Women and Leadership in Family Business Workshop
The DCU Centre for Family Business ignited important conversations around inclusivity and diversity in family business leadership last week at the ‘Women and Leadership in Family Business’ workshop.
The event was the first in a series of three workshops planned on the area of women in family business and it brought together both female and male family business leaders working across a variety of sectors.
Maura McAdam, Professor of Management and Director of Entrepreneurship at DCU, highlighted the need for Irish research in the area and spoke about the increased prominence of women into more public and visible leadership roles in family business. “Traditionally, women have been seen as the family glue – the chief emotional officers – and are now assuming important leadership positions in family businesses around the world.”
Keynote speaker, Vicki O’Toole, Managing Director of JJ. O’Tooles shared details of her career trajectory as leader of Ireland’s oldest packaging supplier. Following three generations of men, Vicki took over the business in 2010 following the death of her husband Fergus – grandson of the original founder. She has worked tirelessly to revamp the business and establish it as a significant player in the packaging market. JJ. O’Tooles Ltd. supplies a one-stop packaging solution to retailers such as Avoca, Dunnes Stores, Brown Thomas, Lloyds Pharmacy and Selfridges & Co.
Vicki spoke about the greatest challenges she has faced in her leadership role and imparted advice to those thinking about taking a leadership position and to those who have already secured leadership positions in a family business.
Inspired by Vicki’s keynote, participants then took part in an interactive session covering the following important discussion points:
- Being seen as a credible and legitimate leader/ successor
- Balancing family and work demands
- Successor selection – selecting the right person for the job
- Developing your leadership style
To register your interest for the next Women in Family Business workshop, visit https://www.dcu.ie/centre-for-family-business/index.shtml or email familybusiness@dcu.ie