WEALTH March 14, 2026 0 Comments

Brian McDonald’s Breakthrough Strategy at Bay Advisory: The Untold Secrets Driving Unstoppable Growth

What if the secret sauce to stellar leadership wasn’t found in hefty business tomes or lofty boardroom discussions, but rather on the sidelines of a sports field, where coaches deliver the kind of brutal honesty that stings but ultimately shapes champions? Brian McDonald, director of Bay Advisory, a powerhouse in corporate finance, knows this firsthand. With a leadership style forged in the fires of sports coaching and refined through years of guiding entrepreneurs through complex mergers, acquisitions, and capital raising, Brian’s approach is anything but ordinary. He’s not just about crunching numbers; he’s about crafting relationships, embracing candor, and fostering a culture where mistakes aren’t hidden but celebrated as stepping stones to growth. Curious how a finance guru blends tough love with integrity to steer businesses toward lasting success amidst pressure and uncertainty? Let’s dive into Brian’s unique take on leadership, decision-making under fire, and why sometimes ignoring a deadline is the smartest move you can make. LEARN MORE

Brian McDonald is director of Bay Advisory, a leading providerof corporate finance services, offering guidance on mergers and acquisitions, financial structuringand capital raising.

Who or what has most influenced your leadership style?

I’m quite interested in sports and over the years I’ve had a lot of sports coaches.

The best ones have this ability to tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear.

They [also] have an ability to focus on improving you whilst potentially giving you news you don’t want to hear.

So I like that ability to make the message a long-term one and to focus on improvement and learning.

How would you describe your leadership in three words?

Decent, collaborative and learning-driven.

How has your approach to leadership evolved over the years?

I’ve learned to be a little more candid and clearer in my communication.

It’s important that people understand what you’re saying in a really clear and concise way, rather than trying to over-elaborate, particularly when you’re giving feedback to staff.

So my default would be to soften the difficult message and to make things easier for people.

But over time I’ve learned that people appreciate candour, [so] I really try to be candid when I speak.

What’s the best leadership advice you’ve ever received?

It’s a quirk of leadership that I was given around holding a room — to be focused on listening more than speaking.

I tend to walk into a room and dominate a little bit, particularly in my own business where I’m the managing partner.

I really work hard on trying to stop talking and let others speak. An old boss of mine said you should listen twice as much as you speak, and I find that a really useful metric.

In team meetings, there’s a tendency for younger people or those new to the workforce to agree without challenging me or asking me questions.

It’s important that you’re prepared to stop and listen and keep asking questions of people in a way that doesn’t feel like an interview or an interrogation.

How do you handle managing up?

My boss really is our clients and we have a very personal relationship with them. Some are entrepreneurs who have built their business up over 20 or 30 years.

They all have the same thing in common, which is they have driven this business and it’s personal to them.

They could be selling the business to private equity, who are very sophisticated. So they really have to believe that with Bay Advisory behind them, they have somebody who has their back and will always be there for them.

It’s a little bit like a relationship. You know, we’re there to help them [during] the very intense period when they’re selling their business.

What kind of workplace culture do you aim to foster?

My staff will hear me saying this a lot — how do we learn from things?

We’re very conscious that mistakes happen. People drop the ball, there are misunderstandings and there are disagreements.

So we identify the problem, fix it, but then very quickly move to, ‘How did this happen? How can we collaboratively make sure that this doesn’t happen again?’

So there’s huge learning from mistakes.

The last thing I want from Bay Advisory is that we’re the sort of place where people feel obliged to hide their mistakes or run away from their mistakes.

I think once we have that, we have that kind of open, collaborative culture, where you put your hand up, you say, I’ve messed up here.

We fix it together and then we work on how to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

What’s your approach to making tough decisions, especially under pressure?

In my line of business, tough decisions happen every day.

People have to decide whether to accept an offer, decline or negotiate, and if so, how hard. They’re all really serious decisions.

We often see other parties putting deadlines on these decisions, but one of the things I always tell my client is, let’s ignore this deadline.

Let’s take our time and let’s make the right decision.

We’ll go back to the buyer and say we need more time.

Too often I see founders feeling under time pressure and not properly considering the position. So you don’t let them get bamboozled.

What’s been your proudest moment or achievement?

We sold a business just before Christmas, and the next day I got a really nice message from the founder. It finished with, “You guys are tough but with integrity.”

I really love that definition of us. If a client says you’re tough but have integrity after working with them for a year, I feel like putting that up on the walls in Bay Advisory.

What advice would you give to other SME leaders, navigating certain economic conditions at the moment?

One area [where] I see entrepreneurs or founders fail is that they’re not focused enough. So focus on what you’re good at. Find your unique ability and niche down into that.

Every business we look at, what we call the 80:20 rule applies — 80 per cent of your profits typically come from 20 per cent of your clients. So focus on that 20 per cent and don’t be afraid to turn down business if that’s what you need to do.

Brian McDonald — McDonald describes his leadership as decent, collaborative and learning-driven.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I’d like to improve the business environment for entrepreneurs.I’m very conscious that we do a little bit of work in the US and the environment for entrepreneurs [there] is so much more sympathetic.

We have this great entrepreneurial community who are really working hard and driving huge amounts of value for the country.

We don’t really hear about that very much. Enterprise Ireland does a good job, some government agencies do a good job, but it’s still far [more] difficult than it should be to be a founder.

In Ireland, the tax systems are really not helpful for entrepreneurs and it’s difficult to invest in early-stage businesses.

There’s not enoughrelief for investors who are prepared to take a punt on [them]. Over time, I’d hope that the environment will change for entrepreneurs.