Áine Brolly, Founder & Director of Ardlinn
Áine is an entrepreneur having established various businesses and brands within group company structures over the last 20 years.
In June 2016, she founded Ardlinn as Cpl group’s executive search brand with the aim of building an international executive search brand specialising in the recruitment of D and C-level candidates alongside complimentary advisory and consulting services.
In March 2020, Áine officially acquired Ardlinn from the Cpl group. Ardlinn has been a phenomenal success in its first couple of years having delivered numerous strategic consulting and executive recruitment assignments across Europe, the Middle East and the US.
Before joining Cpl as an executive in August 2015, Áine spent over three years as SVP Business Development with Invest Northern Ireland in San Francisco where she led a team responsible for driving Foreign Direct Investment and International trade and export.
Prior to Invest NI, Áine was a Director of Executive Search for London-based Penna plc, a global HR services company where she led their executive recruitment practice in Ireland.
Áine is also a board member of Skillnet Ireland, a business support agency of the Government of Ireland with a mandate to advance the competitiveness, productivity and innovation of Irish businesses through enterprise-led workforce development.
She possesses a Law degree from QUB and a Masters in Opera from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. She is also an accredited psychometric assessor and executive coach.
Tell us about your current role and what you like about your career or areas of focus.
As Founder and Director of Ardlinn, an executive search and consulting business; I am very passionate about working with clients.
I initially established the business within the CPL Group in 2016 after returning from San Francisco having worked there as Senior Vice President for Invest NI for a number of years, but I acquired the brand in March of this year and I now independently own it.
A key area of my work is with Board's and executives to recruit mainly C but sometimes D-level candidates across every sector nationally and internationally. I also work with companies in a consulting capacity in areas such as the future of work, diversity and inclusion, succession planning and recruitment best practice.
A key skillset is my ability to understand an organisations' culture, strategy, outlook and operational needs and to then match that with a candidate's expertise.
What inspires you, motivates you, helps you to make each day count?
Firstly, my long-suffering husband (!) and my son.
From a business perspective, I'm motivated by building meaningful relationships and going above and beyond client expectations by adding real value to their business or organisation.
I'm a competitive person by nature, and I work in competitive markets, so building and sustaining relationships is really the most important thing for me. Thankfully, many of my clients have worked with me for many years and I have grown and learned with and from 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'm a passionate egalitarian. Family and community are central to my life. I also play the piano, Irish harp and sing and find music is a great way for me to de-stress.
When it comes to your life chosen career, is there a phrase, quote or saying that you really like?
I love Wilde's quote, "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken". I often use it with candidates before they have a job interview because I think authenticity is so important.
What are you most proud of in your life?
There's something of a traditional Irish mammy about me. It would have to be my beautiful son.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
I started from a blank canvas, as I didn't know a lot about the sector except the value of relationships.
As time has progressed, I have been struck by just how important forging good, honest relationships is which reflects across all aspects of our lives.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles?
I meet really inspirational and creative people often but, I like Elon Musk and the fact that he thinks really big in terms of revolutionising transportation.
What companies, brands or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I'm a huge fan of Amazon in terms of the service they provide. Closer to home, I am really impressed by Stripe. Two brothers with a passion and a vision have conquered the world.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
My recently deceased and wonderful father, whom I greatly admired, always reminded me that my most important job is being a mother!
What drives or motivates you each day in a work environment?
Doing an excellent job on behalf of clients.
What are your thoughts on the future of social media?
Like with all things, social media can be a force for both good and bad. Obviously, there are ongoing discussions about the big tech giants like Google and Facebook breaking up as they are seen as having too much power politically, and of course, there are genuine worries about the volume of personal data they possess.
However, I'm not sure if it is even possible to split the big tech companies up, but if it isn't, they will certainly remain under intense scrutiny with impeding sectoral regulation inevitable.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Linkedin is an excellent social media platform and business tool, particularly for recruiters.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever been a mentor to anyone?
I've never had a formal mentor, but thankfully I have many friends in the business that I can go to for advice or just run ideas past. I have mentored many people in my career, and it's a role I enjoy.
In the past, I was also an executive coach which is a great environment within which to challenge executives to really think through issues, come up with solutions and make sound decisions.
How do you network? What is your preferred way to network?
I attend targeted events with a range of business groups and organisations, but my preference is one to one meetings.
In terms of insights and relationship development, it still delivers the best bang for the buck.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work?
I started in executive search when I was only 23, so I was pretty young and had a lot to learn.
That taught the importance of always being patient, focused and looking for opportunities that others don't see.
As you progress through your career in recruitment, credibility at a senior level is key, and this comes with building trust, doing what you say you will do, and delivering an excellent service.
I also think of recruitment at this level, emotional intelligence is a real differentiator, so if you have high EI, this could be a good sector to consider.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
There's always a myriad of reasons, but in my experience, most people give up on jobs or companies because they stop enjoying the job, or they feel their role doesn't play to their strengths. Of course, the old adage, 'people don't leave companies, they leave bosses' is quite often the case as well.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience?
Success for me will always be about delivering an excellent service, but to do this really well, you have to have built great relationships with clients and really understand their organisation top to bottom if possible.
When I'm recruiting a CEO for example, I am essentially an ambassador for my client company, so a real depth of understanding gives me credibility and allows me to sell my client's proposition to prospective candidates.
What skills do you feel have helped you to become successful?
Being able to build honest, trusting relationships.
Is there anything new that you are working on or involved in that you would like to share?
I'm really enjoying working with clients at the moment in the design of inclusive recruitment processes.