LORRAINE BUTLER

MD, CPM Ireland

“I joined CPM in 2015 as the first female MD in a male-dominated workforce and client base. I experienced a lot of pushback and hesitation in my ability to do the role, and struggled to get certain clients to engage in those early months.

I have great relationships with all of them now, but I had to graft really hard to show that I could do the job. Myself and a group of women conducted some analysis and found that 62 per cent of the retail population were women, but less than six per cent were in a board position. I met Sharon Yourell Lawlor through a friend and we formed TWIG – Today’s Women in Grocery, in 2016, creating a network environment for women to come together to see how we can share

experiences and help one another. I think everyone should have a coach and a mentor. A coach can look at your past, a mentor is looking at your future. Find a mentor who is outside of your organisation to give a fresh perspective, who can step back and say, ‘The world is very different in a different company.’”