About

During his eight-year tenure at Ireland’s leading telecommunications company, Peter McCarthy has led many of its defining projects and transactions. Joining Virgin Media Ireland in 2009, McCarthy’s role has expanded and developed over the years and in February 2017 he was appointed legal director for Virgin Media Ireland managing the Irish based legal team. The re-brand to Virgin Media was injected with new energy and dynamism, McCarthy reveals; ‘It paved the way for more recognition of the legal team as an integral part of the business.’ Most recently, he negotiated Virgin Media (then UPC)’s ground-breaking agreement with telecommunications and internet service provider 3, which made it Ireland’s first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services provider. McCarthy has also sought to simplify processes for stakeholders in how they instruct and liaise with the legal team. This has helped reduce the time it takes to market new services, projects and contract turnaround. ‘I am a firm believer in legal working with and adding value to the business rather than being perceived as a “blocker” (within reason of course!)’. McCarthy’s strong commercial focus was reflected in his selection for an internal leadership development program. He also played a significant role as a company-wide consultant aiming to improve internal processes and employee satisfaction. Heading a small legal team, McCarthy worked alongside corporate teams to roll out a comprehensive contract-management system.