2021 Influential Businesswoman Awards

Acquisition International - Influential Businesswoman Awards 2021 Most Influential Health &Wellbeing Entrepreneur (NI & ROI): Mairead Mackle & Distinction Award for Gender Equality Initiatives 2021 To that end Evolve has launched “Step into YOUR Success” (SIYS), a female entrepreneurship mentoring programme in Northern Ireland. Female founders, businesswomen and trailblazers’ partner with academics to lead the programme. SIYS combines instruction in entrepreneurial competencies with values-based leadership training. Key elements of the programme are face-to-face coaching sessions and digital resources such as masterclasses and Q&A sessions. With so many business interests and achievements to her name, we thought it would be difficult for Mairead to choose her biggest achievement to date. But without hesitating she tells us that it is having built her amazing team: “Knowing that you have a team around you who are passionate, committed and resourceful problem solvers - that’s invaluable. The last 16 months have reinforced the importance of surrounding myself with the right people. Overnight the majority of our team were designated as essential workers. We had to adapt, find new ways of working and innovative solutions to problems we’ve never faced before. Every member of the team stepped up to the mark and I am so proud of them.” We ask whether she has any advice for women looking to succeed in business. She tells us: “Don’t be afraid of change. Remember to invest in the right people and value them - you can’t do this alone. Focus on strategy, work on your business, not in it. The pandemic taught me a lot about myself. My female leadership characteristics were key: empathy, understanding, listening skills. As female entrepreneurs and leaders, we should celebrate these characteristics.” And finally, looking to the future, what does Mairead see on the horizon for Tarasis Enterprises: “As an enterprise committed to creating innovative solutions and tackling prevalent social issues, our businesses are always developing. There are some exciting projects in the pipeline over the coming months and years. Particularly across our housing, restoration and renewables divisions.” On a personal level, Mairead’s goals for the future include investing in the Vision 2025: Create, Innovate, Regenerate initiative, continuing to lead the suite of businesses and helping to develop and grow the Evolve community. In one of her TED talks, where Mairead addressed the importance of working towards full equality for all, she cites the example of Bertha Benz. Bertha was a visionary in the 1800s. In a time where women had little to no power, she showed resilience and determination that most men would struggle to emulate. Bertha was instrumental in proving that her engineer husband’s idea for a car business may have some merit. He himself had almost given up on it as hopeless. This leads Mairead to appeal to us all to “be the change we want to see”. In times of doubt, Mairead will almost certainly continue to ask herself the question “What would Bertha do?” You can see the full TED talk at Mairead Mackle: What would Bertha do? | TED Talk Contact: Mairead Mackle Company: Tarasis Enterprises Web Address: www.tarasis.com