UP FRONT
CONNECTING WOMEN EXECUTIVES ALUM PROFILE
Sarah McDonough (BComm 96, MBA 06) has been appointed country manager with the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) in Ireland, the 2,700-member networking, mentoring and professional development organisation.
Owner and managing director of blos- som, a marketing consultancy specialising in brand and marketing programme man- agement, McDonough says she is looking forward to assisting WXN in Ireland with its growth and business development plans. “I’m passionate about the whole area of advancing women in the workplace, and when I joined WXN I found it to be a very high-level network. “WXN events offers a great chance for senior businesspeople to come together and network in a very relaxed but well- organised and structured way,” says McDonough. “The calibre of speakers that WXN has managed to attract is really impressive. I’ve often come out of those breakfasts really feeling that I’ve had a great start to my day, that I’ve really gained some insights.” One area McDonough is keen to devel- op is the all-island element of WXN. “It’s one of the great things about WXN.
We’re particularly strong in the Republic, but growing in Northern Ireland. That’s something I’d be keen to support and real-
TWO’S COMPANY ENTERPRISING ALUM
Bill Phelan (BComm 72) is one of the many brave Irish entrepreneurs unwill- ing to let a mere downturn get in the way of a business idea. Together with Jennifer Haskins, Phelan launched a new matchmaking agency, Two’s Company in January of this year. Phelan, founder of The Phelan
Partnership 28 years ago, is well known in the commercial real estate world, while Haskins is an executive coach with experience in psychotherapy and counselling. Phelan describes the new business as “a fresh thinking, totally
8 UCD BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
ly develop over the coming years.” Another ambi- tion is to enhance the existing pro- gramme of events. “My aim would be to build on the strong foundation WXN has built up since 2008, to build on the great programme of events,” she says. “The breakfast series is a real signature programme and we intend to grow that from strength to strength. “And we want to grow our membership, and to ensure that our members are really learning all the time, and tailor initiatives to their lifestyles. To that end, we’ll be rolling out a strong webinar programme. And, of course, we’ve launched the Wisdom mentoring programme, which is all about facilitating peer mentoring for professional women. We’re very excited about that,” she adds. McDonough will combine her role with WXN in Ireland with her work at blossom. Prior to blossom, she spent over six years with O2 as brand communications manag- er and more recently as head of Insight. McDonough was previously marketing manager with Golden Pages. The Women’s Executive Network (WXN) in Ireland launched in Autumn 2008. More details are available at
www.wxnetwork.com.
PROGRAMME NEWS
GRADUATES 4 INTERNATIONAL GROWTH
As part of a new initiative launched in August by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe TD, 50 top-level grad- uates will be placed in export-led firms to assist the companies with their export market development strategies. The Graduates 4 International Growth (G4IG) initiative, developed by Enterprise Ireland in partnership with UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, is to last for 18 months. Graduates will undertake an initial six-month intensive train- ing and skills development pro- gramme in an Enterprise Ireland client firm followed by a 12-month placement in a relevant overseas market.
Successful graduate participants will be awarded a postgraduate diploma in International Growth by UCD Smurfit School.
“By combining access to the
private and confidential matchmaking agency”. “We provide a personalised service that caters to our member’s require- ments," he says. “Many of our clients are just too busy to spend the little free time they have trying to meet someone, and if the pub or club scene is just not your style then where do you go? “We provide a select, more exclusive non-mainstream alternative, which is not database driven, but a niche service, dedicated to professionals who value their personal details and privacy,” says Phelan. And he tells us he’s offering a special reduced fee for UCD alumni! See
www.twoscompany.ie.
expertise and contacts of Enterprise Ireland's worldwide network of offices and UCD’s extensive experi- ence in delivering executive busi- ness-development programmes, we are confident that G4IG will deliver significant results for companies and participants,” said Frank Ryan, chief executive of Enterprise Ireland.
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