Smurfit Executive Development has been awarded an InBUSINESS Recognition Award for Best in Executive Education in 2020 to acknowledge their work in designing and delivering impactful learning experiences to business executives so that they can better understand, manage and shape rapidly changing business environments. This is the first time that Smurfit Executive Development has received this award.

The InBusiness Recognition Awards aim to honour and celebrate success, achievement and ambition within Irish business and to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of individuals to grow business in this country.

Helen Brophy, Director, commented, “We are absolutely delighted to receive the InBusiness Recognition Award which is a huge endorsement of the business and the service we provide to our open enrolment participants and customised clients. Winning the award is a huge honour for all of the team in Smurfit Executive Development. This recognition comes at a time when we are seeing extraordinary changes to ‘business as usual’ as we collectively face the defining challenge of a generation. Now more than ever, investment in the development of leadership talent is essential.”

While the ability to get outside of the normal physical environment, now the home office, may be gone, people still value the time spent investing in themselves. “For a lot of people, during lockdown, it’s given them a focus, in terms of being proactive about their own learning, and upskilling. I’ve been really struck by that with a lot of our executives, how strong-willed they have been, in terms of ‘I’m keeping going, and this is keeping my head in the right place’.” 

Responding to the real needs of business leaders remains at the forefront of the agenda for Smurfit Executive Development. “A lot of what we do will be very much aligned to the future workforce. It’s not that the skills are essentially that different; we’re just applying them to a different context and a different way of working. It’s more about challenging people’s assumptions about what makes work effective. “Our offering, in terms of our modes of delivery, is definitely
going to expand. We’ve learned a huge amount from this experience, and it has been really positive, even though at times it’s been very challenging.”.

Smurfit Executive Development received their award today at a virtual InBusiness Recognition Awards ceremony. Click here to view the ceremony.