Jim Kearney, Managing Director, UPS Hungary, Greece & Romania

  • 2 Jun 2017 12:00 PM
Jim Kearney, Managing Director, UPS Hungary, Greece & Romania
Mr Kearney has worked for UPS all of his working career, 28 years in April this year. He is a Chartered Management Accountant, and spent 20 years in the Finance and Accounting function in UPS before moving into General Management.

He was the UPS Managing Director for Ireland and for 17 non-subsidiary companies, including a number of Hungary's neighboring countries, Croatia, Slovakia, Serbia and Bulgaria.

Jim lives in Budapest with Niamh his partner and two girls Nora (6) and Nell (3), he also has two older children living in Ireland with their mom. He is from a town in Ireland just south of Dublin called Bray, on the east coast. He is a keen football fan supporting Liverpool, and of course Ireland.

1. When did you arrive in Hungary and what brought you here?
July 2016 to become the UPS Managing Director for Hungary/Greece/Romania.

2. Have you ever been an expatriate elsewhere?
Yes, I moved to London from Dublin when I finished school in 1988, relocated back to Dublin in 2000, Brussels 2003 and back to Dublin 2005.

3. What surprised you most about Hungary?
The low cost of living, the high cost of rent, the number of expats and the good summer weather!

4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do?
There is so much and we try to see it all…. Castle, Fishermans Bastian, Citadel, Grand Market and the many many great playgrounds.

5. What is your favourite Hungarian food?
It might be boring to say it but we do have the Goulash whenever we get the chance!

6. What is never missing from your refrigerator?
Túró Rudi demanded by the kids!

7. What is your favourite Hungarian word?
Egészségére!

8. What do you miss the most from home?
Family and living close to the sea, we all grew up a stones throw from the sea.

9. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?
Something to do with football or golf, if I wasn’t good enough to be a footballer/golfer I would have loved to be involved in the professional sports in some capacity.

10. What's a job you would definitely never want?
Politics.

11. Where did you spend your last vacation?
Skiing in Italian Alps, first time for all of us, was invigorating.. might even do it again J.

12. Where do you hope to spend your next one?
We will spend a week at Lake Balaton in July and we are all looking forward to it, we have heard so many good things about it.

13. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?
UB40/Big Country, Grease, played football day and night!

14. Apart of temptation what can't you resist?
I can’t resist a good pint of Guinness accompanied by a packet of King (Irish) crisps.

15. Red wine or white?
Red.

16. Book or movie?
Movie.

17. Morning person or night person?
Morning.

18. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about?
Education.

9. Buda side or Pest side?
LOVE living in Buda and also LOVE crossing the river as often as we can to enjoy Pest.

20. What would you say is your personal motto?
Education is the key and it starts now.

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