Embracing change in the Motor Industry: Women@SIMI event highlights

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) recently celebrated its 11th Women@SIMI event in partnership with Bank of Ireland at the InterContinental, Dublin.

The event brought together 200 professional women from various sectors within the Motor Industry in Ireland to celebrate their extensive contributions and promote networking, stepping out of comfort zones, and embracing opportunities.

Breda McCague, Motivator & Transformation Specialist, hosted an impressive panel of speakers, including Joanne Somers, Managing Director, Johnsons Ireland, and Áine Denn, Tech Entrepreneur and Co-Founder, Blazer. The panel shared valuable insights into leadership, communication, resilience, entrepreneurship, and dealing with change. 

Guest Speaker Joanne Somers, Managing Director, Johnsons Ireland, shared her professional journey, the importance of self-belief, personal brand, and knowing your own value. A lot of women underestimate their abilities and overestimate other people's capabilities. You have to push yourself, take chances, and back yourself a bit more. In leadership, Joanne reinforced the importance of communication, as no one style fits all. You have to adapt to be able to recognise strengths and skills, and understand your team in order to get the best out of people.

Guest speaker Áine Denn, Tech Entrepreneur and Co-Founder Blazer, acknowledged the significance of networking and looking outside your sector on a global level. Making sure you have a network of people you can call on to help you or help them. Áine emphasised the importance of building your own skills and investing in yourself. She encouraged everyone to embrace AI, get on top of it to cut your costs and increase productivity, and make sure you stay competitive, while being aware that AI needs context and expertise. Áine recognises that personal connections still matter so much, even the people in AI companies are also building relationships, making sure big decisions and big innovations are still led by humans.

SIMI remains committed to promoting inclusion and empowerment within the Motor Industry. 
SIMI President, Liam Denning, expressed gratitude to sponsor Bank of Ireland for their continued support and highlighted the importance of “moving past outdated cultural perceptions, embracing diversity, and supporting career development so that the next generation sees the industry as a viable career path and one where businesses support inclusion. Women@SIMI provides greater visibility of the changes that are happening for the better”.

Karen Kennedy, Senior Sales and Relationship Manager at Bank of Ireland Finance, emphasised, “As our industry evolves through electrification, digitalisation and changing customer expectations, the need for diverse thinking, fresh perspectives and strong leadership has never been greater. The future success of our sector depends on attracting, developing and retaining talented people from all backgrounds, and initiatives such as Women@SIMI have an important role to play in helping make that happen.”