Women Who Mean Business

1st October 2019

Posted In: The Interview | It's All About Women

The WMB Awards hosted today (Monday, September 30^th) was a day of celebration, of contemplation and a day that introduced new connections and reignited old ones. It could not have taken place without the support of WMB’s sponsors, our speakers, the participation of our attendees and in particular, our wonderful Finalists.

Opening the event, Rosemary Delaney, Founder and Managing Director of WMB said: “Our theme ‘The Power of Opportunity’ is one which all of our Finalists have grasped with vigor. They have identified a gap in the market, a right set of circumstances – that golden opportunity that separates ‘doers’ from dreamers.

“When reflecting on the nominations received for this year’s WMB Awards I was offered an insight into what success truly looks like – One has to have passion, a strong work ethic, self-belief, resilience, bravery, forgiveness, authenticity, empathy, honesty and the ability to be good to oneself! These Awards are much more than ‘getting on the shortlist or raising the trophy’. Although there is only one award winner for each of our five Award categories, our finalists are all winners, they are all role models, and they are all deserving of recognition.”

The five Award categories include: Matheson WMB Female Entrepreneur Award; Newstalk WMB Female Social Entrepreneur Award; WMB Woman in Technology Award; Sodexo WMB Female Newcomer Award and the WMB Businesswoman Award.

The recipient of this year’s WMB Businesswoman Award 2019 is Sinead Fitzmaurice, CEO, Transfermate.

‘Empowered women, empower women’

More about our Winners

WMB Businesswoman Award 2019

Sinead Fitzmaurice, CEO, TransferMate

TransferMate is a global B2B payments technology, which integrates with banks, corporates and software partners to streamline their global payment needs. Earlier this year, the company announced a new strategic partnership with Coupa Software (NASDAQ: COUP). It has also built a strategic relationship with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. to deliver Global Invoice Connect^SM – the go-to platform for U.S.-based international businesses looking for a simpler, more cost-effective solution for receiving payments from their global customers. ING Group N.V., and AIB are both strategic partners with and investors in TransferMate Global Payments. Sinead is CEO of the company with a background as a Chartered Accountant having trained at PwC. Her advice to others: “Always put yourself in the other person’s shoes (customer or boss) before handing over your work, ensure perfection and strive to produce output that is always better than your competition”.

Matheson WMB Female Entrepreneur Award 2019

Eimer Hannon, Founder & MD, Hannon Travel

Eimer is a successful entrepreneur in the travel business with more than 30 years’ experience of working in the global travel industry. A well-known and respected figure, she sits on the Irish International Air Transport Association Agency Programme Joint Council and also on the Amadeus Consumer Advisory Board. Her lightbulb moment came when she saw the opportunity to create a unique corporate travel agency with emphasis on a seamless personal service for travellers, supporting their travel and logistics from the moment of the enquiry to the end of the journey. Hannon Travel was founded in 1999 and has grown to become one of Ireland’s leading corporate travel management companies. Headquartered in Navan, the company services many sectors including aviation, finance, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, equestrian, engineering and mining. Eimer sits on the boards of Navan Racecourse and Navan Rugby Club. She has a firm commitment to fund raising and leads a number of high-profile charity initiatives across Ireland and holds the position of President of Navan Lions Club.

Newstalk WMB Social Entrepreneur Award 2019

Alex Cooney, Co-Founder & CEO, CyberSafeIreland

Alex is co-founder of CyberSafeIreland, a social enterprise that aims to empower children and parents to navigate the online world in a safe and responsible manner. The organisation primarily delivers educational programmes to children, but also targets parents, teachers and the wider public. Alex advocates for change at a national level and while the organisation may be small, their impact is big – Currently they have given talks to over 17k children on how to have safer, healthier and more positive online experiences and have spoken to over 4k parents on protecting and empowering their children in the online world. On life as a social entrepreneur, Alex quotes from Dr. Seuss: “Life’s too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it’d be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.”

WMB Woman in Technology Award 2019

Lorna Martyn, SVP, Head of Technology, Fidelity

In her current role as Head of Technology, Lorna leads 700 technology professionals who develop superior quality innovative technology solutions for the Fidelity business. Lorna is also part of the technology leadership team driving Fidelity’s global strategy for Ireland, India and China. As a senior female leader, she is a coach and advocate for diversity & inclusion and most particularly greater female participation in technology. With over half of the senior technology leadership team in Fidelity Ireland being female, her team stands out from the norm. Lorna sits on the board of Technology Ireland and she is a member of the oversight committee for the government’s skills 2022 action plan. Lorna was the recipient of the ITAG Women in Technology Award 2016 and named on Silicon Republic’s Invent 100 list in 2018. Her advice as a woman in business: “Lead with empathy, corroborate with data.”

Sodexo WMB Female Newcomer Award for 2019

Orlaith Ryan & Sharon Cunningham, Founders & Directors, Shorla Pharma

Shorla Pharma develops innovative oncology products with a particular focus on women and paediatric cancers. Shorla Pharma was founded by Sharon Cunningham and Orlaith Ryan – Orlaith has a background in pharmaceutical product development, regulation and compliance and is a Biochemist, holding an MSc in Regulatory Affairs. Sharon has a back ground in corporate finance, accounting and fundraising and is a PwC qualified Chartered Accountant with an MBA. In June the company completed a successful pre-IND meeting with FDA on their oncology product SH105. This positive outcome strengthens the teams efforts to bring SH105 to market benefiting women suffering from breast and ovarian cancer. A significant milestone on Shorla Pharma’s journey of bringing innovative oncology therapies to market. On life as an entrepreneur, they quote from Sheryl Sandberg: “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on.”

Women Mean Business