Growing up in a busy household on the family beef farm at Upper Rossmore on the Laois/Carlow border instilled a strong work ethic in trailblazing Lorraine Butler, CEO, UK and Ireland, at international sales outsourcing and brand experience agency, CPM.
The 48 year-old is the eldest in a family of seven girls – “Sadly one of my sisters died during infancy” – who all live close to each other. “We have all come back home to settle in Laois. Three of us – so far – have built houses on my parents’ farm.
“My mother Mena Kelly, nee Brennan, worked outside the home when we were younger but as the family grew, she decided to stay at home full-time, running the family home and farm with my father, Tom, a full-time farmer who worked for many years in the sugar factory in Carlow.
“They both still run the farm which has been passed down many generations and some of my sisters have a keen interest in it,’ she said.
“I am married to Jeff who I convinced to move from Dublin with me ten years ago.
“We have a large extended family across the UK and Ireland primarily and are fortunate to have grown up as part of a very close family which our own children are now benefitting from.
“Between my sisters and I, we have 16 children with one having arrived on January 24 and another due in March.
“While my immediate family is all girls, of the grandkids there are ten boys to six girls so we are trying to even up the gender balance,” she laughed.
Lorraine started primary school in Mayo National School, Crettyard, and then moved to Killeshin National School when her parents built their house on the family farm.
“Growing up in a large family of girls was interesting. Clothes, make-up and jewellery had to be kept under lock and key, yet still always seemed to go missing.
“We had a great childhood and my parents gave us every support from love of education to a strong work ethic, without putting undue pressure on us. They continue to be our greatest support and inspiration to this day.
“Making them proud drives us all on in our work and home lives and I hope my own son will feel the same way about Jeff and I as he grows older,” said Lorraine.
She attended St Leo’s College, Carlow, and after the Leaving Cert went to UCD to study arts with the intention of becoming a secondary school teacher.
“After almost two years in UCD I realised that the course really wasn’t for me. I had moved from a school of 1200 girls in St Leo’s to a class of 1400 students in UCD and the environment just didn’t suit me,” she recounted.
“After taking a year out to decide what to do next, I started a course in computer science in Tallaght Institute of Technology and found my niche.
“I went on to finish my degree, then a BA in technology management and a few years later I returned to UCD to the Michael Smurfit Business School and completed a master’s degree in leadership and business organisation. That was followed by becoming a qualified coach and mentor via Ibec.
“After a stint in software and recruitment companies I started a 14 year career in eir, starting at ground level in sales and working my way to director of enterprise and government markets with a seat on the senior management team.
“It was a fantastic organisation and learning ground. I have always been ambitious but more so with myself, challenging myself never to stand still, to try new opportunities and consistently looking to learn and take on the next challenge.”
Lorraine left eir at the end of 2015 having been headhunted to lead the CPM Ireland business as managing director.
“CPM is a business built on great people who deliver sales and customer service solutions for some of Ireland’s largest brands.
“My focus has always been to support our people with the right tools and development to deliver as best they can for our clients.
“I was the first female MD of the Irish business and in a marketplace where diversity, equity and inclusion was at its infancy versus where we are today.
“It was quite a challenging time. I spent much of my time building networks, credibility and creating a forum of diversity champions to help me and other women succeed in the corporate environment.
“Much of our business is in the retail sector. At that time 62 per cent of retail workers were women, but less than six per cent were in boardroom positions.
“I worked with the six per cent to elevate a more balanced gender representation and thankfully positive progress has since been made.
“A proud moment for me was being announced as the Image CEO of the Year in 2019 for these efforts.”
After six years running the Irish business she was appointed to the role of CEO of the UK and Ireland for CPM.
“However, two days after accepting the role I received news from the adoption agency we had been working with for over six years, that we had been matched with a little boy in Thailand, our son Kelligh, and I had to bring him home to Ireland within a matter of weeks, in the middle of the Covid pandemic,” recalled Lorraine.
“CPM is a people company and people values are at the core of our DNA.
“These came into full force when the organisation gave me every support and encouragement to immediately step out of the CEO role for a year to bring home Kelligh and settle him into Ireland.
“He turned four on January 7 and is the brightest spark of my day.”
Lorraine works in the UK each week, normally Tuesday to Thursday.
“It requires a lot of logistics and juggling with my husband who works in a financial trading company in Dublin.
“But I am hoping my son will grow up knowing the benefit of hard work, loving what he does and having a ‘no boundaries’ to what he achieves in his future.”
Across the UK and Ireland, attracting, retaining and growing talent is the organisation’s biggest challenge.
“Great people are our asset but a full employment market in Ireland often sees people leave for more money versus being ready for the actual opportunity.
“On getting the opportunity, often without having built up the skills to fulfil the role, people move from company to company.
“This often hinders the individual’s own longterm career and growth potential. It takes a lot of time to find true talent and coach people to succeed.
“While the UK is our closest trading partner versus Ireland, the UK economy is very challenged.
“As an outsourced agency our success is heavily influenced by the financial performance of our client partners.
“Increased cost of living impacts a drop in consumer consumption, all of which challenges business in the UK which creates uncertainty in the employment market with likely more impact to come in 2025.
“Going into 2025, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as the biggest opportunity but perceived threat and our challenge this year is to help our people embrace the economies of time saved AI can have on their working lives, reducing workloads and allowing more time to live and think,” said Lorraine.
“For school leavers, my advice is: don’t worry about putting all your eggs in the one basket; pick a route after post-primary school that gives you options and it’s ok if it doesn’t work out, there’s always another way.
“There are very few people I know who end up working in the field they studied in college. And college isn’t for everyone.
“Some of the best people I have worked with did not go to college or went back to college later in life.
“Education gives you a passport to experience more opportunities, but there is no substitute for hard work, a proactive can-do mindset and it’s these behaviours and education combined that give you the best opportunities to have a great career.
“When you find your groove, don’t sit still. If you don’t charter your course it will take you a lot longer to get there,” she said.
“Finally one of my biggest learnings: much of my success is as a result of the people I surrounded myself with. The next chapter in your life is a crucial one, pick your friends wisely.
“Pick a tribe that want the best for you and who mirror your values in life. Your tribe is your vibe.”
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