ABL celebrates the best of NI business leadership with IoDNI
Last week Team ABL attended the Institute of Directors (Northern Ireland) “Director of the Year Awards” in the fabulous setting of The Merchant Hotel, Belfast.
IoDNI has been established to help support business leaders in Northern Ireland by sharing access to information, advice, peer networks and learning opportunities.
The Director of the Year Awards take place annually and are a celebration of success and leadership talent. The awards ceremony itself gives the business community a chance to acknowledge the excellence and professionalism we have here in Northern Ireland.
ABL Group was proud to sponsor the award for Director of the Year in a Large Company and hearing the stories of so many fantastic local organisations and the work of large multinationals in the local community was inspiring, to say the least.
The nominees for the prize were:
- Donna O'Connor - Director of Human Resources (Interim) at Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service
- Donna Parker - Managing Director Network NI at Staffline Recruitment Limited
- Ian McConnell - Partner at PwC
- Leigh Meyer - Citi Belfast Site Head & Global Head of FXLM Operations
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the tumults of the last two years, through pandemics, furlough schemes and health sector crises, were a common refrain in the stories we heard that afternoon.
Every director dealt with their own version of crisis in the past 18 months, but it could be said that the stakes were certainly higher for directors of large companies.
Large companies play a vital role in our local economy and the faltering of any of these organisations can have a significant impact on their large workforce, the local communities or neighbourhoods they are based in and even on the economy as a whole.
By meeting the challenges of the pandemic and the resultant economic upheaval, these directors played a vital role in steadying the ship for their teams and lighting the way towards recovery for the business community as a whole in Northern Ireland.
The award for Director of the Year in a Large Company went to Ian McConnell of PWC NI. Judges were impressed by how Ian led business' growth for PWC NI, his focus on people, skills and development and his purpose-led commitment to solving problems for business and society.
We’re proud to support such an important category this year when the role of business leaders has never been more important.
Congratulations to all the nominees for their fantastic work and we’re already looking forward to getting inspired all over again by next year’s finalists.
Click here for more information on the IoD NI or follow ABL Group on social media for more useful information, advice and support for business leaders in Northern Ireland.