Patricia
Callan, Director, SFA — Winner of O2 WMBusinesswoman
of the Year Award 2007
“Winning
the inaugural 02 WMBusinesswoman of the Year Award was a huge
honour for me. The Awards celebrate the real achievements
of women in business, and present a fantastic opportunity for
businesswomen to raise their profile and promote their own
businesses. I would encourage
everyone to nominate just one person they think is an exceptional
businesswoman, as the highlighting of female role-models has
been proven to be a contributing factor in encouraging more
females to take up senior management roles and indeed to set-up
their own businesses. The
O2 WMB Conference also presents an excellent opportunity to
hear from a wonderful line-up of speakers and to meet many
other fabulous like-minded women, who can share their knowledge
and potentially develop real business opportunities.”
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Nicola
Rathbone, Handsban — Winner of Accenture WMBig Idea Award
2007
"Last
year I had come to a crossroads in developing my product. For
seven years I had done little bits on the project here and
there but earning a living, home life and volunteer work with
the Inventors Association kept sidetracking me. Finalising
my divorce forced me to re-evaluate where I was going and what
I was doing and I realised it was now or never, it was time
to put up or shut up. I knew I needed a mentor and contacted
Patricia O’Sullivan, someone who I knew was well experienced
in helping entrepreneurs in the start-up phase. She was invaluable
in helping me get started and keep focused and so when I saw
the WMB Awards last year, I wanted to nominate her not only
for the help she gave me but for the outstanding success she
has made of the M50 project in Tallaght.
While I was on the website I noticed there
was also a Big Idea category with a prize of mentoring
with Accenture. As I was already there filling in the form nominating
Patricia I figured ‘may as well’ and filled in an
entry for my own product as well. Knowing I was in the early
stages and figuring there would be much stronger products out
there I thought no more about it until I attended at the Conference.
I had a great time, it was so inspiring listening to the speakers
like Jack Black and meeting incredible people like Tara Cunningham
who have such enthusiasm and drive for what they do. When I saw
the shortlist, I was so impressed by the other ideas that when
they called my name my jaw nearly hit the table. And even though
I believe in my product, getting help from Accenture is like
upgrading my Fiat to a Ferrari — the journey has been quicker,
smoother and in much more style!
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Tara
Cunningham, Founding Director of Release Communications Intervention — Winner
of the Irish Life WMB Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award
2007
“My
husband Mark Cunningham came across the WMB Social Entrepreneur
of the Year Nomination form last year the day nominations closed,
and I am so thankful he took the time to tell my story. Winning
the Irish Life WMB Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award has
made a remarkable difference. Firstly, it’s absolutely
wonderful to be recognised for all the hard work I do on behalf
of Release and children with disabilities in a social entrepreneurial
context — i.e. I was nationally recognised as a business
which exists to change the system, not make a profit. Secondly,
within 15 minutes of receiving the Award, Danuta Gray, CEO
of O2 agreed to be a member of my Ashoka Advisory Board. Her
participation has been extraordinary. Finally, I was overwhelmed
with congratulations and offers of help from so many people.
All of which is pushing me harder to make a greater difference
in the lives of children with disabilities."
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Laura
Thorp, Laura's Bakery, Winner of County & City Enterprise Boards
WMBreakthrough Award 2007
“O2
WMB Conference and Awards was very different to any other similar
event that I had been to. The atmosphere was one of support,
excitement, and genuine interest. I found the speakers and the
people I met genuinely inspiring and relevant to what I was trying
to do. The event as it was, was very enjoyable and motivating.
Imagine my surprise when I heard my name called out for the WMBreakthrough
award! It meant a lot to me to be recognised for what I do. Sometimes
it is easy to see only the problems and day-to-day challenges
of my business, winning the award allowed me to step back and
think that yeah, maybe I had achieved something worth celebrating!
It raised the profile of the business and I got a lot of good
publicity from it including an article in the Irish Times Magazine.”
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Martina
Delaney & Suzanne Browne, Handy Baby Products — Winner
of Bank of Ireland WMB Entrepreneur of the Year
Award 2007
"Winning
these awards was a great boost to our confidence in our company
and ourselves and we were really very proud to be a part of
the awards. We were surprised at how
many calls we got from individuals and from businesses congratulating
us on the achievement. In addition the PR that was generated
from the Awards was absolutely phenomenal. Like every business
PR on this level is a fantastic boost to you brand and company
and all companies need PR like this. It was a great day out,
well organised and a credit to Rosemary and her team for initiating
this huge event and for it to be the resounding success that
it was. We would certainly encourage every company or individual
to take part and attend. There are great networking opportunities
and great inspiration to be had from the guest speakers. As an
individual within a company who is nominated I could not recommend
participation strongly enough for you, it will only strengthen
your skill set which in turn can only lead to better things.
Surprise yourself and take the initiative”.
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