The women driving Ireland's brightest small businesses to success

Not content to be passengers, Irish women are taking the wheel and driving business forward. While there’s still progress to be made, things are looking up when it comes to gender balance in the FTSE100 companies. Seven of the world’s top companies all have an above average number of women at board level. And when it comes to exacting change from the ground up, Ireland boasts an embarrassment of riches with a host of dynamic young female entrepreneurs. From making great strides in technology to creating a luxury brand, these women are all bidding to create a space in the marketplace of their own.

1. Alison Banton

A former Marketing Manager for AIB Capital Markets, Banton spent time learning about fragrance creation at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery and founded Brooke & Shoals, a Wicklow-based lifestyle and fragrance brand. She and her team now supply luxury scents and a range of natural body products to more than 130 stores nationwide, as well as in the UK and mainland Europe. As of now, creating a global luxury brand is in her crosshairs.

2. Edel Browne

Expect to hear more of this name soon: at only 18, Browne is head of innovation at the Entrepreneurship Society in NUI Galway, and is the founder of the Free Feet project; a highly promising device that reduces the freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease. Browne entered the BT Young Scientists Competition at the age of 15 and went onto a number of BT Bootcamps. The Irish Medical Device Association sponsored her to attend the London Science Forum last year, while she has recently won an award from the County Enterprise Board.

3. Danielle Ryan

A member of the Ryan aviation dynasty (her father was Tony Ryan), Danielle previously worked as an actress and film producer before founding the Roads brand last year. A multi-faceted artistic company that incorporates film, publishing and lifestyle products, Roads’ wares can already be found in Barney’s in New York and Selfridges in London.

4. Sarah Davis Goff

Formerly of the Lilliput Press, Davis Goff, along with her partner-in-literary-crime Lisa Coen, founded Tramp Press, a small but perfectly formed publishing company specialising in unearthing literary talent. So far, the search for Ireland’s brightest writing talents has proved rather fruitful; among Tramp’s charges are Sara Baume and Oona Frawley.

5. Mary McKenna

Mary McKenna is the MD of Dublin-based travel company Tour America (www.touramerica.ie) and the recently launched Cruise Holidays. With two decades at the helm of the Tour America company, McKenna was thrilled to find that she and her team were recognised as a Deloitte Best Managed Company in 2015

6. Andrea Horan

In November 2012, the Tropical Popical nail bar first opened its doors, and became an instant hit with fashion-forward Dubliners. Thanks to an army of dedicated fans, the salon – founded by Horan and her sister Michelle - has become a huge success story. Earlier this year, Horan launched Tropical Hype, a new and innovative communications company, thus putting her erstwhile career as a PR maven to good use.

7. Colette Twomey

When Twomey started the Cork-based Clonakilty Black Pudding Company with her husband Edward, hers was a more ‘behind the scenes’ role. Yet his death in 2005 saw her take over the reins of the family business and since then the food company has gone from strength to strength.

8. Amanda Pratt

Avoca is a much-loved brand, employing over 650 staff in several shops and cafes, and Pratt joined the family-owned company in 1990. Starting on the factory floor as a yarn-winder, she climbed the corporate ladder the old fashioned way. A company woman through and through, she moved up the ranks to assume responsibility for the creative side of the business, as well as its future vision. Clearly, Pratt has the golden touch; the company has moved from humble beginnings to become one of Ireland’s commercial success stories.

9. Cristina Luminea

Fledgling digital company ThoughtBox is making serious strides in the tech world, and no wonder: as a company that uses ‘gameful learning’ to teach children and adults, their products could quite possibly change the way the world learns. Luminea is the founder and CEO of the company, and recently launched Numerosity, an iPad app designed to teach maths by challenging the player with increasingly difficult puzzles.

Tanya Sweeney

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Disclaimer: Audi Ireland is proud to champion these remarkable Irish women and hero their achievements in order to support all other ‘women drivers'. The people mentioned in this article are not affiliated with Audi Ireland and do not work with the brand in any way.