On October 17th, ORIX Aviation’s CFO, Marie-Louise Kelly was interviewed by ‘Voltedge‘ for National Women’s Enterprise Day as part of their ‘Ireland’s Leading Female Executives’ piece. You can read Marie Louise’s interview below.
Voltedge: What is your current role and how long you have held this position?
Marie-Louise: I am CFO of ORIX Aviation, and have held that position for over three years.
Voltedge: Where do you draw inspiration from?
Marie-Louise: I work with a fantastic team of people within ORIX Aviation. They are smart, professional and hard working in an environment that is challenging, interesting, dynamic and very rewarding. It is a pleasure to work with these colleagues and their drive, ambition and enthusiasm pushes me further to achieve our goals and strategic aims.
Voltedge: During the course of your career, was there a role model or mentor that stands out for you?
Marie-Louise: I have worked closely for most of the last ten years with James Meyler, firstly when he was Chief Commercial Officer and now as our CEO. He has been a very important mentor for me, always providing sound guidance and feedback. Most importantly he has provided encouragement and support to me. This was particularly evident when I was promoted to CFO upon returning from maternity leave.
Voltedge: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given during your career?
Marie-Louise: Not to assume that your manager intuitively understands how you feel or what your development goals are. Constructive discussions need input and thought from both the manager and staff member.
Voltedge: What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?
Marie-Louise: More pronounced generational shifts mean that there are cross sections of the workforce with very different work related expectations, motivations, what the ideal work / life balance is, how they value benefits, how they want to be managed and the type of development needs that they have. Leaders need to develop an organisation and culture that can be flexible in meeting expectations across these generations at any given point in time.
Voltedge: What is your favourite quote and why?
Marie-Louise: “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart
Many good ideas can get lost between suggestion and implementation. If we want to succeed, we need to follow through and encourage people alongside us to do the same.
ORIX Aviation would like to thank Voltedge for including Marie-Louise in their inspiring piece for ‘National Women’s Enterprise Day’. You can find the rest of the article and more interviews from some of Ireland’s leading female executives by clicking on the link below.
www.voltedge.ie/human-resources-news/inspiration-irelands-leading-female-executives-2019/
