At 105 centimetres or 3' 5" tall, Sinéad Burke has become a booming voice in the global fashion world. Talking equality with US Vice Presidents and people such as Oprah, speaking not once, but twice, at Davos and being a contributing editor to British Vogue, Sinéad has the goal of designing a world that works for everyone. However, she wasn't always so clear about her purpose nor was she always so accepting of herself.
She tells Margaret E Ward about the major turning point that led her to radical self acceptance and to her guiding mantra: "I'm not changing for anybody." As an activist and academic who found her voice online, Sinéad also discusses the struggle to "define" your elevator pitch when you wear many hats. And despite all of this remarkable success, at just 28, she still loses her nerve. She also reveals her personal pep talk process to us.
Ruth travels the world to find the best CEOs, CFOs and CIOs for a whole range of high-level organisations. She’s managing partner at MERC, Ireland’s leading executive search firm – a role she balances with being a mother to four children all under the age of 12.
In the latest Broadly Speaking podcast, Ruth talks us through the key attributes needed for leaders in today’s world, what organisations are looking for before they hire and the trends that she sees emerging.
Managing a team of 2,000 employees is a huge responsibility, but Anne O’Leary takes it all in her stride. As chief executive of Vodafone Ireland, she has worked hard to build an inclusive, flexible and empathetic culture.
Anne does not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to people management. Instead she is focused on understanding what works for individual employees and their lives outside the office. She not only talks the talk on work-life balance but this former triathlete, who still has a passion for exercise, lives it too.
When entrepreneur Nikki Evans quit her well-paid management consulting job in London to move home to Ireland during the recession and start a pre-paid gift card business, people thought she was bonkers. But last year, over a decade after launching her business and a few pivots later, she sold her company for €6 million.
Now Nikki is chief executive of the fintech business she founded, Perfect Card, and is keen to keep growing it. She has built an “output-focused” work culture and considers her ability to make decisions to be one of her biggest strengths as an entrepreneur.
Broadly Speaking, hosted by Margaret E. Ward, goes behind the scenes to find out what motivates, frustrates and intrigues the people who lead. Featuring in-depth interviews with founders, innovators and senior executives, this leadership and management podcast is for people who want to lead or are fascinated by those who do.
It was an awkward dinner and a "make or break" moment. Louise Grubb, co-founder and CEO of TriviumVet was going to have to explain how her wonderful pharmaceutical business couldn't pay the dinner bill. She was in Copenhagen wining and dining a man who would become a major and game-changing distributor for her nutraceutical product. Thankfully he paid the bill and Louise lived to tell the glorious tale, which she does so here to Margaret E Ward. From the daughter of a shopkeeper to being a "lost" dietician, Louise recounts her story of entrepreneurial success where she started not one but three businesses and now lives in the home of her dreams overlooking the sea. If you need a pep talk in tenacity and a serving of doggedness, Louise's story will solve both of those needs.
Podcast Length: 32:24
Broadly Speaking, hosted by Margaret E. Ward, goes behind the scenes to find out what motivates, frustrates and intrigues the people who lead. Featuring in-depth interviews with founders, innovators and senior executives, this leadership and management podcast is for people who want to lead or are fascinated by those who do.