The most inspiring quotes from our IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year 2025 winners

One of the biggest nights on our social calendar, the annual IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards took place at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road on Friday, April 25.

Now in its 17th year, IMAGE Media is proud to recognise the amazing achievements of Irish businesswomen, their unparalleled contribution to the Irish economy and their vital role within the Irish business community, both at home and abroad. These awards are a testament to the skill and resilience of Irish women, and our winners are richly deserving of recognition.

From social entrepreneurs to sustainability champions, young businesswomen and start-ups to CEOs and STEM professionals, we are honoured to champion some of our country’s most amazing businesswomen and their stories — the innovators, the changemakers, and the determined hard workers. Congratulations to all our winners and to the wonderful runners-up.

While we would love to share every word of these awe-inspiring speeches with you, we’ve managed to pull out our absolute favourite quotes. Prepare to feel extremely motivated, encouraged, enlightened and seen.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Siobhán Talbot, former Group Managing Director, Glanbia Plc

“Try to find something that you love. It doesn’t mean that every day is going to be great fun. It simply won’t be, because not every day in life is great fun. Down the country, we say that makes you hardy. In Dublin, we would say it makes you resilient! Whatever word you choose, it is really important to be a bit hardy and resilient. Secondly, team. People are everything, and a business is nothing without the most amazingly passionate, ambitious people to drive that organisation forward. Find a team that shares your values, and you will get through the hardest of days. You will have great fun and you will enjoy the most brilliant days, because you will do it together. We spend a lot of time at our careers, so you really need to think about who you’re spending that time with.”

Overall Businesswoman of the Year

Aimee Connolly, CEO, Sculpted by Aimee

“You know, being a solo founder can be lonely at the top sometimes. I’m sure lots of people in the room will be able to identify with that. And I started out on this rocket ship – as I call it – eight years ago, leaving college, and I thought: ‘this would be gas – let’s do a brand’. And here we are, eight years in, and it’s been the most amazing journey. I have been blessed with the biggest support ever in Ireland, both from in this room and from the most amazing loyal community who have propelled us into other markets. I think you can’t be a CEO, you can’t be a brand founder, you can’t be an entrepreneur without the people around you. I never take the team for granted.”

CEO of the Year

Carolan Lennon, Country Leader, Salesforce Ireland, Salesforce

“Today, I lead Salesforce Ireland, the first location that opened outside of the US in 2000. We’re going to celebrate our 25th anniversary later this year, and believe it or not, I was actually the first woman to have this role as well. Now I’m CEO of the Year; how did that happen? Well, I think timing matters, as does being brave. Often, the detour is the path, but you don’t often see it. You don’t know it. There’s the Irish saying that says it takes a village to raise a child, but I think it takes at least a county to raise a good CEO.”

Creative Businesswoman of the Year

Anna Guerin, Director, The Landskein

“While I brought 20 years of design experience to my company that I established six years ago, I came to the business with no real business acumen. But I did have respect and values, and I insisted that throughout the journey we would maintain kindness and a focus on building relationships.”

Diversity and Inclusion Businesswoman of the Year – Community Advocate

Jeanne McDonagh, CEO, The Open Doors Initiative

“I want to call out to the younger women here tonight: Things really do get better with age. You get greater, you weather the storms, you’re less anxious. I only started public speaking at the age of 40! It gets better and better and better, and you should support each other to achieve that. Secondly, you cannot be a bystander. This room alone has the power to affect real, positive social impact, and you have to stand up and fight for that, for corporate social justice. It’s really important that you leave here tonight thinking: ‘How can I affect positive change?’”

Entrepreneur of the Year

Prof Caitriona Ryan and Prof Nicola Ralph, Co-founders and Consultant Dermatologists, Institute of Dermatologists

“The thing we are most proud of in this job is the team we have around us. We have the most amazing staff. So many patients say that they feel the warmth and the friendliness, and I think that’s what business is all about – having the right people on the bus with you.”

ESG Champion of the Year

Rosie O’Neill, Director of Sustainability, Ifac (Irish Farm Accounts Co-operative)

“I’m incredibly grateful and honestly amazed to have even been nominated, let alone receive this award. It represents the brilliant people I’ve learned from, worked with and been inspired by. It’s a huge honour to be listed among so many incredible women.”

Family Businesswoman of the Year

Ursula Kelly, Managing Director, Cormac Tagging

“Our daughters, Lauren and Elaina, are my foundation. Elaina is 12 and was born with Down syndrome, and it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge how deeply she has shaped me as a leader and a mother. She challenges me every day, not in irritation, but in possibility. All I see is her ability. Because of her, we’re building a family business that doesn’t just value diversity, it lives it. Her influence has led us to create an inclusive work environment that now includes employing adults with special needs. To every businesswoman in this room, I urge you to consider this path. Employing someone with special needs would not just change their world, but fill your heart.”

International Irish Businesswoman of the Year

Deirdre O’Neill, Co-founder and Chief Commercial and Legal Officer, Hertility Health Ltd

“The health of women is the health of everyone. Women’s health has so typically been dismissed, and it’s not just the medical profession that dismisses women’s health, it is ourselves too. One hundred per cent of us are impacted by our hormones. They dictate our skin, our weight, our metabolism, our sex drive, our sleep. They have everything to do with our wellbeing, but we know so little about them. That is why Hertility Health exists: to help people have appropriate diagnostic healthcare, to find answers about their health from menstruation all the way through menopause. When you consider the hormonal changes in a woman’s life, between pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause and all the data before that, isn’t it time we had answers about our health? That’s what we’re here for. I’m really proud to accept this award tonight, not just for Hertility but for all women too, so that we can we can demand the answers for our health, for ourselves, our sisters, our mothers and our daughters.”

Management Professional of the Year — Senior Professional

Aisling Teggart, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Accounting and Fund Administration, State Street

“I am somebody from Co Antrim, and to come from Antrim to here is quite astounding, actually. I moved to Dublin in my teenage years, and moving here gave me opportunities that I would never have had in Antrim. I really want to emphasise the amount of opportunity and investment that is needed in the North. I manage 2000 people, and that isn’t easy, but I have always done it with teamwork, collaboration and trust. And my advice for young people is, if you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you go together, and you have to go with a diverse team.”

Management Professional of the Year — Emerging Professional

Leanne Brolly, Vice President of Risk, Genesis Aircraft Leasing Services

“Like many of us here today, I have faced a lot of challenges. It took a lot of hard work and a deep belief in the value of people to push progress. I’ve always tried to lead with kindness, purpose and clarity, and that has helped me along in this journey.”

Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Community Impact

Eileen McHugh, Founder and CEO, Hair Together CLG

“I ended up doing work at fashion weeks, in Paris, London and Copenhagen, but my heart is back in Ballymun working with teenagers. I have a belief in people, that people deserve better. And today, our classes are lit with laughter and learning. Our people, staff, volunteers and subcontractors, they are just unreal. They bring so much love and joy to the classes, and their young people are doing great. This recognition is not just for me, it’s for everyone who has ever felt unseen, unheard. The next generation that we serve, we need to give them the confidence and the belief that they can chase their dreams too.”

Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Charitable Organisation

Deirdre Mortell, CEO, Rethink Ireland

“At Rethink Ireland, we are working towards a more just, equal and sustainable Ireland, and I’m pretty sure that is something everyone in this room believes in. We do this very simply by backing social innovations, backing people and organisations, nonprofits on the ground, solving critical social issues, building equality, scaling social enterprises, tackling education disadvantaged, building health equity and bringing forward the green transition.”

Start-up Businesswoman of the Year

Laura Dowling, Founder and CEO, fabÜ

“We all know that it [business] isn’t easy, and nothing is an overnight success. I’m a 22-year overnight success. To be honest with you, two and a half years ago I didn’t even know what a margin was and even with a gun to my head, I probably still don’t know what it means but that’s testament to the fact that you don’t need business skills in order to grow a business, just give it your heart and your soul.”

STEM Professional of the Year

Jacqui O’Connor, Founder and CEO, MedScan3D

“I started this company in 2019 when I was on my second maternity leave. And for me, it was about: how do I have time for my babies? But I had this burning ambition to still work in technology and make a difference. That’s when I founded MedScan3D. Not alone, but with the support of my amazing husband. He stood by me and said: ‘Do it. Of course, you can do it.’ And so, I did.”

Young Businesswoman of the Year (Under 35)

Nancy Costello, Co-owner, The Belle Brush and Owner, Belle Hair

“I started doing hair extensions from my college apartment 10 years ago. My main aim was to make women feel great, and I know you can do that through great hair. Then I had this mad idea eight years ago to bring a hairbrush to the market, and I asked my best friend, my business partner, if she wanted to do it with me, and she did. We started developing the website that very night, and now we have over 300,000 units sold. I have hired my husband. My best friend is my business partner. The best friend I met in college is my brand manager. They treat the business like it is their own. To some, it’s just a hairbrush, but to us it’s our family.”