Brid O'Connell's dogged approach to affecting positive change at Guaranteed Irish
Brid O’Connell has been at the helm of Guaranteed Irish (GI) for nearly a decade.
Before that, the dynamic businesswoman ran her own marketing company for 15 years until she took on the role of CEO with a commitment to shake up the membership organisation.
“I have a vision for [GI] and I’m dogged about that, and that has kept me going. It took a long time to get out of the weeds and to get the organisation repositioned and refocused.
“We’ve an amazing board of directors that support me to do that, and an amazing team,” O’Connell says during an interview with BusinessPlus.ie.
Guaranteed Irish, which issues the instantly recognisable GI symbol of trust on products and services, has been in operation for 52 years.
“Very often, I find businesses that make a profit nearly apologising for it. And I would champion people who make profit, as long as they do a little bit to support enterprise in their local community and give a little bit back.
"It’s about affecting positive change through business. That’s the piece that moves my dial every day when I get up.”
O’Connell encourages a re-energised iteration of the decades-old brand in the context of a more diverse and inclusive version of Irishness.
“We are Irish and global. Everybody is welcome. When we had the Covid crisis and shortages of supplies, people started looking to trusted supply chains and, as the national symbol of trust, we could really dial that up.”
An important part of rejuvenating GI’s brand has been to ensure people know applications are open to all businesses in Ireland, be they homegrown or international.
O’Connell is keen to bust the myth that it’s about “made in Ireland”.
“Ireland has to stand up and be counted as a leader geopolitically and morally and we need to do the right thing for our citizens, our investors and our entrepreneurs out there.
“By doing that, we’re making sure that Ireland is open for all, welcome to all, and that we’re actually a very diverse, multicultural society that welcomes all to work, support and contribute to Ireland and its economic future,” she says.
O’Connell describes her leadership style as very driven and energetic, something that comes across when she speaks with BusinessPlus.ie over the phone.
“I go at an awful fast pace that suits some people and not others, but I insist that we have fun every day in the office. I just don’t think it’s worth going to work unless you can have one good laugh a day.”
Another pertinent aspect of Guaranteed Irish that O’Connell felt needed updating was the possible perception of it as an old-fashioned organisation.
Membership figures alone suggest that the value of the mark is high, but nevertheless the CEO has been determined to ensure it is seen as current and vital.
“I spend my time punching holes in people’s perceptions. For the record, we support all businesses based in Ireland, homegrown and international, who support jobs [and] communities in a sustainable manner.
“We have 2,500 business members now supporting 150,000 jobs across the Republic of Ireland and contributing almost €16bn to the Irish economy and nearly €60bn to the global economy.”
O’Connell says nearly 80 per cent of the population recognise the GI symbol immediately and see it as something positive that can be trusted.
“As custodians of the brand, we take it very seriously,” she says. “If we all play our role, we’ll have the opportunity to position Ireland in a great, progressive light.”
Membership includes participation in annual events where companies get to network and make valuable connections.
“We’ve seen businesses do huge business with each other in our supply chain, and that is the secret sauce,” O’Connell says.
“We’re a tiny island economy but if they can help each other on the ground, why wouldn’t they?”
Unsurprisingly, O’Connell namechecks tech as an industry consistently doing well, with homegrown tech “really coming up”.
“The businesses who are ignoring technology will fail, I guarantee you. So people who are adapting and adjusting, are process-driven and working from data-driven evidence — those businesses are going to be successful,” she says.
Other industries that are showing particular strength include beauty, professional services and food.
Guaranteed Irish lobbies the government for policy changes and last year, for the first time ever, the organisation made a pre-budget submission.
While O’Connell says she doesn’t worry for the future of business in Ireland (“we’re creative and dogged”), she does believe the government could be doing more for entrepreneurs.
“The biggest thing they could do, actually, with the stroke of a pen, is to reward the entrepreneur and to make tax changes there,” she says.
“It’s really important that there is a tax change made to support homegrown businesses and entrepreneurs here in Ireland.”
Brid O’Connell, CEO, Guaranteed Irish and Damien McCann, Chairperson of the board of Directors, Guaranteed Irish. Pic: Fintan ClarkeCoalesce
As an entrepreneur herself, she speaks from experience and espouses the value of hard graft.
“My advice is work hard. The harder you work, the more successful you become. Be ready. You may not be the best, but if you’re ready, you’ll get your opportunity.
“Somebody will be sick, somebody will be missing. You’ll get your chance. And be generous if you can help other people at all, and if you can champion or even be happy for other people when they have success,” O’Connell says.
“I was never the best at anything I did. What I am is committed. I’ll stay to the end and I am also ready. I’ll give it everything.”
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