5 business women to celebrate this Nollaig Na mBan
Happy Nollaig Na mBan.
For all our international friends, today is Women’s Christmas – an old Irish custom. Traditionally Irish women were the homemakers and Christmas was a busy time for them. We know what you’re thinking – it still is! By the time the 6th of January came around it was time for the ladies of the household to take a well-earned break and celebrate Christmas together.
As a female-led family business we love the idea of celebrating women, and the tradition of Nollaig Na mBan. Here are 5 women operating here in Ireland, and Northern Ireland, to celebrate this Women’s Christmas.
1. Carrie Neely – Art Loves
A creative mind with an entrepreneurial spirit, Carrie is definitely one woman to watch out for in 2017.
Carrie has delivered art consultancy for over 18 years in Belfast, London and New York. She has worked with the world’s best known artists and galleries such as Jeff Koons, Eyestorm, and David Bailey. While in London she also ran her own gallery with clients like Sony BMG, Selfridges and Fortnum and Mason.
Carrie returned to her roots and established Carrie Neely Art in Belfast in 2009, to help emerging artists make a name for themselves as well as selling works by the more established Irish artists.
After identifying something missing in Ireland she transformed her business into Art Loves. Art Loves offers art consultancy, commercial interiors, corporate and public art as well as curating exhibitions and events.
2. Gemma Godfrey – Moo.la
Gemma Godfrey took the path less travelled from physics to finance. She is also a pro at communicating and engaging with audiences.
Gemma is the Founder and CEO of Moo.la, an online wealth manager which is said to be the future of investing.
With a background in quantum physics, Gemma was previously the Head of Investment Strategy at Brooks Macdonald, Chairman of the Investment Committee at Credo Capital and a Fund Manager at GAM.
Gemma is passionate about making investing accessible to all. She is a trusted expert in the media, and an advisor on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice. Ranked amongst the ‘savviest’ on Wall Street by the Wall Street Journal, Gemma was also selected by the BBC as one of the world’s top 100 women “striving to make the world a better place”.
3. Pamela Newenham – GirlCrew
From crafting articles to creating tight-knit groups of friends, Pamela Newenham, is a rising start-up star.
Pamela is a business journalist with The Irish Times. She specialises in the areas of innovation, technology, start-ups and entrepreneurship. This interest in innovation and entrepreneurship led to Pamela co-creating GirlCrew.
GirlCrew, now a worldwide community, began as a small Facebook group for 100 women in Dublin. It now spans to 46 cities worldwide with more than 45,000 members.
GirlCrew is an online and offline community for women to make new friends, and network in a social and professional capacity. You could go for brunch with a group of mums in Cork, go for cocktails in a club in New York, or maybe surfing in Sydney. There’s something for everyone, everywhere.
Pamela has helped to grow this online community into a successful start-up and now a worldwide business. Pamela looks after raising money, dealing with investors, as well as the financial and legal areas. She is essentially driving the business forward, expanding worldwide and creating lasting friendships.
4. Giustina Mizzoni – CoderDojo
Guistina Mizzoni was CoderDojo’s first employee, so it is only fitting that she now holds the position of Executive Director.
An understanding of programming languages is becoming increasingly important in the modern world, with anything it’s easier to start when you are young.
The folks behind CoderDojo have built a global network of free, volunteer-led, community-based programming clubs for young people. Anyone aged seven to seventeen can visit a Dojo where they can learn to code, build a website, create an app or game, and explore technology in a creative and social environment.
Giustina is an avid technology fan, she managed the Irish operations of a coworking space for startup technology companies prior to joining CoderDojo.
As well as an impressive professional career, Guistina also understands the importance of charity work in her spare time. She has previously volunteered with the British Red Cross Refugee Services, Ashoka, and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland.
5. Olivia McEvoy – EY
Aspiring for a world where diversity is celebrated, Olivia McEvoy is Director of EY’s Diversity & Inclusion Advisory service.
Olivia leads a dedicated consultancy team to help clients achieve their Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) ambitions.
Prior to this Olivia provided consultancy to Government Departments, State Agencies as well as the Community & Voluntary sector in stakeholder engagement and inclusive participative practice.
She is also a prominent voluntary advocate in the LGBT community, instigating a number of innovative and impactful projects that resulted in significant positive change for the LGBT community. She served as Chair of the National LGBT Federation from 2013-2016.Olivia has had a long-term involvement in the campaign to secure marriage equality in Ireland.