"Stepping Up: Stepping Out & Empowerment"
- Date: Thursday 12th September 2024
- Time: 10am – 12.30pm (Registration from 9:30am)
- Venue: The Maldron Hotel, Whitestown Way, Tallaght, Dublin, D24 XC9W
- Cost: €20 (light lunch included followed by networking)
“Stepping Up: Stepping Out & Empowerment” is an inspiring event bringing together successful entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and innovative thinkers to share their insights, experiences, and journeys. This event is designed to empower participants, encourage entrepreneurship, and foster meaningful conversations about stepping out into the unknown, resilience, leadership, and inclusivity.
Programme
Welcome Address:
Tom Rooney Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office South Dublin
Dervla McCabe Development Adviser, Enterprise Ireland
Dervla McCabe is a Development Adviser in Enterprise Ireland. Dervla works closely with an exciting portfolio of Food & Beverage HPSUs and supports them to harness valuable opportunities and access to expansion network of industry personal and investors. Dervla works with companies across varying development stages, from pre-Seed, Seed to Scale. Dervla leads out on the Food Works programme, a dedicated 10-month investment accelerator programme for food & beverage companies.
Hosted by:
Sarita Johnston Director of Capstone Business Advisors
Sarita Johnston is Director of Business Planning at Capstone Business Advisors Limited, working with a diverse range of companies. Previously, she was a Senior Business Manager at DCU's Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion and held various roles at Enterprise Ireland. As Manager of Female Entrepreneurship at Enterprise Ireland, Sarita significantly increased the number of female-founded clients, achieving a rise from 15% to 28%.
Key Note Speaker:
Alison Cowzer Co-Founder, East Coast Bakehouse
Alison is the co-founder of East Coast Bakehouse, Ireland's only large-scale biscuit manufacturer. As a Dragon investor on RTÉ's Dragons' Den, she supports and invests in new Irish businesses. Alison is also Managing Director of The Company of Food, a specialist food investment firm, and serves on the Bord Bia Consumer Foods Board. Additionally, she is Vice Chair of GOAL, a Board member of the Ronald McDonald House Charity, Chairperson of Rough Magic Theatre Co., and hosts a business podcast on 'The Currency'.
Panel of presenters:
Panel 1: Stepping Out & Empowerment – Entrepreneurship Theme: Stepping out into the unknown and taking the risk.
Áine Kennedy – CEO & Founder, The Smooth Company
Aine Kennedy founded The Smooth Company in February 2022 after eight years in the beauty industry and earning a degree in Entrepreneurship from Maynooth University. She identified a market gap and created the Smooth Stick™, a premium hair taming wand enriched with Biotin and Vitamin E. Aine has been recognized as one of the Sunday Independent's 30 under 30 Irish businesspeople to watch and has won several awards, including the Emerging New Business Award and Irish Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Sarah Naylor – Founder, Beauty Business in a Box®; CEO & Founder, Angel Hair and Makeup
Sarah Naylor, founder of Beauty Business in a Box® and Angel Hair and Makeup, has nearly two decades of experience blending beauty with business. She empowers marginalised women by providing beauty skills and business tools for financial independence. Sarah collaborates with government agencies to support women's entrepreneurship and has received multiple awards for her leadership. She is also registered with the Teaching Council of Ireland, delivering vocational training and adult education nationwide, making a significant impact on women's empowerment and community engagement
MaryAnn Mesbur – Founder, BearsLittleFish.com; Co-Founder, Inclusion By Design
MaryAnn, founder of the award-winning childrenswear brand Bear's Little Fish, has a strong background in psychology and expertise in strategic leadership. Her brand, catering to babies with skin sensitivities, is stocked in retailers across Ireland, America, and Europe. With over 10 years of experience working with children with disabilities, MaryAnn has held roles in residential care and clinical behaviour support, with published research in 'The Journal for Intellectual Disabilities'. Her expertise in adapting environments for inclusivity informs her approach to product development and UX design.
Panel 2: Stepping Up – Believing and Doing Theme: Leadership, role models, and the power of conviction and resilience
Jenny Johnston – CEO, Azure Communications
Jenny Johnston is the CEO of Azure Communications, a leading print, distribution, and marketing firm in Dublin. With a diverse career, she has played key roles in launching JYSK in Ireland and managing its UK operations, as well as promoting Irish craft at Kilkenny Design. Jenny also founded The Suss Edit, a sustainable fashion brand, and serves on the board of The Club Women's Network, supporting female founders.
Dee Casey – Finance & Operations Director, Trinity Medical and Bond Health
Dee Casey is an experienced finance and operations executive with over 20 years in the financial sector. She began her career in commercial banking, working with EBS, Bank of Scotland Ireland, and Bank of Ireland. In 2017, Dee co-founded Trinity Medical, where she oversees finance and operations, ensuring the company runs smoothly.
Emma Kennedy – Managing Director, The Echo (Tallaght)
Emma has been the Marketing and Sales Manager since 2010 and in 2012 became the MD of The Echo Newspaper. She is extremely passionate about the newspaper and the service it provides to both communities and local businesses. In 2023 Emma completed the management of the self (business) funded Digital Transformation of The Echo Newspaper, a huge project that we undertook in 2018/2019 and only just completed in May 2023. The Echo are the first local Newspaper to introduce a subscription paywall to access all online content & the weekly E-paper. And Echo.ie is now the Number 1 local media digital platform in Dublin and top 5 in the country! They are continuously moving the goal posts for local news and how they serve it to our community, and they are extremely proud of our ongoing pursuit in recording local history.
Lucy Nugent – CEO, Tallaght University Hospital; President of the European Association of Hospital Managers
Lucy Nugent joined Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) as Chief Operations Officer in 2014, moved to the role of Deputy CEO in 2016 and was appointed CEO in January 2019. Prior to joining TUH she worked in Ireland's Health Service Executive in their Acute Hospitals Division as Head of Quality Assurance & Risk Management, Clinical & Patient Services Manager in the Children's University Hospital Temple Street. Prior to that she worked in a number of nursing roles as a registered general and children's nurse. She is a Past President of the Health Management Institute of Ireland and has represented it on several committees of the European Association of Hospital Managers and the International Hospital Federation. She is President of the European Association of Hospital Managers and is the first female to hold this position in its 53 year history. She is a Director of South Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Operation Smile Ireland.
