‘Be proud of your achievements’

In a packed convention centre in the Rochestown Park Hotel a Cobh woman who has risen to the top of Wall St, Deirdre O’Connor, claimed Irish people need to be more confident and prouder of their achievements.

Speaking at the Corkmeet business gathering, Ms O’Connor, a managing director with Wall St bank Goldman Sachs, said Irish students and firms need to know what they are up against in New York.

“Irish people are a bit more humble. I had a double whammy of being a woman, because women are naturally more humble when they present their ideas and recommendations. I have the privilege of meeting many Irish graduates and companies who come to New York. I look at the parallels between their presentation styles and my own, they are very similar. But I interview a lot of American students and they will just come in and advocate for themselves, talking about their accomplishments. Irish people have all the accomplishments they are just less confident about talking about themselves.”