AUTHOR EDNA O’BRIEN, ADVENTURER DR CLARE O’LEARY AND ENTREPRENEUR, PHILANTHROPIST & SENATOR MARY ANN O’BRIEN ALL TO SPEAK AT INAUGURAL AWARDS CEREMONY

Women of Substance: 25 remarkable women to be honoured on June 14th

WXN launches Ireland’s Most Powerful Women: Top 25 Awards Gala

Dublin, Ireland, May 30, 2012: WXN Ireland has announced three of their 25 winners in advance of the Ireland’s Most Powerful Women: Top 25 Gala on June 14^th.  The other 22 winners remain embargoed. 

The three winners are announced today as they will be the keynote speakers at the Gala event. They exemplify the passion, confidence and courage shared by all of Ireland’s Most Powerful Women: Top 25 Award Winners.

Dr. Clare O’Leary is an adventurer always seeking and conquering new challenges. She was the first Irish woman to climb Mount Everest and ski to the South Pole, among other accomplishments.

Senator Mary Ann O’Brien is the founder of global brand Lily O’Brien’s Chocolates — Ireland’s leading exporter of fine chocolates.  She has also worked tirelessly with her husband in co-founding the Jack & Jill Foundation.

Edna O’Brien is a novelist and playwright and the recipient of many awards and accolades including the Irish PEN Lifetime Achievement Award and the James Joyce Ulysses Medal.

On 14 June, these remarkable women will serve as keynote speakers throughout this evening of firsts, sharing their unique and inspiring stories.  They are among the 25 women to be honoured, as WXN Ireland turns the spotlight on some of the country’s most exceptional women.

“Each of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women we will celebrate have set themselves apart in business, the public sector, and the arts and culture. They are trailblazers, pioneers and have distinguished themselves as shining lights and role models to the next generation of women leaders. They know what it takes to succeed, have carved their own paths and transformed their organisations and communities,” said Pamela Jeffery, Founder, Women’s Executive Network.

Join us as we celebrate Ireland’s remarkable women leaders.

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For further media information please contact:

Catherine Logan /// Hickey-Logan Communications /// 086 811 4785 /// catherine@hickeylogan.ie

For more information about the event or to order seats, please visit www.top25.ie.
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About WXN Ireland:

The Women’s Executive Network (WXN) in Ireland launched in September 2008 and now has 2,500 members across the 32 counties. 

WXN fulfils the need for professional women in Ireland to learn from thought leaders, connect with smart women and celebrate accomplishments together.   In addition to the Top 25 Most Powerful Women Awards and the subsequent summit which will arise from the event, WXN offers a number of other products:

The Breakfast Series presents a number of breakfast events to meet and network with other professional women, then listen to an engaging and provocative panel discussion on a topic of relevance to members’ careers or professional development or perhaps a keynote speaker or a briefing on the local, European or Global economy. 

The Wisdom Programme matches WXN members with 8-10 women of similar age and professional accomplishment to form a ‘personal advisory board’ for one another. This group comes together five times over a six-month period (for a total of 15 hours) with a trained facilitator to exchange ideas, make strategic contacts, and receive guidance and feedback.

The Cocktail series offers women an opportunity to meet their peers in a more relaxed post-work environment while still gaining the same crucial insight into the lives and learnings of successful role models.

The WXN Advisory Board:
Orlaith Blaney, CEO, McCann Erickson

Fionnuala Croke, Director, Chester Beatty Library (Chair)

Mary Davis, Managing Director, Special Olympics Eurasia

Maeve Donovan, Former MD, The Irish Times

Ann Fogarty, Head of Off Shore and KAG Fund Operations, BNY Mellon Fund Services' Operations Ireland; Managing Director, BNY Mellon Fund Services Ireland Ltd.

Ellvena Graham, Chief Operating Officer, Ulster Bank

Pamela Jeffery, WXN Founder

Liz O'Donnell, Former Government Minister and Public Affairs Consultant

Terence O'Rourke, Managing Partner, KMPG  

Sally Storey, Vice President and General Manager at GlaxoSmithKline