Breaking Barriers and Shaping Success as a Female Leader in the Irish Workplace Industry

As the Managing Director of VOW Wholesale Ireland, I pride myself on being personable in all business relationships. Even though VOW Wholesale is a major player in the Irish market with over 100 employees, I try to ensure that everyone feels like an extended family. I am passionate about getting to know everyone and have some tremendous long-standing relationships in the industry to prove it. It is very cliché, but this supportive, family-like atmosphere works!

Inspiring Team Excellence as A Female Leader

With all my employees, I like to lead by example, with dedication, passion, and a positive can-do attitude. As a leader, I engage with everyone in my team, leading to low staff turnover and a high percentage of long-service staff. As I said, my team is like an extended family.

Keeping your team focused and motivated with open, honest, regular communication and information sharing is essential. I am determined to keep the communication going, build trust, provide an outlet for sharing fears and anxiety and ensure support is available to those needing it.

Navigating Storms of Change in the Irish Workplace Industry

As the MD of the largest workplace supplier in Ireland, I would not have gotten this far without some challenges and resilience, especially when this industry is predominantly men, and of course, the two most recent challenges of COVID and Brexit.

Enthusiasm and a positive approach to any challenge infuse me with the desire and confidence to make the most of any opportunity.

Adapting and Thriving: How VOW Conquered the COVID Challenge

COVID was a very steep learning curve for me and my team. As Ireland went into lockdown in March 2020, I immediately implemented a plan to keep the business open. I knew it was imperative to all my customers that we maintained operations and service, and we did all this with only a skeleton staff.

I had to steer the business toward the new consumer patterns, facilitating online transactions and deliveries to peoples’ homes. With most of my employees working from home, I knew we had to rapidly diversify, making the most of the short-term opportunity on PPE. I am proud to say we survived this period, avoiding redundancies and customer closures and, most impressively, delivering sales growth.

I firmly believe it is all down to the strength of my team, wherever they are! I was genuinely amazed at the dedication and loyalty of the team in ensuring that the supply of fundamental office supplies was maintained.

Pioneering a 3PL Revolution for Growth and Innovation

Another significant challenge in my nearly 30 years with the business was Brexit. I needed to react fast and realised we had some amazing opportunities by offering a 3PL solution. The overall goal is to maximise sales and margin opportunities through new master distribution agreements with suppliers and manufacturers, opening new product categories, and customer development opportunities.

Navigating New Avenues for Sustainable Growth and Adaptation

My other focus would be sustainable sales growth in the direct channel through our partnership with dealers like Codex and other local dealers.

I understand we may not see a 100% return to the office. The market has irreversibly changed. I will ensure we consider the next step rather than relying on that traditional business to sustain us. We are very much open to new things. We are all optimistic about the future here at VOW Wholesale.

Finally, one of the proudest moments in my work life was being awarded the BOSS Federation ‘Business Leader of the Year’ in 2021. As more and more women win these prestigious awards over the years, it has become increasingly apparent that the industry continues to encourage women to become more visible to their peers and highlights how much things have changed. I believe you can achieve great things with honesty, dedication, passion, and a positive can-do attitude.

VOW Wholesale is Ireland's largest specialist business supplies wholesaler. With close links to leading global manufacturers and dealers nationwide, VOW aims to empower its partners efficiently throughout the supply chain.

Connect with Ashley to learn more about her work at VOW Wholesale Ireland.

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