How I work: ‘If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect others to?’

Guaranteed Irish’s Brid O’Connell says you need to be your own brand if you want to succeed

Brid O’Connell, chief executive of Guaranteed Irish: ‘I love collaborating at work because that’s when all the exciting stuff happens.’ Picture: Bryan Meade

Brid O’Connell is chief executive of Guaranteed Irish, the business membership network that supports 1,600 businesses. She was also the founder and owner of Welcome Marketing, a marketing and PR communications consultancy focused on the tourism and retail sectors.

I never intended to apply for the role of chief executive of Guaranteed Irish. I was perfectly happy working away on my own as founder and owner of Welcome Marketing.

I founded the company in 2002 ...