A woman with extraordinary credentials, who came from Ireland in the mid 80s, has been named Person of the Year by the Kerry Association London.
Liz Shanahan , a Castleisland native – like so many others – arrived in London in the mid–eighties on the Slattery’s Bus. She lives in London with her husband, Tim Lacey who hails from Tralee. Liz is a member of the well–known Shanahan Chemist family and spends time in their home near Killorglin.
Shanahan commented: “I’m incredibly proud of being from Kerry and when Denis Nolan rang me to tell me I’d been chosen as Kerry Person of the Year, I was humbled and honoured…”
She continued, “Kerry is a county that punches well above its weight in the business world. I come from generations of Kerry business people; my grandfather, father and brother all established their own pharmacy businesses, my Aunt, Margaret Geaney established Crag Caves, so being in business is in the blood.”
Liz was the first female and first Kerry Global Chair of the renowned Irish International Business Network, the leading Irish business diaspora network abroad. In 2016, recognising the importance to Ireland and business in the UK, she Co–Chaired Ireland4Europe, to galvanise the Irish vote around the UKs EU membership referendum. She has been pivotal in initiating a number of Kerry focused business forums in London and Kerry in the last few years.
The Irish Times has named Liz as one of Ireland’s Women of the World and a global leader in Healthcare & Life–sciences.
She founded her first company, Santé Communications in 1994. It became one of the world’s leading healthcare consultancies, advising leading pharmaceutical companies on corporate, financial, brand, medical and internal communications. Her Irish graduate programme has resulted in Santé Alumni holding senior positions in international organisations around the globe. In addition, the IIBN Future Leaders Programme, which has a number of Kerry members, has paired young entrepreneurs with business mentors and is already reaping rewards.
Following the sale of Santé to the NYSE listed FTI Consulting, Liz became Global Head of Healthcare & Lifesciences. She left a few years ago and is now a senior consultant to pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, an angel investor and speaks regularly on both topics, as well as the implications of Brexit, including to radio Kerry on a regular basis.
As a testament to Liz’s extensive influence in the business community, she is a member of the Global Irish Economic Forum, The British Council Provocation Group and a non–executive director of a UK hospital, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust. She was a founder of Techlink, a science and technology network connecting the UK & Ireland, chairing the group before merging it into the IIBN.
Liz uses her network to help support a number of Kerry based charities including Kerry Hospice Foundation, Build4Life, Talbot Grove, St Josephs in Killorglin and the Kerry Sports Academy. She is a regular participant in the annual Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle.
She continues supporting Kerry and Ireland worldwide as a networker, investor & mentor.
Kerry Association London secretary Tara Cronin said: “It is always a difficult task selecting our Kerry Person of the Year and we had so many worthy nominations. Liz will be a fantastic ambassador the Kerry Association London and we are looking forward to working with her through the year. “
Liz will be presented with her award at the KAL’s annual dinner and dance in the famous Crown Hotel in Cricklewood in October.