Limerick Businesswoman and CEO of The Pudding, Gillian Horan has been shortlisted in the IMAGE Businesswoman of the Year Awards. The businesswoman has been shortlisted in the CEO of the Year category. The IMAGE Businesswoman of the Year Awards, now in its 13th year, recognises and celebrates Ireland's most inspiring business women.
The Pudding, established by Gillian Horan in Limerick in 2015, is a creative and commercial branding company - a hybrid between a brand consultancy and design studio. It works with companies to build, re-position and grow game-changing corporate and employer brands. The company has offices in Limerick, Dublin and London. As one of Ireland’s leading voices in the industry Gillian has been responsible for a number of significant rebrands and has worked with a range of major national and global clients in the pharmaceutical, engineering, technology and hospitality sectors to optimise their brands to drive business results. The Pudding also works with brands to develop their employer brand strategy and employer value propositions which enables businesses to attract top talent, can cut their costs per hire by 50% and reduce staff turnover by a third.
On being nominated for the Image Businesswoman of the Year Awards Gillian said: “I’m delighted to be shortlisted for an Image Businesswoman of the Year Award. It is recognition of not only the hard work I have put into establishing the company but it is recognition of the hard work by every team member that works with us and has worked with us over the years. It’s an honour to be shortlisted in a category with other businesswomen like the Managing Director of Twitter Ireland, Sinead McSweeney. I’m really excited and looking forward to the night itself. For me being shortlisted indicates just how far the company has come in such a short space of time.”
Speaking about The Pudding Gillian said: “The Pudding believes that the proof is in The Pudding. We partner with our clients to achieve their goals and objectives. We truly believe that branding makes such an impact in business. It also makes an impact for locations, experiences and much much more. When you have a strong brand, people believe in what you do and become loyal customers and followers.
“We strategically and creatively help all types of businesses and organisations to develop and grow their brands. We do this by building strong brand strategies, designing unique visual identities and creating unique advertising campaigns. Some of our clients include: Colgate, Smyths Toys, Sheraton Hotels, The Conrad, Carton House, Cogs & Marvel, Simtech Aviation, American firms KEMP Technologies and Escher and our first client in Barbados, Harris Paints".
Speaking about her role in the establishment and growth of The Pudding Gillian says her interest in branding has been lifelong. “I am fifteen years in the industry but I have been obsessed with branding since I was 4. I wanted to work in Coca Cola where I could create new campaigns. My role has always been to create a branding agency that creates amazing brands that truly make an impact. My title is CEO and now more than ever that means so much to me. We have a team of seven people along with 10+ contractors and my role is to lead us collectively to international success. We have offices in Limerick, Dublin and London and we really want to set up our next office in New York. We have been over three times this year working to make this happen. Watch this space.