IGBF Purpose And Mission

 

The Irish Grocers Benevolent Gund was founded over 30 years ago and is a national registered charity assisting people in the retail, wholesale and supplier trade sector in Ireland.

We are committed to improving the lives of some of our Grocery colleagues who find themselves, for whatever reason in financial need, and the fund currently supports over 250 families and 500 individuals annually.

Our mission is to enrich their lives by engaging with and involving as many Grocery colleagues as possible in raising funds and maintaining the long term viability and sustainability of the IGBF charity.

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The Aim Of TWIG

Today’s Women In Grocery

Today’s Women In Grocery was founded in 2016 and is a supporting branch of the IGBF. Its aim is to provide exciting new networking events targeted at a mainly female audience, work towards raising the profile of women in grocery, drive understanding of the IGBF’s work and to encourage more female leadership and participation in IGBF events and initiatives.

TWIG held its 3rd  networking lunch on Friday 25th of May 2018 and was attended by 460  leading women from across the grocery and wider industries.

All proceeds raised at TWIG events go directly to the IGBF charity to assist people within the grocery and wider industries.

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TWIG Committee 2018/2019

 

From Left to right

Edel O Keefe – LR Suntory,

Anne O Brien – Musgrave,

Sharon Yourell Lawlor – Think Plan Do Consultancy,

Brigid O Neil – Irish Distillers,

Paula Conlon – Heineken Ireland,

Lorraine Butler – CPM,

Frances Higgins – BWG Foods Group UC

Industry Sponsorship Support

Speakers 2019

Sonya Lennon

Sonya Lennon

Designer & Entrepreneur , Compére

Kari Daniels

Kari Daniels

CEO, Tesco Ireland

Suzanne Jackson

Suzanne Jackson

Founder , SoSueMe.ie

Fiona Dawson

Fiona Dawson

Global President, Mars Foods

Carolan Lennon

Carolan Lennon

CEO , Éir

John Ryan

John Ryan

CEO, Great Place to Work & Healthy Place to Work

Speakers 2018

Sonya Lennon

Sonya Lennon

Lennon Courtney

Lorraine Higgins

Lorraine Higgins

CEO Retail Excellence Ireland

Alison Cowzer

Alison Cowzer

Co-Founder East Coast Bakehouse & Dragons Den Investor

Speakers 2017

Louise Ryan

Louise Ryan

Managing Director, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard

Aoibheann O’Brien

Aoibheann O’Brien

Chief Executive Officer, FoodCloud Hubs

Aine Maguire

Aine Maguire

Managing Director, Persuasion

Sheila Gallagher

Sheila Gallagher

Commercial Director, Tesco Ireland

An Entertaining Afternoon

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Breaking New Ground…

Growing Social Media Connections

Growing Industry Awareness

Twig news
IGBF news

2019 TWIG Video of Event…

UPCOMING EVENTS

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Year 3 – Growing In Numbers

2018

2017

2016

Excellent Attendee Feedback

Sharon Buckley, Group Commecial Director, Musgrave

I was hugely impressed by the speakers who were all so accomplished and interesting, but also so honest and open in sharing their personal stories. A women-only event creates a completely different dynamic and it’s refreshing to hear experiences that you can so easily relate to. We need a lot more of it!

Sharon Buckley, Group Commercial Director, Musgrave

2018-10-09T15:48:44+00:00

Sharon Buckley, Group Commercial Director, Musgrave

I was hugely impressed by the speakers who were all so accomplished and interesting, but also so honest and open in sharing their personal stories. A women-only event creates a completely different dynamic and it’s refreshing to hear experiences that you can so easily relate to. We need a lot more of it!

Fiona Matthews, Head of Integrated Retail Ireland, The Walt Disney Company

Friday was an absolutely exceptional day. Congratulations to you and the team on delivering such a unique and positive event. The speakers were outstanding, the company at the table was fantastic – everything about the day was top quality and excellently delivered. I was proud to be part of the phenomenon… you could feel an incredibly powerful movement in the room!

Fiona Matthews, Head of Integrated Retail Ireland, The Walt Disney Company

2018-10-09T15:49:52+00:00

Fiona Matthews, Head of Integrated Retail Ireland, The Walt Disney Company

Friday was an absolutely exceptional day. Congratulations to you and the team on delivering such a unique and positive event. The speakers were outstanding, the company at the table was fantastic – everything about the day was top quality and excellently delivered. I was proud to be part of the phenomenon… you could feel an incredibly powerful movement in the room!

Emma Ross, Managing Director, Runway Marketing

“I attended the TWIG lunch on Friday so wanted to say a huge congratulations to you and the team on a great event. It was my first time attending and I look forward to next year already.”

Emma Ross, Managing Director, Runway Marketing

2018-10-09T15:52:01+00:00

Emma Ross, Managing Director, Runway Marketing

“I attended the TWIG lunch on Friday so wanted to say a huge congratulations to you and the team on a great event. It was my first time attending and I look forward to next year already.”

Celine Dee, Client Director, RichardsDee Branding & Design Agency

“We had a superb day, the speakers were authentic, real and connected with us all in the room. Nothing was sugar coated, the key messages on achieving success were clear and as a working mom who constantly struggles to get the balance right, I particularly loved the quote around not teaching your children that a career and a family are mutually exclusive.  We will definitely be attending the next one.“

Celine Dee,  Client Director,  RichardsDee Branding & Design Agency

2018-10-09T15:52:40+00:00

Celine Dee,  Client Director,  RichardsDee Branding & Design Agency

“We had a superb day, the speakers were authentic, real and connected with us all in the room. Nothing was sugar coated, the key messages on achieving success were clear and as a working mom who constantly struggles to get the balance right, I particularly loved the quote around not teaching your children that a career and a family are mutually exclusive.  We will definitely be attending the next one.“

2018 TWIG in summary!

A record 460 senior female figures from the leading companies in Ireland’s food, grocery and retail sectors gathered in the InterContinental Hotel to discuss their role in shaping the industry at a charity networking event entitled ‘Breaking New Ground’ hosted by Today’s Women in Grocery (TWIG), a sub-committee of the Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund (IGBF).

In a move to pave the way for future female talent to make their impact on the food, grocery and retail sectors, TWIG has also unveiled details of a unique new mentorship programme, which will be faciltated by CPM.  The programme will partner business leaders with emerging female talent in the sector and aspiring female leaders are urged to register their interest at TWIG mentoring@cpmire.com.

Marking the first year of their support for the luncheon, Kildare Village is partnering with TWIG to host a series of engaging complimentary style master classes later this year to empower women to unlock the potential of their personal brand by presenting themselves with confidence.  Those interested can register at https://www.kildarevillage.com/TWIG.

Now in its third year, the Today’s Women in Grocery networking charity luncheon has quickly become one of the must-attend professional networking events of the year for senior women in grocery due to its format of bringing inspirational female business leaders together to empower women through a frank and open exchange of the challenges and opportunities in business for women today and tomorrow.

Speakers included entrepreneur Alison Cowzer who is the co-founder of East Coast Bakehouse which produces a range of cookies and biscuits for the Irish, UK and European markets, and one of the investors on RTE’s Dragon’s Den; Lorraine Higgins, the newly announced CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland representing the interests of 1,750 leading retailers and a former senator; and business woman, broadcaster and social entrepreneur Sonya Lennon, the driving force behind the award winning  frockadvisor digital platform and the Lennon Courtney fashion label.

Sonya imparted her insights on empowering women to succeed from her experience establishing the Irish branch of the internationally acclaimed Dress for Success social enterprise.  Since its establishment in 2011, Dress for Success Ireland has supported 1,500 women on their journey to economic independence by offering professional clothing, the skills to succeed at interview and a suite of CPD and mentoring programmes.

Contact Details

For more information, please contact Frances Higgins – IGBF Vice Chair
Or Paula Conlon – TWIG Vice Chair

T: +353 87 2948844
E: fhiggins@bwg.ie

T: +353 87 2590246
E: paula.conlon@heineken.ie

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