Aidan McCullen

Rugby career

McCullen started playing rugby at Castleknock College after moving to Dublin from County Meath. He represented Leinster at schools level and captained both the Leinster under-19 and under-20 teams before progressing to the Ireland U21 side.

In 1998, after playing for Ireland U21s, McCullen spent a season with US Dax in the French first division before returning to Ireland to join Lansdowne Football Club in the All-Ireland League. He signed for Leinster Rugby in 2001 as Irish rugby shifted its focus from the All-Ireland League to the emerging Celtic League. That year he also represented the Ireland Sevens in the 2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens.

McCullen made 60 appearances for Leinster and earned a senior international cap for Ireland in a match against Samoa on 20 June 2003.

In 2005, he signed for Toulouse. The French newspaper La Dépêche described him as a "bonne pioche" (a "good pick") for the club. Although he broke into the starting team and played 16 games for Toulouse over a period of 6 months, a knee injury limited his time at the club. He joined London Irish in 2006, remaining with that club until 2008.

McCullen later returned to Ireland and served as a player-coach with Lansdowne from the 2008/2009 season.

For several years, McCullen also worked as a rugby commentator with Setanta Sports (later Eir Sport).

Business career

As of 2013, McCullen was "head of digital" at Communicorp. He was involved in developing the digital infrastructure at the organisation and promoted the concept of "Radio You Can Read", an early multimedia extension of the Newstalk 106–108 brand.

In January 2016, McCullen joined RTÉ as "head of innovation partnerships and funding". He later worked with the business think-tank Katawave. He wrote Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organisations and Life, a business and management book published by Wiley in 2021.

He is a consultant, a speaker at international events, and lectures in Trinity College Business School. He is also a non-executive board director for National Broadband Ireland and the Rise Global Foundation. McCullen is the founder of the "Reinvention Summit", an annual event focused on organisational reinvention and innovation, held in Dublin.

McCullen also hosts The Innovation Show, a weekly podcast programme published online and broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra. In 2025, he received the "Thinkers50 Innovation Award" for his work on the podcast.

References

References

1. "The Innovation Show with Aidan McCullen".
2. (9 April 2025). "We can do it better — Reinventing capitalism for the planet's future". The Reinvention Summit.
3. (2021-04-07). "'Where Are They Now?': Aidan McCullen".
4. (3 May 2015). "'My agent was looking at me like I was crazy but I signed on the back of a napkin'".
5. (14 June 2001). "Ireland leave out Johns".
6. "Samoa (7) 14 – 40 (9) Ireland (FT)".
7. Lauga, Philippe. (15 September 2005). "Top 14. Aidan McCullen, bonne pioche à trèfle". La Dépêche.
8. "Aidan McCullen".
9. "It's a yes vote for Newstalk fans".
10. (23 May 2013). "Newstalk launches 'Radio You Can Read'".
11. (30 January 2016). "Top RTE role for ex-rugby star". Drogheda Independent.
12. (28 January 2017). "McCullen signs up for Katawave". Drogheda Independent.
13. "Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organisations and Life".
14. "Our Public Service - Public Service Innovation Conference".
15. "Aidan McCullen - Trinity Business School".
16. "Meet the team".
17. "About".
18. "Aidan McCullen".
19. (23 November 2025). "How can innovation help us adapt, evolve, and regenerate in a world of constant change?".