Brid Mortamais is a Chartered Accountant, and Real Estate Advisor in Connecticut and New York.  After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, Brid went to Paris to study for a semester at the Universite de Paris, Sorbonne. She moved to London to work with Goldman Sachs, and later back to Paris with Goldman Sachs, where she met her French husband. She spent several years working in Paris. She then moved to KPMG. She and her family later moved to the USA. In December 2011, Brid acquired JW Tumbles, a kid’s gym in New York. After she sold this business in 2016, she decided to get her real estate license. We were delighted to catch up with her recently to learn more about her journey. Did you choose to become a Chartered Accountant or did it choose you? Becoming a Chartered Accountant was, to me, the obvious next step after my BA in Accounting and Finance at DCU. Your career has changed over time, from accountancy to managing your own business to now real estate. You have also lived and worked in several cities. Can you describe how (or if) Chartered Accountancy has enabled or helped these reinventions throughout your career pathway? Being a Chartered Accountant certainly enabled my career all along the way. I find this particularly true as I have worked overseas most of my career and the Chartered Accountancy qualification is globally recognised. This was true when I arrived in London, when I changed jobs in Paris and also when I moved to the US. My connections with other Chartered Accountants facilitated those moves. How do you introduce yourself? Do you still identify as a Chartered Accountant? I introduce myself as a Real Estate Advisor as this is my primary role, but I quickly include my financial background and in particular my Chartered Accountancy qualification. In my market, close to New York City, where many of my clients work in the finance sector, or are successful entrepreneurs, dealing with a realtor who is comfortable with the numbers in a high value real estate transaction is very reassuring. We speak the same language! As a member living overseas, do you feel your membership and connections with other global members has been helpful in establishing you in the various roles and cities you have experienced? I have worked with many Chartered Accountants over the years, some Irish, some from elsewhere. I would say that the membership and connections are certainly helpful, but it is up to each member to prove their worth. And the CA network is always a great social network as well! Looking back to your training and career path, what advice would the you of today give to the you back at the start of that path? Be open to all the possibilities of the qualification - it is a great starting point for a career, but it is up to me to define that career trajectory. And finally, if you weren't a Chartered Accountant, what do you think you might have been? I was always interested in languages and marketing but chose to study finance in university. However, I have wound both of these into my career, first living and working in France and now marketing high end properties and dealing with international clients in Greenwich, CT. I think I have finally ended up where I am meant to be - but who knows what's next! View Bríd's LinkedIn profile here

Chalene Gallagher ACA is truly a global citizen who now calls New York home. She somewhat stumbled into becoming a Chartered Accountant - her background being in Business and Management. She values the career options her qualification has presented her, as well as the opportunity to give back to her community and causes she values. Can you introduce yourself and tell us where are you from?   My name is Chalene Gallagher and I was born in the United States and raised in Antigua & Barbuda. I now live in New York with my husband, Brian, and our pandemic pup, Daisy. Tell us why you chose to become a Chartered Accountant? It happened unexpectedly, actually. I was living and working in London back in 2008, and decided it was time to make a change. Several people ranging from family members to one of my Masters professors (who happens to be an FCA) had suggested that I pursue professional accountancy, but I didn’t really take it to heart until then. Also I had visited Dublin a few times before then and always had a lovely time. So when I finally decided to dabble in accounting, I thought, "why not go study there for a while?" I applied to the Dublin Institute of Technology (now the Technology University Dublin) for the one year Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting, attended a career fair during the first couple weeks and ended up getting a role in PwC. The rest is history.  How you got to where you are today?  When my training contract ended, I wanted to use the natural opportunity that created to change things up again. Although I was born in the States, up until that point I had never lived here. So when a company called Cross Country Consulting was looking for Chartered Accountants to work in the States, I jumped at the opportunity. Once I got here, I worked as a consultant for a few years in a couple of firms, but really wanted to find a role that balanced accounting with my desire to give back to the community. A friend who worked at the Federal Reserve suggested that it would be  good for my career goals, and I have been working here as a specialist in income statement/balance sheet based regulatory reports ever since.  What do you value most about your membership of the profession and how do you think those benefits can be used to support the economy and society? My training as a CA really helped to strengthen my ability to hit the ground running when dealing with new clients and be able to manage multiple projects simultaneously. Also Chartered Accountancy is very much focused around a value system that is critical for working in a mission-driven organisation such as the Federal Reserve. I’ve also been able to bring an international perspective to the table.  As a member living in the USA, can you talk to us about how your membership has been of value to you globally and if there is anything you would like to see your Institute do more of to support members overseas?   In addition to the international perspective being a CA reinforced for me, being able to locally tap into a network of such a diverse group of professionals who span a range of tenures and industries has really contributed to my growth personally and professionally. It has been invaluable to me during my time serving on the members Board and now as the chapter head of the greater New York chapter of Chartered Accountants Worldwide Network USA.  And finally Chalene, if you weren’t an accountant, what do you think you would you be/have been?  Honestly, a few things but most likely an artist of some kind. I’ve always had a creative streak, and I always look for ways to express it.   Chalene Gallagher                      

Alan Fagan has been living and working in the US for almost 10 years and has had some great experiences in that time. He comes from a family of Chartered Accountants and has some good tips for anyone considering a move to the USA, especially about the benefits of getting involved with CAW Network USA. 1. What is your name and where are you from? My name is Alan Fagan and I was born and raised in Dublin. I now live in New York with my wife, Susie and two children Eva and Felix. 2. Can you tell us why you chose to become a Chartered Accountant? You could really say it was like a family business…My Dad, Gerry, and two of my older sisters, Jen and Suzanne, are all Chartered Accountants so it was a proven career path in my household by the time I decided to do it. Accounting and Business were also my two favourite subjects in school and college so it was a natural choice for me. 3. And how did you get to where you are today, and what your qualification brings to your career and society? Can you tell us more about how your compliance work and family life during Covid in New York has been, and how it differs from Ireland? I started at KPMG in Dublin, which really set me up for having a successful career. I worked with and for some amazing people and learned so much in my five years there. It was my training and experience at KPMG that gave me confidence to apply for and ultimately land a role with CrossCountry Consulting in the US. My training at KPMG and studying and obtaining my CAs helped instil a great work ethic in me and also helped develop the skills needed to be successful both professionally and personally. I recognise that I have been extremely lucky with all the opportunities that have been presented to me in my life so try to pay that back to society as much as I can. Although my career in the US started out working in Accounting, when I moved to CrossCountry Consulting’s NY office in 2014, the focus was on more Risk and Compliance work. Although it wasn’t exactly what I had planned to do, I embraced the challenge and dedicated a lot of time to becoming a subject matter expert in areas such as Credit Risk, Anti-Money Laundering, Operational Resiliency and more recently LIBOR. Even more recently, I once again pivoted my career path to focus on Fintech companies and now lead the Fintech practice for CrossCountry in the US. I have been extremely lucky with the opportunities presented to me throughout my career but key to my success has been my ability to change direction and focus on new areas and industries and ultimately make a success of them. In my nine years in the US, I have been lucky enough to work with great colleagues in three great cities (Chicago, Washington DC and now New York) and work with some of the biggest companies in the world.  As I said, I believe the key to my success to date has been embracing new opportunities and challenges, even if they weren’t quite in line with where I saw my career going.  4. How are working and family life different in New York, especially during Covid? The biggest difference between working in the US and Ireland is definitely the culture. In the US, you need to be your own biggest cheerleader and really let people know about the value you are bringing as there are a lot of big personalities in the US. The same is true around networking and building relationships, you have to put yourself out there and really go outside your comfort zone to develop that network. I learned pretty early on that the things that made me successful in Ireland may not be the same things that make me successful in the US so had to really adjust my way of doing things to more align with the US way of working.  Covid was challenging for everyone, but on balance we were very lucky that we did not have too bad an experience. NY in the early days of pandemic were tough but from June 2020 things started to improve and we didn’t really have much setbacks in terms of the city reopening. The hardest part was definitely being away from family and my kids not getting to see their grandparents but we were fortunate enough to be able to go back in June this year and have another trip planned for Christmas.  5. As a member living overseas, can you talk to us about how your membership has been of value to you globally and if there is anything you would like to see your Institute do more of to support members overseas?  Since I moved to the US in 2012, I have been actively engaged with Chartered Accountants Worldwide Network USA (formerly ACAUS), that I am member of as part of my Chartered Accountants Ireland membership. This has been a great network to meet people with a similar background and learn how to be successful in the US, leveraging the CA qualification. I am very passionate about the value of this network and recently joined the Executive board of CAW Network USA as Treasurer. I am looking forward to continuing to engage with CAs moving from Ireland to the US so that they can also benefit from it. My one ask of the Institute is to continue to raise awareness of CAW Network USA to members moving to the US as it can be such a valuable resource for those trying to start careers in a new place.   6. And finally Alan, if you weren’t an accountant, what do you think you would you have been? Probably a lawyer – I was always fascinated by law growing up and liked the idea of working in a courtroom but in the end I found numbers more interesting than text so went with accountancy!     

Our 30,000th member, Richard Akpan, trained with KPMG in Dublin and is now embarking on a move to Edinburgh to take up a new role in a new city. We caught up with him to find out about his preparations and feelings about this adventure. Can you tell us a little about how the circumstances of your move came up? Besides my summer in Berkeley/San Francisco on a J-1 visa back in 2016, I’ve lived in Dublin for as long as I remember. While I do love home, I’ve always been keen to live abroad as a professional. Further afield is a lot more uncertain with Covid-19, but mainland UK offers something different that is still close to home. Myself and my girlfriend (who is also a Chartered Accountant) were between choosing London and Edinburgh to move to. What drew us to Edinburgh was that it was a smaller city where you can walk to everywhere, combined with both of us having family and friends scattered across Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, led us to believe that it would be an easier city to settle in. The timing works out nicely with me finishing up with KPMG as a Chartered Accountant and looking towards the next steps of my career. What about the proposition made it a "yes"? There definitely were a number of factors.  I visited Edinburgh a few months ago and instantly fell in love with the city. I had visited when I was a child, but the feasibility of it as a potential place to relocate to was lost on my five year old self. What I like about Edinburgh is that while the Old Town is in the heart of the city centre, it doesn’t feel like a city centre. It has a really homely feel to it. Edinburgh was ranked the second biggest predominantly English speaking financial services centre in Europe in 2020, so there were a lot of suitable roles for both myself and my girlfriend to apply to.   Edinburgh is also a big rugby city – a sport of which I am an avid fan and incredibly average player of. I intend on joining a club when I move over in order to keep fit and get to know new people. A trip to Murrayfield is definitely on the bucket list.   The cost of renting is a lot more reasonable in Edinburgh. The housing market in Dublin is a nightmare, as anyone from my generation will tell you. The current rent I’m paying in Dublin for a one-bedroom in Ranelagh would get me a two-bedroom apartment in Edinburgh’s city centre, so there is a lot more bang for your buck.   The people there are very friendly. I find that the Scottish and the Irish have a very similar sense of humour too. What are you particularly excited about? I’m particularly looking forward to the change of scene. There’s so much that goes on in Edinburgh – such as the Fringe Festival in August and Christmas markets. I certainly envisage myself doing a lot of hosting with friends and family using visiting me as an excuse for a holiday! I am really looking forward to discovering a new city. What are you nervous about? I’m definitely nervous about starting my new role and making friends over there, but definitely in an excited way. It will very much have a "first day of school" feel to it – going from being very much settled in Dublin to a complete change in Edinburgh. I’ll be moving to a new city and a new apartment, starting a new job in a new company and joining a new club. There will be a lot of new firsts and there will be plenty of things to be nervous about along the way but I am looking forward to throwing myself into it. Now that you're ready to go, what have you learned along the way that might have helped you to know in advance? I would definitely make sure that if you’re looking to move abroad, to make sure that you start the job hunting process with a few months to go. A lot of employers may require a notice period that is as long as three months, so that is definitely a timeline to factor in.  A lot of companies are also inundated with applications to roles and can be slow to respond, so make sure to apply to a few roles that you are interested in and allow for a few weeks to progress to the next stage.   Make sure to confirm with your employer whether you are required to also become a member of their local accountancy body. Chartered Accountants Ireland is part of an international network so you should be able to maintain your membership at home as well as being a membership abroad, but it is definitely something to consider.   I remember reading a publication from Barden that was sent out alongside an Accountancy Ireland magazine back in late-2019.  On their moving abroad section, they said  “only apply to a job abroad if you would apply to the same role if you weren’t moving.”  I can’t stress how important that advice has been when job hunting. It meant I spent time reflecting on what direction I want my career to go and applying to suitable roles to get me there.   Make sure that you have the right to work in the country you are hoping to move to.  As Ireland is part of the Common Travel Area agreement with the UK, Irish nationals are automatically entitled with a right to work in the UK. It’s also good to have an idea about the National Insurance number – the UK equivalent of the PPS number. This can take some time to receive but it is good to look into it ahead of moving.   It probably goes without saying but I would heavily recommend spending some time in the city you would like to move to if at all feasible, just to make sure that the city is a good fit for you personally. What will you miss most about home? My family and friends. I’ve made a promise to my mum to visit home every 6-8 weeks! A flight back home is quicker than most people’s morning commutes, so I can at least make it back home on a regular basis and quite easily as well! Richard Akpan was admitted to membership in June 2021, becoming the Institute's 30,000th member.               

President Paul Henry recently had a conversation with Conall McGonagle FCA, International Members Representative on Council. Conall has worked abroad for many years and is currently based in New York where he is Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at the Ireland Funds. Here members can read about Conall's role, his observations on the qualification, and plans for engaging with members overseas. PH: Conall, great to talk to you again. I might start by asking you to describe this new role.  CMcG: The role is International Members Representative to Council, representing and advocating for members outside of Ireland and the UK.  About 10% of the Institute’s membership is based overseas and there are already a lot of initiatives underway to connect them. I see this role, for me, and those who come after me, as an opportunity to engage more closely with overseas members and ensure that they can be active stakeholders in existing initiatives, and that they have a clear and effective channel through which to provide their views on future areas of focus for their Institute.  PH: It’s very important because as the organisation expands and increases – we are now at 30,000 members - the key is strengthening and deepening our relevance to members wherever they are in the world. Two thirds of our members are now in business, and coming from a business background myself, you can sometimes feel slightly isolated when you’re outside of the practice environment, often you might be the only finance person in the organisation … any thoughts on that Conall? CMcG: All of that resonates with me – as an overseas member, the relevancy of Institute activity to your working life, and that sense of belonging are so important. I’ve been based overseas for 12 years, and in the past year we’ve been able to connect more through participation in online, virtual conferences that the Institute has been running than ever before; that’s a positive trend, I think. PH: I’m keen to explore how we can strengthen that networking potential. We surveyed members recently on the future shape of events, and the feedback shows that virtual events will remain a central feature of business life in the medium and long term. However, while virtual events offered greater time efficiency and flexibility in the last 18 months, for three in four respondents it came at the expense of networking opportunities. We all miss the peer-to-peer engagement, the personal chat over a coffee and we need to look at how we can develop that for international members. When you have landed in different cities Conall, how have you started your network? And once you’ve started it, could the Institute have done more to support it? CMcG: I started it gradually. When you land in a city, your focus is on settling in, getting your feet under the desk, and then gradually building that network. I think there are definitely more events being held now by the Institute, with higher visibility. When I first moved abroad, it didn’t occur to me that this is a business network that would be internationally available, and it really is, so that was a pleasant surprise.  I find over here in the US, events at the Institute give amazing access because you’re meeting the senior people in a small networking room, and they’re all friendly, available, accessible. I’ve often thought it would be harder in a way back in Ireland because there’s so many more members.  I will say that via the Institute events that I have gone to, I’ve also made friends over here, because it’s very easy to develop those peer-to-peer friendships…it’s just a natural cultural and professional fit– similar interests, experiences so that’s a very positive thing. As to your questions on what the Institute can do to better support members in getting established and building this network, they’re the right questions and they’re the questions I’m asking myself as I take on this role. How do you connect members overseas peer-to-peer in a meaningful way that’s relevant for them? Sure, many members are in big cities, but there’s not always scale because we’re spread out everywhere. Some countries might have only one or two members, so we have to look at doing this in a digital and engaging way.  PH: It’s interesting, I have found that people…when you reach out and invite them to something…it’s incredible the level of engagement we achieve, and this has just increased exponentially during the pandemic. There is such a willingness to become involved, and I know that having this additional representation at Council will help us to build this even further.  Coming back to you Conall, I’m interested in your views on promoting the qualification as a global passport? CMcG: I see it as a global passport. You get your qualification and it’s really respected. While I have my mutual recognition from CPA over here…I still want to keep my Chartered Accountancy, but it’s no harm to have both in the spirit of your embeddedness in your local market. The qualification opened doors for me. I had the opportunity to do a six-month secondment for KPMG in the US, and when you’re getting your visa for the US, you have to detail the professional skills you have. When you can list Chartered Accountancy that helps a lot. A lot of members over here have been able to transfer because of their qualification.  As a student, I didn’t know about that transferability and the mutual recognition agreement, in fact I didn’t realise it until I saw it in action. I know that is something that the Institute now communicates very strongly to incoming students, and this is a big selling point for our profession.  PH: Working with The Ireland Funds, philanthropy is an area close to your heart Conall. How could we as a profession focus more on that? CMcG: I think we’re doing well. We can probably connect the members involved with [not-for-profit special interest groups] more, one-to-one. A lot of members are involved in not-for-profit activities as volunteers or in full time roles like me.  We have a huge amount to offer because of the skill set, so an organisation/charity you participate in will always ask the Chartered Accountant to be the treasurer! It’s a very natural fit, and it helps them so much, especially this past year when they’ve all been struggling with cashflow and financial planning during Covid, so that’s a great positive impact story. I’m trying to share more of those stories, I think there’s an opportunity to highlight them.  Add to this then what members do in the community - in arts or in sports in addition to the charity sector. The role in communities is how I see it…engagement, it’s such a positive impact when you look at what so many different members are doing. For this next generation, engagement and impact are key focus areas for them. As an Institute we can be very proud of and celebrate their achievements.  PH: Moving on to talk about the future of contact and connection, I think for the immediate future we’ll be challenged on the face to face, but I don’t think we’ll ever go back to in-person only. CMcG: I really miss the in-person and I look forward to it again, but I think it’ll be a mixture of both formats for all organisations and people going forward. I’m looking forward to working on this initiative with Gillian Duffy and other colleagues in the Institute.  And to members overseas, I would be very grateful for your feedback on this topic, as your gift to the members and future members.

Can you tell us a little about where you're from? My name is Kevin Nyhan. I'm originally from Bandon in West Cork but have lived and worked in Cork City for many years. I really enjoy living in Cork which has the spirit of a town and a really good atmosphere and strong business and community spirit. It has the benefits of city living yet I'm still only a short drive from West Cork and the scenery, beaches and food scene that Cork has to offer. Tell us why you choose to become a Chartered Accountant and how you got here? I've always had an aptitude for numbers and during secondary school I was always interested in business. I was attracted to a career in business and as I considered what to do after school, accountancy seemed to be a really good career that would give lots of opportunities.  I'm probably unusual for accountants of my age in that I chose not to go to college and instead went down the direct entry route. After my Leaving Certificate I started a training contract with Parfrey Murphy Chartered Accountants in Cork. I did a five year training contract and qualified at the end of 2006. I received really good training there and a grounding in all aspects of accounting, auditing and tax which still stands to me today. I stayed with Parfrey Murphy until 2010 when I left to do some travelling.  After returning home I knew that I wanted to gain experience working outside of practice. AIB were hiring accountants to work as part of the lending teams dealing with SME customers and I joined on a one year contract with the intention of gaining some experience and then moving on to try another sector. However 10 years later I'm still here! I have moved around and worked in a number of different roles and areas and have gained really good experience. I currently work in Credit Risk where my job is to assess and decision loan and funding applications for the Corporate & Institutional Banking division which includes large indigenous and multinational corporates as well as large property and real estate finance transactions. It's really interesting work and my accounting qualification has been key to helping me do my job. What do you value most about your membership of the profession and how do you think those benefits can be used to support the economy and society? The recognition and value placed on the Chartered Accountant qualification by businesses and non-accountants has been the key benefit to me personally. People may not be fully aware of what accountants always do but I feel there is a general recognition that accountants are well trained in their profession and bring key disciplines and experience that can be applied to any sector and beyond the core finance area. Chartered Accountants have always played a leading role in the economy and contribute back to society. Many members use their professional skills to support charities and clubs as officers, particularly in treasurer roles, and members do tremendous work which is often unnoticed and under the radar. I was previously a volunteer with CAVA (Chartered Accountants Voluntary Advice) an initiative of Chartered Accountants Ireland. CAVA works together with the Citizens Information Service (CIS) and Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS), to provide advice to local people who cannot afford the services of an accountant. It's a great service and a strong example of how we as a profession can use our skills to support society. You have just completed your year as chair of the Cork Society. I know it was totally unforeseen how this year would be, but can you tell us some of the highlights of the year for the society and the benefits for you personally. I've been a member of the Cork Society Committee for seven years and I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It has given me opportunities to build networks within the local business community and to develop personal skills, particularly public speaking and communication skills. It certainly has been an unusual year as chair and COVID has dominated everything during my term. However the society has evolved how we do things and serve our members by swiftly moving all our activities online. It hasn't always been easy and we haven't been able to put on our full complement of events but we were able to deliver a strong calendar of events. Highlights for me included hosting a really interesting discussion with Michael McGrath TD, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform who is also a Chartered Accountant. Also, we have been able to work more closely with the other district societies than ever before. Organising joint events with them has been really good and something I hope can continue beyond COVID. Is there anything you would have done differently during your term as Chair? Given the circumstances that COVID has presented it was always going to be a challenging year, trying to adjust and still deliver a calendar of events. However I think as a committee and a district society, we managed to continue to serve our members. I'm really proud that we were able to do so despite the unprecedented challenges. Unfortunately we were unable to host some of our flagship in-person events including the annual Daffodil Day breakfast for the Irish Cancer Society and our Christmas Lunch. I remain hopeful that we will be able to run those events over the next year in some shape or form. And finally, Kevin, if you weren’t an accountant, what do you think you would you be/have been? Like every child I probably harboured dreams of a career as a professional athlete but my severe lack of skill and ability put an end to that! I've always been interested in politics and public affairs so I think if I hadn't become an accountant I may have worked in that area. On a completely different front, I have a real interest in food and particularly coffee so perhaps whenever I hang up the calculator I might finally fulfil the dream of opening a small coffee shop.

We caught up with Martin Devine, a member based in Perth, Western Australia, for a quick chat. Can you tell us a little about where you're from originally? I'm from just outside Ballymagorry in Tyrone, around 20 minutes from Derry and just across the border from Donegal. Why did you choose to become a Chartered Accountant and how did you got here? I became a CA to follow on from my degree in Accountancy. I always enjoyed working with numbers and it seemed like the next logical step. At that point I didn’t have a clear idea of where I'd like to end up career wise, but I thought the CA would help as a next step. I travelled to Australia with my girlfriend for a year in 2010 and we haven’t given up yet. I started off in a range of roles over eight years working with a private engineering company and in 2018 I moved on to Mader Group, an ASX listed heavy equipment maintenance company in the Group Financial Controller role. What do you value most about your membership of the profession and how do you think those benefits can be used to support the economy and society? I think the thing I appreciate most is how difficult it was to attain membership. The hours of travel, classes, study, exams really galvanised students on the way through. The result is that now when I see Irish CA on a CV, it immediately stands out from the rest. I was told by my practice partner when leaving Ireland that the Irish qualification was very well thought of, but it wasn’t until I started hiring that I realised the consistent high standard of people who make it through the programme. You have just spent the last 15 months living with Covid in Perth, Australia. Tell us a bit what that was like for you professionally and personally Professionally it's been a challenge. Border restrictions internationally and interstate have restricted our people movement which has made it difficult to continue to grow. Quarantine costs from travel and staff retention during this period have seen a hit on margin but that’s recovering now and we’re seeing growth back on a steady path locally and internationally. Personally, it's been tricky at times. We’ve had a few short sharp lockdowns but comparatively we’ve been incredibly lucky to still move freely for most of that period. We’ve welcomed our second baby in the last three months so busy times at home! Where is the first place you will go when travel in and out of Australia re-opens? We’d love to go home and show off our new boy. He hasn’t met his grandparents yet so would be great to get home for a period. A beach holiday would be great, but I think restrictions of some sort will be here across Asia for a while. And finally, Martin, if you weren’t an accountant, what do you think you would you be/have been? I always fancied myself running a restaurant, not sure if it would be front of house or in the kitchen but that would be the idea I think. Set aside the lack of cooking skills and knowledge of food retail!