Lily Haskins exudes energy — There is a driven purpose about her which bodes well for whatever project she takes on — which is good news for Galway, because right now, Ms Haskins is doing her utmost to tell the world what a great place this is for working, living and...being.
Ms Haskins is the Vice President of International Transformation at Diligent Corporation, the world’s largest GRC SaaS provider serving nearly a million users from 25,000 organisations — and which within months will be opening its 200-strong European hub in the stunning Bonham Quay overlooking the docks.
She has extensive experience starting and scaling new organizations and initiatives across the corporate, non-profit, political and government spaces. And Galway has wowed her with its possibilities.
She relocated from New York City to Galway in March 2021 to set up Diligent’s new European Hubs in Galway and Budapest, and the experience she has had in the west of Ireland has made her embark on a mission to ensure that other likeminded companies follow suit and establish bases here in the city. It is a returned favour to those companies that made her welcome over the past two years — a sort of corporate 'meitheal" in which Galway's tech companies see it as a mission to help each other out.
For the time being, she and her team are based at the Portershed, and it is those vibrant nesting grounds talent that has confirmed her decision that Galway was able to better 19 other locations for this prestigious hub.
"I had the pleasure of visiting Galway in March 2020, just before things changed. I led the site selection process for the company, it evolved over 12 months. Diligent had never stood up a brand new operation in a country in which we did not have a presence before. So we considered more than 25 locations across the globe.
"Throughout the course of that process, which culminated in a site visit that I was delighted to participate in in March 2020, it became evident that Galway was a no-brainer in terms of where we wanted to be and call home over the course of the next couple of years. The visit solidified what we’d already garnered from afar.
Talent
"Firstly, the talent here is exceptional. Diligent’s success scaling a cross-functional office – with roles across marketing, accounting, product, customer success and customer support – to 200 in under a year is a testament to that.
"There is a rich university system in the west that can feed a long term talent pipeline for us. We have been delighted to partner closely with GMIT and NUIG in that regard.
"There is also a proven track record of other companies who have been successful here. Rent the Runway, Genesys, Cisco, EA Games, SiteMinder, etc. Many multinational companies have developed world class operations in Galway and this bolstered our decision.
"Most notable though was community. There is a sense that everyone in Galway – including the business community - operates with Galway’s interest above their own. For Diligent, this meant company executives opened their doors to us to share best practices, lessons learned. This was invaluable in de-risking our transition.
"Each of them articulated in almost exactly the same way a desire to serve the greater Galway above their individualised interest. Each person who participates in the ecosystem here is working in service of a greater goal and that was critical.
"The nature of the employees who we have been able to hire to date are a testament to them taking a risk and wanting to join a company that they'd never heard of before and that didn't exist here. We have been delighted to find that our employees are interested in partnering with one another in giving back to the local community, in events such as the COPE Sleepout.
"And of course there is the ability of the employer to offer a quality of life like our employees here get from the west. I can jump on my bicycle and swim in the gorgeous sea within 10 minutes.
"In an hour, I can be hiking in the Burren or in Connemara. This is an unparalleled benefit employers in the west can offer. Access to nature, gorgeous food, a bit of space.
"This is increasingly a candidate's workplace. The stats show that 50 per cent of the global workforce will change jobs within the next year and so we find that increasingly candidates want to work at a company that they feel personally aligns with their value system. So for us, this is about bringing in individuals who are delighted to be working for a company with the aspiration vision initiatives that we have.
Diligent specialises in equipping leaders with the tools, data, insights and analytics that they need to push for the change in their host companies — tools that are more relevant in post pandemic times.
"Absolutely, we have seen quite an increase in dialogue around ESG, sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion. How they are being more responsive to the climate change that is happening globally. Our new mission is to support executives with all the tools that they need to be stewards of that change," she said.
Since her arrival, Lily Haskins has become involved in the frontline of growing the Galway reputation, becoming involved in Galway Chamber's campaign to attract good employers and employees to the city.
'’I'm thrilled to have had the fortune to move to Galway personally. And professionally, Diligent is a leading employer in Galway. We’re invested in making sure the city is continually developing in a sustainable way that supports both the move to and retention of talent in Galway.
"Hiring a complement of 200 staff has been done almost entirely remotely, helped by the creation of a new multi-media onboarding programme in which every new employee gets unique swag — a backpack, a book detailing Diligent's history, podcasts that they can listen to on their phones, for which they can get a coffee and learn about the key executives, the strategy. We also created interactive games to learn about the key personas that we serve.
Bonham tours
"We are moving into Bonham Quay in the second quarter of this year and every week, we are hosting a weekly tour of Bonham Quay for our staff; they can have a walk of the building, see the roof deck of what is the first building Ireland to be One Planet sustainability certified. This was critical for us and it has been great to be able to get the employees to visualise and see themselves with their teams in this space.
"Covid has taught us that the ways of working from the past really needed to be redefined and the way that we have responded to that is by creating a building floorplan that is really focused on collaboration. Less efficient than you could have seen previously with desks all lined up, now we have an entire first floor dedicated to being a large scale canteen where employees can come together."
A Californian, Ms Haskins went to college on the East Coast and that started in her an appreciation of the opportunity to live in different places.
She then joined the New York City Department of Education under Mayor Bloomberg where she worked for a number of years.
"Institutions for me are critical in driving transformational change and businesses are a very important institution that can do the same. I joined Diligent in 2019 and had the privilege of moving over here in Feb 2021 to be based in Galway to oversee the standing up of Diligent's two new offices; the European hub which is based in Galway as well as our Global Product Innovation Centre in Budapest.
"So my job is to work site leads in both locations to ensure that both operations are incredibly successful, efficient and driving amazing change and business for the company.
It helps that Mr Haskins' past saw her develop an eagerness for new and different experiences.
"Cultural fluency is a huge asset and I’ve always been eager to be able to learn from wherever I've been. I had a strong connection to education growing up in Los Angeles and in college on the East Coast. That solidified my belief that institutions matter and after spending several years on the inside of those institutions in NYC, I applied that same thinking.
"Businesses shape the world we live in just as much as our government institutions. High functioning, impact-driven and business institutions are just as important," she said.
Personally, she is delighted with her move to Galway as it brings with it, many of the things she liked about her old life in New York.
"It’s been an absolute delight. We’ve found all the things we loved in NYC here in Galway – amazing people, a vibrant cultural community, incredible food, amazing Saturday farmers' market.
"The ability to eat beautiful local food – from fresh fish and veg to cheese and bread – it is unmatched.
"I moved here from New York City, I lived in Brooklyn and the life that I have here has all of the most fabulous things about Brooklyn before. I can buy the most delicious food, cheese, meat on the Saturday market. I can swim after work. I can within an hour be hiking in the Burren or hiking in Connemara.
"In addition to that, there is the cultural richness, to see plays and engage with artists in Druid. I think it is fabulous and an incredible transition for me to be able to replicate here many of the examples of the things that I loved about New York.
In her role with Galway Chamber, she is keen to advance measures that ensure the availability of housing, the development of infrastructure to allow people to get in and out of the city, and the maintenance of the affordability and quality of life that people want.
Lily Haskins has embraced Galway — and is a strong driver for the selling of the city and what it can be. Maybe, she is just what we need right now. Remember the name...
