Episode 16: David O'Connor ~ From Irish Roots to Aussie Business

David O'Connor's story is arguably a tale any one of us would be jealous to achieve. It's a true quintessential immigration story. David's parents (both from Ireland), moved to Australia to set up a civil engineering firm called, Diona, that started in 1980. Becoming one of the biggest firms in the whole of New South Wales, David rose through the ranks of the family business ultimately to be its head boss, as CEO. 

But his story has been anything but linear. He's a three-time cancer survivor, he's suffered with anxiety from the affects of running the family business, which in turn, was sold and then bought back again, not to mention stewarding its 2,000+ works in the construction industry where mental health was - and is - a real issue.

In this episode, David regales growing up in Australia with his Irish roots and how some of the cultural aspects of being Irish hold both positive and negative impacts. But this tale is one of ultimate success. A family man, David is married with four children and now lives down the south coast from Sydney, living his best life. 

When we think of people who we can aspire to be, often we might think of a Richard Branson or a Leonardo Di Caprio, but David arguably has built the perfect life and runway that many would envy. An overall top guy, he's now giving back to the community around the topic of mental health. Diona, and its sister businesses, smashed their initial goal of raising $1m for batyr (a mental health charity for the youth), but now aims for that same target on an annual basis - backed by him and his thousand plus staff of blue and white collar workers.

A true hero in our opinion. 

Follow us @theseladsaremental