Áine Kennedy won the Future Leader award from The Irish Times as CRH and Greencore’s acquisition of Bakkavor took home awards at the eighth annual Irish Times Business Awards in the Mansion House on Thursday night.
Kennedy launched the Smooth Company from her attic in 2022 and it has since gone on to become one of Ireland’s best-known beauty brands.
She began with the Smooth Stick, a hair-taming wand that controls stray hairs without leaving them hard or greasy. Kennedy won the emerging category at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards in November.
Kennedy was one of four people shortlisted for the Future Leader award, alongside Coleraine-based knitwear designer Hope Macaulay, Niamh Donnelly of Akara Robotics, and Shane Curran, the founder of payments group Evervault.
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Building materials giant CRH took home the Company of the Year award.
Based in Dublin but listed on the New York Stock Exchange, CRH recently made the cut for the prestigious S&P 500, the world’s most widely followed stock index.
The company’s shares soared to a record high in early December on the news, while the stock has risen by more than 24 per cent over the past 12 months on the back of strong trading and a positive outlook for the group.
The S&P 500 company beat out convenience food group Greencore, payments company Stripe and listed food group Glanbia, to win for the prestigious award.
The Deal of the Year award was given to Greencore’s acquisition of Bakkover.
Greencore also recorded strong earnings growth last year while moving to complete its £1.2 billion (€1.4 billion) takeover of British rival Bakkavor.
Bakkavor adds pizza, bread, desserts and dips to Greencore’s range, which already spans sandwiches to salads, sushi and ready-made meals.
The enlarged group is expected to generate pro forma revenue of about £4.1 billion, with adjusted operating profit of £246.5 million. It will be led by Irish man Dalton Philips, Greencore’s chief executive who said receiving the award was “huge” and was being awarded for a “transformational” deal.
The awards were presented at an event at the Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin on Thursday evening. The awards are run in association with Bank of Ireland and the winners were chosen by a panel of judges, chaired by Microsoft executive Anne Sheehan.
