How DCU paved the way for the success of my career!

I started my journey at DCU in August 2014 when I enrolled in the MSc in Electronic Commerce (Business). I completed my undergraduate degree in Business Management from the National College of Ireland but felt I needed to further upskill to give myself the best chance of landing a great role. DCU turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life, both from a personal and professional element.

The lecturers and course content were fantastic! We were given the skills and expertise required to walk into any company and hit the ground running. The course content included various modules such as Digital Marketing, Web / App Development, Data Analysis, Management, and Innovation which to this day have stood by me. Another thing I loved about DCU was the culture, I made friends with some amazing individuals who I regularly keep in touch with and I’m delighted to see so many graduates from our course working in top positions with global brands across the world.

I was then offered the position as ECommerce Manager at Retail Excellence Ireland. My primary role was to enhance the opportunity for Irish retailers trading both online in Ireland and across international markets. This gave me a superb insight into key areas such as Web Development, Digital Marketing, Logistics, Payments, and Legislation, etc. I developed multiple partnerships with Google, Meta, Twitter, and Microsoft to enable Irish retailers to upskill and enhance their online trading capabilities. I created the Irish Retail GDPR Manual, organised conferences, and launched the first Irish Ecommerce Trustmark in partnership with Ecommerce Europe.

I also had the pleasure of representing Ireland at the Global E-commerce Roundtable and presented in Geneva at the United Nations during International Trade week.

After three years in the role I moved onto humm, a market leader in the Buy Now, Pay Later industry that works with over 90,000 partner stores across multiple countries. I had to develop their E-commerce strategy by creating plugins across all major platforms such as Shopify & Magento to enable a seamless integration process.

This role was a great learning curve for me and I loved the diversity from working with small family-owned Irish business to large international players like Samsung. I grew the number of retailers trading online with humm from 1 to over 1,000 in the space of three years which gave me huge job satisfaction. I successfully managed the online integrations when we launched into the UK market and worked closely with our marketing team on nationwide campaigns across TV, Radio, Social, and Search Advertising.

I have just started a new Position as Ecommerce Proposition Manager for Ireland with DHL. I’m thrilled to get the opportunity to join an amazing global organisation and work with the world’s leading brands across international markets.

Alongside my current role, I’m also a Director in Digital Business Ireland (DBI), the country’s dedicated representative body for online businesses. DBI was set up in 2020, we have grown the membership to over 8,000 members and have developed successful partnerships with fantastic organisations including Permanent TSB, Ecommerce Europe, Virgin Media, Google, and eBay, etc.

I have been very lucky to work with so many amazing companies and people over the years. DCU paved the way for this success and I would highly recommend the institution to anyone looking for a first-class education that opens doors with companies across the globe!

Author: David Campbell, Ecommerce Proposition Manager at DHL Supply Chain | Director at Digital Business Ireland