Cork County Council Local Enterprise Office Cork North and West, in partnership with Network Ireland West Cork (NIWC), hosted an evening of inspiration and networking at the Maritime Hotel, Bantry, on Wednesday 30th April with keynote speaker Dr Karen Weekes.
Dr Weekes spoke on the topic of Staying Afloat: Building the Capacity to Succeed, and the evening brought together local entrepreneurs and professionals to explore resilience and self-leadership.
Dr Weekes, a performance psychologist and record-breaking solo Atlantic rower, gave insights from both her academic research and extreme endurance experiences.
Her address drew strong parallels between ocean rowing and business leadership, offering practical strategies for maintaining focus and motivation under pressure.
The extreme athlete was then joined on stage by a panel of local business men and women as they delved deeper into the topics raised, and explained how they themselves manage to ‘stay afloat’ in their professional and personal lives.
Anna Healy, President of Network Ireland West Cork, summed up the evening thus:
‘Resilience is the strength that carries us through uncertainty. Events like this remind us that shared insight and support make our businesses, and ourselves, even stronger.
