Casey to address business group

DESCRIBED by the Wall Street Journal as the woman who redefined inspiration, Caroline Casey, founder of Kanchi and the O2 Ability Awards, is making a rare appearance in the Mid-West Region on Wednesday, April 25 when she will address a business gathering at Dromoland Castle Hotel’s Brian Boru Hall at 6.30pm.

Better known across the globe than in the West of Ireland for her inspirational and motivational speeches, she is an ardent promoter of vision and belief as key motivators for success.
The topic of the address, chosen by Caroline herself is: Impossible is an opinion – the business advantage of thinking differently. The event is being held in conjunction with Shannon, Ennis and Limerick Chambers, IBEC and Clare Supported Employment Service.
A former management consultant with Accenture, Caroline is the recipient of many awards, both national and international. Visually impaired to the degree that she is registered as legally blind, she has dedicated the past decade of her life to changing how global society views people with disabilities. In 2000, she rode 1,000km across India on an elephant to raise funds for Sight Savers. Then, as founding CEO of Kanchi in Dublin, she developed a set of best practices (based on ISO 9000 quality standards) for businesses, to help them see ‘disabled’ workers as an asset rather than a liability. Hundreds of companies have adopted the standards, changing their policies and attitudes.
In 2004, she started the O2 Ability Awards to recognise Irish businesses for their inclusion of people with disabilities, both as employees and customers. The initiative has received international praise and, in 2010, a parallel programme was launched in Spain.
This is a unique opportunity to hear and meet the first Irish person to be appointed Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum; the first Ashoko fellow from Ireland and the UK; speaker at TED in Washington, the Global Competitiveness Forum in Riyad and a return speaker at the Clinton Global Initiative.