Limerick woman goes from a summer temp to chief executive of country’s top telecoms firm

LISNAGRY woman Elaine Carey has come full circle in her telecommunications career.

In her early 20s, she started working for Esat Digifone as a summer temp in its offices in Plassey.

Almost 30 years later, following a career which took her to the Caribbean and through senior corporate roles in Britain and Ireland, she is back — last year succeeding Robert Finnegan as only the second ever chief executive of Three Ireland.

Now Ireland’s largest mobile provider, Three traces its roots back to Esat Digifone, and Limerick remains at the heart of the business, where 368 people are employed in the company’s contact centre.

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“It’s quite an amazing experience. When I started all those years ago, to be walking back into basically the same contact centre as chief executive was quite a special moment. Never did I believe or have any understanding that it was something I could do, or had even thought about,” she said.

Ms Carey was born and raised in Lisnagry — “on the back road to Castleconnell,” she said.

She attended Lisnagry National School before moving on to Laurel Hill Secondary School in the city centre.

She had planned to leave Limerick to study at third level, but a family tragedy — the premature death of her father shortly after his retirement — saw her remain at home.

“It wasn’t meant to be. I couldn’t leave my mum at the time. I was the only one at home. I have a brother and sister — there’s eight years between me and my sister and 10 years to my brother, so I’m the ‘surprise’ as I keep telling my mum,” she said.

Instead, she enrolled at HSI Business School on O’Connell Avenue in the city, where she studied travel and tourism.

A placement with Aer Lingus between first and second year proved formative, teaching lessons she still applies today.

“I applied to be a ground hostess for a season in Shannon. We did six weeks’ training, and one full week was just about the brand — understanding what it meant from the moment you put on that uniform. You were the brand. That really stood to me,” she recalled.

Ms Carey also worked in conference and banqueting at the former Ryan Hotel on the Ennis Road, before realising hospitality was not the right long-term fit.

At 21, she decided to start again, returning to education at the former Limerick Institute of Technology, where she studied business and computing.

It was there that her career in telecoms began.

A friend suggested she apply for a job at Esat Digifone’s new contact centre.

“They were looking for summer temps, so I thought I’d do that. I came in and started in dealer commissions, and from then on I worked part-time with Esat Digifone all through college,” she said.

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She moved across the business, including a spell in the complaints department — an experience she describes as challenging but invaluable.

“A poisoned chalice, but my God, do you learn. Everything was in writing back then — there were barely emails. You had to build relationships and networks to get things done. It taught me the importance of having people around you and knowing how to solve problems.”

In 2000, Esat founder Denis O’Brien sold the business and used the proceeds to establish Digicel, launching a mobile network in Jamaica.

At the time, the island had just one provider, with large sections of the population still without access to telecommunications.

Ms Carey was front and centre in Digicel’s early expansion — a period she describes as transformational.

“On July 4, 2000, we got on a plane and went to Kingston. We spent 18 months in Jamaica, then moved on to St Lucia, Aruba and the Cayman Islands. My role was setting up the retail operations,” she said.

Looking back nearly 25 years later, she recalls how turning on mobile masts — and connecting communities — was an emotional moment.

“We were giving people a lifeline. In parts of Jamaica, you might have been waiting five years for a landline. When we turned on sites, there would be applause. Suddenly people could contact relatives in the UK and the US. It felt like more than building a business — it felt like changing society.”

Living and working on site for five years took its toll, and in 2005 Ms Carey took a year out to travel solo.

She describes it as a restorative experience before returning to the industry she loves.

She joined Eir to help establish its ICT business, before moving to Three Ireland within 18 months, shortly after the company had begun running its Irish operations directly rather than from Britain.

“I got a call saying Three were looking for a head of retail and asking would I like to interview. The rest is history,” she smiles.

Ms Carey went on to hold a series of senior leadership positions across retail, commercial and shopping functions.

She played a key role in the 2014 acquisition and integration of O2 Ireland into Three - providing her with the direct link back to where her telecoms career began.

“We don’t see Limerick as just a service centre. This is our second headquarters,” she said. “We have finance, legal and regulatory, technology and HR teams here. We have two homes, and this is one of them. Being from Limerick, I can’t help but be proud of that.”

rior to becoming chief executive, she served as chief commercial officer for Three across Britain and Ireland.

She believes Ireland compares favourably when it comes to mobile infrastructure.

“You could be in central London on a Saturday night and your phone won’t work. In Ireland, we have excellent infrastructure, and that’s come from sustained private investment,” she said, adding that the telecoms industry does not always receive sufficient credit for that. Having started her own career on the front line, she said it has shaped her leadership philosophy.

“If you have a workforce that genuinely cares about what they do, that’s where value is created. Don’t ever underestimate what you do with your people. The people are our superpower.”