8th March 2022 - International Women's Day Event - Local Enterprise Office

“International Women’s Day 2022: Celebrating the Power of Networking"

Kindly sponsored by Bardan and Irish Times Training

Banner for IWD 2022

Tuesday 8th March 17.30-21.00

Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8 D08 VRR7

The Local Enterprise Offices in Dublin and the Dublin Chamber will hold a major International Women's Day 2022 celebration on 8th March, which will bring over 250 of Ireland’s most successful business leaders and female entrepreneurs together for an evening of networking and learning. It is now two years since the LEOs and the Chamber of Commerce were last able to hold this major event so it will be an extra special event as we resume where we left off! We will have a wonderful speaker lineup this year with keynote speaker Anne Sheehan, General Manager, Microsoft Ireland and a panel of entrepreneurs consisting of Emma Finn, Founder, Bees on the Roof, Yinka Martin, Founder and CEO, HairWeavon Wigs & Hair and Dobrawa Brach, Managing Director , Arran Street East. There will also be short talks from sponsor representatives Imelda Ray, Managing Director, Irish Times Training and Sandra Quinn, Partner, Barden and Mary McSweeney, Deputy Head of Economic Development and Enterprise Dublin City will also make a short address.

Ruth Scott of 2FM will be the MC for the night. This event will be attended by over 250 women in business. The talks will be followed by networking over wine and finger food.

(See Speaker Profiles below)

This is a member only event so please book your place through one of the participating organisations or email leodcwomeninbusiness@gmail.com for more information.

Participating Organisations:

Dublin Chamber of Commerce www.dublinchamber.ie/

Local Enterprise Office Dublin City https://www.localenterprise.ie/DublinCity

SPEAKER PROFILES

MC – Ruth Scott, Radio Broadcaster

Keynote Speaker

Anne Sheehan, General Manager, Microsoft Ireland:

Anne joined Microsoft Ireland as General Manager in October 2021, taking responsibility for the sales, marketing, and services business across the island of Ireland - with a particular focus on delivering business transformation with Microsoft’s customers and partners within the public and private sectors. Prior to joining Microsoft, Anne was Enterprise Director at Vodafone UK, with responsibility for sales, brand, product and solution design, services, and government relations, across multiple lines of business. Before assuming her UK responsibilities, Anne ran Vodafone Ireland’s Enterprise Business in Ireland for four years. Previously, Anne worked at IBM for 16 years across a number of senior positions, including Vice President of Sales and Services for the Nordic Region, Sales and Services Director for IBM Ireland, Head of Channel, and Head of Infrastructure & Technology Services.
Anne holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies, specialising in Accounting and Finance, and a Graduate Diploma in Computing, both from the University of Limerick.
Anne is passionate about partnering with Irish organisations to work together towards an innovative and progressive digital world.

Panel Speakers

Emma Finn, Founder, Bees on the Roof

Emma has been a beekeeper for more than 10 years after swapping the corporate world for a life working outdoors. What started out as a hobby for her has now become a full-time job and one she is hugely passionate about. Currently studying for her Bee Masters, she enjoys attending lectures and talks around the country and learning from international speakers in her community. Emma has been the Education Officer for Fingal Beekeepers Association since 2016. In that time, she has visited schools with a demonstration hive and has spoken to over 10,000 children who are absolutely fascinated with all things bee-related. Just like her! She is a strong promoter for the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and has a very strong commitment to Dublin City. She is currently working on programmes for living walls and getting urban areas, micro-parks, bus stops and even lamp-posts filled with plants to provide more food for bees. She previously worked for an international bank for 10 years based in London and Dublin, working for a large US firm. Emma ran her own busy coffee shop in Dublin for 10 years where she learnt a lot about people, customer service, survived the last crash and running a small business. She is Honorary Secretary for the Fingal North Dublin Beekeepers Association and co-ordinator of the Beginners Beekeeping class.
Emma has taken the opportunity to extend her qualifications and has completed a Business and Entrepreneurship post graduate programme in TCD. She has a Level 6 diploma in Community Development. In 2019, she set up her own business called “Bees on the Roof “in 2019 which provides a corporate beekeeping service in urban areas, helping to support biodiversity and the environment.“My motto for my business is that I want to turn Dublin from grey to green and that’s why I set up Bees on the Roof. I’m so passionate about bee-keeping and encouraging biodiversity and I’m very fortunate that I’ve been able to turn my hobby into a career,” said Emma.“I love sharing that passion with other people, particularly young children

Yinka Martin, Founder and CEO, HairWeavon Wigs & Hair

Yinka Martin set up HairWeavon in 2011. An online store specializing in wigs and hair pieces for women and men experiencing hair loss, i.e Alopecia, cancer patients, etc.
Through their in-store and eCommerce offering, HairWeavon now serves customers in 42 different countries with a key focus of supporting its niche community.

Dobrawa Brach, Managing Director , Arran Street East

Dobrawa Brach is Manging Director of Arran Street East: a luxury, handmade homewares brand, based in Dublin. Prior to this role Dobrawa was senior project manager in MCO Projects Ltd, a project management company specialising in healthcare and environmental project management. In 2015 she worked as Gallery and Exhibitions Manager for Irish Design 2015, a year-long initiative aimed at promoting design. Originally from Poland, in Ireland since 2005. Since the start of pandemic Dobrawa has been juggling work, homeschooling, and her new passion – weaving.

Niamh Herrity, CEO, Pink Kong Studios Dublin

Niamh Herrity is CEO and award-winning Producer at Pink Kong Studios Dublin. Recipient of Female Entrepreneur of the year 2015, IBYE finalist 2016 and Dublin City Entrepreneur of the year 2017 - Niamh's Business background has enabled her to push the studio to new heights.

Since Niamh co-founded Pink Kong in 2014, she has produced award winning content for the Studio including a BAFTA winning Game "Virginia" (2016), IFTA nominated "Departure" (2017) and her current IFTA nominated film “The Dead Hands of Dublin” (2020) funded by Screen Ireland and RTÉ as part of the framework scheme.

Niamh produced Irelands first original animated Virtual Reality short narrative “AURORA” (2018) which premiered as the main centrepiece for Audi Dublin International Film Festival “Immersive Stories” conference. Co- creator and producer of “Urban Tails” TV series premiered on RTÉjr in September 2019.

Currently the studio is in receipt of Screen Ireland Slate funding and working on three TV series and a feature that are in development along with development work on an Augmented Reality game for children.

Niamh also plays an active role within Ireland's animation community holding seats on both the board of Animation Ireland, Irish Animation Awards, Women in Animation Ireland and is the Irish Ambassador for the European Animation Awards.

Sponsor Speakers:

Imelda Ray, Managing Director, Irish Times Training

Imelda joined the team in Irish Times Training in 2017 as Head of Marketing, before being appointed Managing Director in 2019. Prior to joining Irish Times Training, Imelda spent nearly 20 years working mainly across the Tourism Sector in senior roles in JWT and Fáilte Ireland. Imelda is a firm believer in continued learning and education and has seen first-hand the impact continued learning has not only on career development, but also on staff effectiveness, engagement and retention. A native of Mullingar, Imelda now has close ties to North county Dublin and can be seen enjoying the Howth Cliff Walk at the weekends.

Sandra Quinn, Partner, Barden

Partner at Barden, and expert in Executive Search and Senior Appointments
A big 4 trained chartered accountant with many years of executive recruitment experience, Sandra leads our executive search recruitment practice in Ireland supporting senior appointments across industry, financial services and professional services. With a deep understanding of executive level recruitment, Sandra specialises in CFO, Finance Director and other senior leadership positions mainly on a retained basis. Sandra and her team are where CEOs and Boards in Ireland go for advice, before they start hiring for their leadership team.

You can join the network for €50 for 2022 through this link: https://www.localenterprise.ie/DublinCity/Training-Events/Online-Bookings/Women-In-Business-Membership.html