s a great city, but I might shake it up one day.

My time in Deloitte taught me to focus on the long term. It’s not just about the numbers, every business deal is built on relationships. That’s why I’m looking forward to getting stuck into my new role at Mail Metrics and it’s safe to say we have plenty of exciting plans ahead. My wife, Samantha, has been an unwavering source of support throughout my career, and this new chapter is no different. With her encouragement, and my mantra of keeping the faith, I'm looking forward to what the future holds.

Shane with his wife and kids