Athlone based businesswoman wins 'CEO of the year' award

Athlone resident Julie Ennis who splits her time working in Athlone and London has been crowned CEO of the Year in the Image Businesswoman of the Year awards.

Ms Ennis is the CEO of Corporate Services across the UK & Ireland and also holds the position of country President for Ireland at Sodexo, one of the region’s leading on-site services providers.

Ms Ennis commented on the win saying, “It’s an honour and privilege to accept the CEO of the Year award on behalf of my team because for me, it is recognition for the 10,000 people that I lead, who work tirelessly in the everyday but vital services that fuel the wellbeing and productivity of our clients, their employees and the communities we serve."

"If there is one positive to come out of the pandemic, certainly for our industry, I believe it was the spotlight that was shone on those who are the real heroes for me. Probably for the first time ever, the services of our frontline teams based in client workplaces, caterers, cleaners and on-site maintenance, were on the boardroom agenda of every single organisation. Because they formed the critical infrastructure that kept many lights on, kept many employees safe in work, kept critical manufacturing and other workplace services open, for which I’m extremely proud."

In her combined roles, the local businesswoman has responsibility for leading the corporate services business across the UK & Ireland as well as the corporate governance and directorial responsibility for the various business segments that operate across the Republic and Northern Ireland.

In her previous job with Bank of Ireland and when she first joined Sodexo, Julie lived in Athlone with her partner and her job took her all over Ireland, but since becoming CEO of Corporate Services for Sodexo UK and Ireland, she now divides her time between both countries.

Ms Ennis is on the board or committee for the following groups: Board member of Sodexo Global Advisory Board on Gender Diversity (SoTogether), Board member of Sodexo Ireland Limited, Board member of Sodexo Finance DAC and Committee Member, Leader’s Group on sustainability- BITCI.

The Image Businesswoman of the Year awards took place last night (Wednesday) at the Clayton Hotel in Dublin 4.