Ciara O’Toole, Entrepreneur, Strategic Advisor & Author
Ciara O'Toole is an experienced board member, entrepreneur and strategic consultant. She has worked for major global brands, including Red Bull Air Race in Salzburg as Board Director for Marketing, Communications and Media Production.
Ciara started her career as a brand manager for Johnson & Johnson on their graduate programme, then worked in media and PR agencies in Dublin before going on to be Marketing Manager of L'Oréal Paris Ireland, and Consumer Planning Director for Diageo with Initiative Media.
She then set up her own marketing agency, The Cat's Pyjamas, working independently on a project basis for clients including many of her previous employers and others including Red Bull, the Irish National Lottery, and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland. She recently worked on a contract role as Director of Italy for Enterprise Ireland, managing the Italian team remotely during the pandemic.
Ciara is an experienced entrepreneur having founded The Cat's Pyjamas Marketing, Flying Leap publishing, NicestThing.com, a female web portal, and Amelia, an enterprise which made art and furniture from recycled aircraft and was funded by Irelandia Investments.
Ciara is an honours Commerce Graduate of UCD and a First Honours graduate of the UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School. She is an aviation enthusiast and holds a Private Pilot License for single-engine aircraft on land and sea.
In 2013 Ciara published a travel memoir, Going Solo on Lake Como and is a contributing writer for the Ninety-Nines, the International Organisation of female pilots.
Ciara is fluent in Italian and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Aero Club Como, the world's oldest seaplane organisation, with responsibility for overseas members and pilots.
Tell us about your current role and what you like about your career/role or areas of focus.
I support businesses and partners across industries to objectively solve a variety of business issues. I love being able to come in from the outside and support a team, bringing neutrality and perspective, helping solve problems and create strategies.
What inspires you, motivates you, helps you to make each day count?
I find inspiration in the little things. I try and see every day as a gift, even if it is a challenging day. More than anything, people inspire me, and my goal is always to leave things much better than I found them.
Outside of your professional work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I have a private pilot's license for single-engine land and seaplanes, so that's pretty important to me.
I also play tennis; I used to play competitively as a youngster and recently took it up again.
I also write and have published one book with another on the way. I dearly love to travel and have done so much that even if I don't get to ever travel again, I could not complain.
When it comes to your life chosen career, is there a phrase, quote or saying that you really like?
"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago."
This quote from Warren Buffet has always resonated with me and serves as a reminder to look at the long term and the legacy we are creating, and make sure it's positive.
What are you most proud of in your life?
I'm probably most proud of the fact that I've always forged my own path and not let fear get in the way of seizing opportunities.
Getting my pilots license and publishing my book were two big achievements for me that required a lot of resilience and determination.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
That it would be a marathon and not a sprint!
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles?
I think Simon Senek is great. I admire people who are strong and visionary and can believe in their own ideology without needing to be worshipped for it.
Barack Obama is one of my biggest heroes.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I love the Lego brand and think they have done an amazing job of staying relevant throughout the decades.
The Gutter Bookshop in Dublin is a great example of an independent brand that really stands for something and brings the world of books truly alive.
When I lived in Salzburg, I lived on the same street as the Stiegl brewery, and their logo was little steps. They had so many beautiful little executions of their branding strewn in the grounds that were so artful.
I'm sure the majority of visitors missed half of them; little tiny steps on the tiles in the bathroom, a water feature outside in the gentle form of steps, their Beeramisu cake was graduated like steps. It always made me smile, there was beautiful detail, and it was so subtle that probably only a branding nerd could truly appreciate them.
Also my MacBook Air. For 12 years it's been my recreational and writing pal, and I don't know what I'd do without its backlit keyboard!
What is the best advice you have ever received?
"Life is not a dress rehearsal."
What drives or motivates you each day in a work environment?
I am a very disciplined person when it comes to my work, so once I have a goal in sight, I'm generally missile focused. Plus I only get involved in projects I'm passionate about.
What are your thoughts on the future of social media?
Social media has so many benefits but also so many drawbacks. It would be great to see it distilled into harnessing all the former and losing the most damaging of the latter. I think it's currently a discipline in itself to use social media in a positive way.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
I don't have a favourite; I use Facebook for keeping in touch with friends abroad.
WhatsApp is a godsend to me for personal and immediate connectivity with family and friends around the world.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever been a mentor to anyone?
I've never had a formal mentor, but I have had lots of people who I consider mentors.
I've experienced so much generosity throughout my career from people helping and advising me and always try to make sure I pay it forward helping others in whatever way I can.
How do you network? What is your preferred way to network?
I don't tend to 'actively network'. I've always been good at keeping in touch with people I've worked with and known, and I think in that way your network builds naturally.
I also love talking to people, and I've worked across so many sectors and disciplines and countries that my networks continually grow.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work?
If it's marketing, then I think curiosity and an open mind are key, and you need to be passionate about the brands and people you work with.
For me, if the passion for either is missing, it doesn't work.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
I believe if you really want something, you'll find a way; that it's generally proportionate to how committed you were in the first place.
I think if your 'why' is strong, there's less chance of giving up.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience?
To me, success is about happiness and being at peace with your life and the decisions you make. It's important to view everything as a chance to learn, and it really is important not to be afraid to fail, the thing is how you respond to challenges and what you do about them.
I was told when I started at Johnson & Johnson as a graduate that "It's okay to make mistakes, but please try not to make the same one twice." I think this was good advice.
What skills do you feel have helped you to become successful?
I'm a very curious person, and I'm open-minded and resilient.
I think it's less about the actual skills and more about attitude. A skill can be acquired, but it's hard to beat someone who doesn't give up.
Is there anything new that you are working on or involved in that you would like to share?
I've just finished a second book, Either Way. There'll Be Flowers, which I plan to launch either this year or next.