My Business Life: Barry Downes, Affidea

Barry Downes, CEO of Affidea UK and Ireland, shares his life and business lessons.

Barry Downes is chief executive officer of Affidea UK and Ireland. Since his appointment in 2017, he has led the company’s transformation into one of the region’s leading independent healthcare providers, driving significant growth and helping to shape the future of community-based healthcare, advanced diagnostics and specialist care across the UK and Ireland.

Barry began his career as an engineer with Roadstone, one of Ireland’s leading building materials companies, before joining Cemex, where he became the company’s youngest Plant Manager at the time. He went on to hold a number of senior leadership positions in operations, business development and corporate transformation, including a period in Canada where he successfully led the turnaround of a private equity-backed business.

Under Barry’s leadership, Affidea has expanded rapidly across Ireland and the UK, cementing its position at the forefront of healthcare innovation. Today, Affidea operates a network of 24 clinical facilities across the Republic of Ireland, including several minor injury units, as well as four centres in Northern Ireland – two in Hillsborough, one on Malone Road in Belfast, and a recently opened MRI centre in Omagh.

Affidea Ireland provides fast access to world-class diagnostic imaging, urgent care and a growing range of outpatient services, including day-case elective surgery. The company has also introduced innovative preventative health services, including its Heart Health Check programme, which empowers people to better understand their cardiovascular risk and take proactive steps to protect their long-term health.

Most recently, Barry has overseen the launch of Affidea’s most ambitious investment in Northern Ireland to date: a new 100,000 sq ft healthcare facility on Belfast’s Boucher Road. Currently under construction, the state-of-the-art centre will deliver advanced diagnostic imaging, specialist consultations, outpatient procedures and inpatient surgery, significantly enhancing access to high-quality healthcare for patients across the region.

Tell us about your background, what journey did you take to arrive at where you are?

I studied mechanical engineering and began my career in the building materials industry, working with multinational organisations including CRH, a building materials provider, and CEMEX, a multinational construction materials company. During that time, I continued my education, completing a Diploma in Business Studies before undertaking an MBA at Imperial College London.

As my career progressed, I moved from engineering into broader operational and commercial leadership roles. During the financial crisis, I became increasingly involved in business transformation and turnaround projects, helping organisations navigate challenging market conditions and drive sustainable growth. That experience led me to Canada, where I worked on transforming a private equity-backed business, gaining valuable international experience in operational excellence, strategic planning and change management.

When I returned to Ireland, I was looking for an opportunity where I could apply those skills in a sector that has a direct impact on people’s lives. I joined Affidea in 2017 and have been fortunate to be part of a period of significant growth and development for the business. Healthcare is a dynamic and constantly evolving sector, and I have found it incredibly rewarding to help expand access to high quality diagnostics and healthcare services for patients across Ireland and the UK.

Why are you doing what you are doing? What need are you meeting? What’s your USP?

At Affidea, our purpose is simple – to improve access to healthcare. One of the biggest barriers to prevention and staying well is access. Too often, patients face long waiting times, sometimes months or even years, for essential diagnostics such as MRI scans or specialist consultations. These delays can have a real impact on outcomes and patient experience.

Our role is to help address that challenge by making healthcare more accessible, timely and patient-centred. We are investing in out-of-hospital care pathways and expanding community-based services, helping to remove unnecessary barriers and reduce pressure on acute hospital systems.

We are also passionate about preventative health, which is why we launched Affidea’s new Heart Health Check service, aimed at encouraging people to take a proactive approach to their heart health, understand their risk factors, and take preventative action before issues develop.

Our goal is to make it easier for people to get the care they need, when they need it, while supporting clinicians and health systems to deliver more efficient, effective care for communities.

How did you fund and start the business and what are your growth plans?

We are fortunate to have very strong financial backing from our shareholders, which provides us with a solid platform to invest in growth across the UK and Ireland.

That support enables us to pursue an ambitious but disciplined expansion strategy. We have a clear plan to double the size of our UK & Ireland business over the next 24 month. This includes targeted acquisitions, greenfield development of new facilities, and the launch of additional clinical services The focus is on expanding access to high-quality diagnostics and specialist care for patients, while continuing to strengthen our existing network and partnerships.

Most recently, we announced the commencement of construction on a major new 100,000 sq ft healthcare facility on Belfast’s Boucher Road. The facility will provide advanced diagnostic imaging, specialist consultations, outpatient procedures and inpatient surgery, enhancing access to high-quality healthcare services across the region.

What are your key skills and qualities that set you apart?

That’s always a difficult question to answer – if you asked my wife, you’d probably get a very different view!

In professional terms, I would describe myself as highly driven, commercially focused, and very solution-oriented. I enjoy solving complex problems and making organisations work more effectively, particularly in environments that are growing or undergoing change.

In a business like Affidea, which is on a significant growth trajectory across the UK and Ireland, I think that combination of commercial focus, operational discipline and drive to deliver really matter.

What (or whom) has helped you most along the way? Who was your greatest mentor/inspiration?

I’ve been fortunate throughout my career to work with a number of very capable and successful leaders. Rather than pointing to a single individual as a mentor, I like to take different elements from different people’s leadership styles and try to apply them in my own way.

For example, one leader I worked with demonstrated an exceptional work ethic in everything they did, which really shaped my own expectations around performance and delivery. Another had a strong ability to simplify complex problems and break them down into more manageable parts, which is a hugely valuable skill in any operational or turnaround environment. I’ve also learned from leaders who showed real empathy and understanding towards their teams, and the importance of balancing commercial outcomes with people and culture.

Over time, those different influences have helped shape my own leadership style, one that tries to combine discipline and execution with clarity and a strong focus on people.

What was the greatest piece of business advice you ever received?

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was to trust your gut – particularly when it comes to people decisions, whether hiring or managing performance.

It came from a former chairman I worked with, who said that in many situations you already have an instinct about what the right answer is, but people sometimes overthink it or try to force something that isn’t going to work in the long term.

While it can be difficult at times, it is often better to address issues early rather than prolonging situations that are unlikely to improve. That has stayed with me throughout my career and has been particularly relevant in leadership roles where people and performance are so closely linked.

What circumstances/qualities/events can mark the difference between success or failure in life or business?

Having a strong team around you is critical to success in both life and business. No one succeeds alone, and the quality of the people you surround yourself with often makes the biggest difference.

For me, it’s important to build teams that complement your own strengths rather than replicate them. That means bringing in people with different perspectives, skills and experiences who can challenge your thinking and fill gaps in capability.

What was the most challenging aspect of either starting or growing the business?

I think you face different challenges at different times and the focus shifts. At times it may be workforce and capacity, ensuring we have the right people in place to deliver services at scale. At other times, it can be commercial complexity, such as negotiating sustainable contracts or expanding into new services and markets. More recently, broader external factors such as changes in healthcare policy and system pressures have also played a significant role.

What remains constant is the need to stay adaptable and resilient. You have to be able to respond quickly to change while keeping a clear focus on long-term strategy and patient outcomes.

How did you navigate your business through the pandemic and what lessons did you learn?

Firstly, I don’t think anyone could have imagined we would ever go through something like the pandemic, or how abruptly life and business changed as a result.

What it demonstrated very clearly was how quickly people and organisations can adapt when they need to. In a very short space of time, we had to rethink how services were delivered, how we supported patients and staff, and how we maintained continuity of care in an extremely challenging environment.

One of the key lessons for me was the importance of agility and decision-making in a crisis. Being able to move quickly, prioritise, and empower teams to make decisions on the ground was critical. It also reinforced the value of clear communication and strong leadership at every level of the organisation.

How has digital transformation been a factor in your scaling journey and do you believe Irish firms are utilising digital technologies sufficiently?

I think different sectors and industries are adopting digital technologies at different rates. In healthcare, for example, there has been a significant amount of innovation, but historically the pace of adoption has been relatively slow.

The pandemic acted as a major catalyst for change. It accelerated digital adoption across the sector and demonstrated what is possible when there is urgency and necessity, particularly in areas such as remote consultations, digital diagnostics and patient engagement tools.

That said, the market has become increasingly crowded, with a large number of new digital applications and products entering the space. While this level of innovation is positive, the reality is that not all of these solutions will be sustainable in the long term. Success will ultimately depend on scalability, collaboration and whether solutions genuinely improve patient outcomes and system efficiency.

If you were to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Not much, really. If I were to change one thing, I might have considered doing a trade or apprenticeship first.

I think trades and apprenticeships have been significantly undervalued in Ireland for many years, and we are now seeing the impact of that in terms of shortages of skilled tradespeople. In many cases, starting with a trade and then progressing into third-level education can provide a very strong foundation for a career, including moving into more corporate or commercial roles later on.

There is often a strong emphasis placed on academic performance and progressing directly from school into university, but I think that can place pressure on young people to make career-defining decisions too early. While some people have a very clear sense of direction at 17 or 18, many do not.

In my view, there should be more flexibility in how people build their careers over time, and more recognition that different pathways can lead to equally successful outcomes

Who inspires you in business today?  

No one individual in particular, but I have great admiration for the entrepreneurs and SME leaders across Ireland.

They are operating in an increasingly challenging environment, with rising costs across multiple areas including employment, insurance, energy, access to finance and commercial rents. Despite these pressures, they continue to build, employ and grow businesses, often in very difficult conditions.

SMEs are the backbone of the Irish economy and play a critical role in driving employment and regional development. In my view, there is a need for continued focus on ensuring they are properly supported so they can thrive and realise their full potential.

What advice/guidance do you give new hires and how do you nurture talent in your organisation?

For me, the most important qualities for new hires are attitude, a strong work ethic, and a willingness to learn. Those are often more important than academic achievement alone. A first-class degree or a master’s shows strong academic capability, but it doesn’t automatically translate into success in the working world.

In a commercial environment, success is about how you apply what you know, how quickly you learn on the job, and how effectively you work with others to solve problems and deliver outcomes.

In today’s working environment, I also think visibility is important, particularly for those starting out in their careers. Being present in the workplace and spending time with more experienced colleagues accelerates learning, builds relationships, and helps people develop more quickly.

In terms of nurturing talent, it comes down to giving people responsibility early, supporting them to grow, and creating an environment where they can learn from both success and failure.

What business books do you read or would recommend?

For me, reading is mainly about relaxing and switching off. I’ve always enjoyed it, and I usually travel with my Kindle and read in the evenings as a way to decompress before bed.

To stay informed, I keep up with business and global developments through publications like the Financial Times and other international media, which gives me a good sense of what’s happening in the wider world.

So it’s really a mix – reading for enjoyment and relaxation, and staying informed through quality journalism.

What technologies/tools do you use personally to keep you on track?

I’ve recently started using a reMarkable tablet, which has been very useful. The ability to download board papers and presentations means I can review and annotate documents when travelling, particularly on flights, which helps me stay on top of material and be fully briefed when I arrive at meetings.

More broadly, I try to keep things relatively simple in terms of tools, focusing on systems that help me stay organised, efficient, and able to prioritise effectively while on the move.

What social media platforms do you prefer and why?

I use LinkedIn quite regularly as a business tool for networking, industry updates and keeping in touch with broader market developments.

On a personal level, I find platforms like YouTube and TikTok useful for more practical or interest-based content. For example, we are currently renovating our house, so they can be a good source of inspiration, ideas and practical tips.

What are your thoughts on where technology overall is heading and how it will apply to business generally and your business particularly?

Technology in healthcare is increasingly focused on removing friction at every point where patients and providers lose time. That, in my view, is the real shift – not technology for its own sake, but how it improves access, speed and the overall patient experience.

Across industries, patients and customers now expect the same ease of use they experience when booking a flight or a restaurant. Providers that cannot meet that expectation risk being left behind.

At Affidea, we have already acted on this by introducing online booking and pre-registration, allowing patients to schedule appointments and complete administrative steps before arriving on site. We have also moved away from physical CDs in radiology, transitioning to fully digital image transfer. That change alone has significantly reduced delays and eliminated issues such as lost or inaccessible discs, ensuring images reach the right specialist more quickly.

Looking ahead, the organisations that succeed will be those that modernise fastest and make it easiest for patients to access care in a seamless and efficient way.

Finally, if you had advice for your 21-year-old self – knowing what you know now – what would it be?

Do what makes you happy, and don’t feel the need to become someone or do something just to conform to the expectations of your peers.

Life is about experience, and it’s important to make your own decisions, some of which will inevitably be mistakes, but ideally make them early and learn from them. I’ve also learned over time the importance of balance – work to live, rather than live to work.

As you get older, your circle of friends tends to become smaller, but it also becomes closer and more meaningful. That sense of perspective becomes increasingly important.

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