CEO at Hardware Association Ireland, Annmarie Harte, takes the Business & Finance 60-second challenge.
Q. What was your first job?
My first ‘proper’ job was as a telesales executive on the gardening section in the advertising department of the Daily Telegraph.
It was an ideal training ground and in hindsight a great start to my career – you had to work hard, be determined, sales oriented, professional and listen. If you had those qualities there was plenty of opportunity to be developed and promoted.
Q. What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date?
My daughter. Certainly the return on investment is not guaranteed but it’s by far the most rewarding achievement when you realise she’s opinionated, hardworking, driven and respectful and that she views you as someone she admires.
Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
It may be a very well-known saying, but from the first time I heard this (in my third job) it became my slogan of how I analyse everything that gets done in the business to see what can be improved on, from people to process: ‘Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’.
Q. In three words or less, how do you define success?
Respect and integrity.
Q. If you could step into the shoes of one businessperson for the day, who would it be and why?
Kim Kardashian. Love her or loathe her, she has the unique ability to make millions of dollars without having any talent that I can identify.
Q. How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
The bottom-line is self-motivation through achievement. New ideas, doing the right things and doing them as best you can have always acted as a stimulant for me.
Provide the environment and opportunities for staff to flourish and show leadership that working together and for a common goal will bring about success.
Q. How do you relax?
David Attenborough nature programmes, washing up and long walks in the country relax me.
Q. What’s your motto?
Never let the trolls get you down.
Q. What are your aspirations for the future of your business?
Delivering on the wishes of our membership and growing our membership through four defined avenues – representation, education, networking and market intelligence.
Love her or loathe her [Kim Kardashian], she has the unique ability to make millions of dollars without having any talent
HARTE ATTACK
Annemarie Harte is CEO of Hardware Association Ireland.
Harte has extensive experience in senior positions with representative groups as secretary and CEO of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (2007-2013) and manager/chief executive of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Chamber of Commerce (2005-2007).
She has been consultant to the Royal Life Saving Society UK, advising on organisational and cultural change management and developing its revenue growth business plan.
Annemarie has also held senior positions in sales, marketing and business development across the Telegraph Group Limited and Associated Newspapers in the UK and Ireland. She also worked with Paddy Power to launch its online casino in the UK.
She holds a Public Relations Diploma from the Public Relations Institute of Ireland and an NVQ Management qualification from the UK, Institute of Leadership and Management.
Hardware Association Ireland’s upcoming Hardware Tradeshow takes place on March 5th and 6th at the RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin.
