Last night Cpl CEO, Anne Heraty, was the keynote speaker at Irish International Business Network's event in The House of Lords, Dublin. Anne discussed her own journey of success and failure and gave valuable insights into women in the workplace.
Anne, who is also President of IBEC, discussed the barriers that are still inhibiting female participation in the workforce. 'High childcare costs are depriving us of talent.' These costs are so extreme, that a second family income is reduced by an average of 92%, leaving little to no incentive to engage in the workplace. Failure to address this issue will deprive business of vitalfemale talent.
Anne who founded Cpl in 1989, has built her business through a combination of organic growth and key acquisitions. On the latter she noted, 'I'm glad we made so many mistakes in our first acquisition. This gave us great learning for the future.' Anne expressed how success and failure are two sides of the same coin. Businesses need to change their mindset on failure - 'it's vital as it sets us up for the next challenge'.
Anne spoke about how people themselves are the key to success, which is even more pronounced in the current political climate. Ahard Brexitraises major concerns for free movement of talent. so it's important that businesses are fully prepped for this. 'The most important thing that any leader can do is put the right people in the right jobs.'We will need to ensure that we're focusing on engaging the talent we have while also looking to the global disaspora.
The Irish International Business Network is a global organisation, which aims to connect Irish business people around the world. With it's the headquarters in London, the IIBN intends to set up chapters in all leading cities with large Irish networks, in an effort to nurture Irish entrepreneurs abroad.
Find out more atwww.iibn.com