UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin graduate Lorna Conn wins prestigious Postgraduate Leadership Award 2024 in the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards
Lorna Conn, a graduate from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin, has won the coveted Postgraduate Leadership Award 2024.
The AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2024 were held on January 19, 2024, at the exceptional Park Plaza London Riverbank. The Awards brought together leading lights from the global business education community to celebrate excellence and commend achievement among business schools, MBA students and graduates, suppliers, and employers.
The ceremony was attended by more than 200 business school leaders, as well as category finalists, judges and members of the media.
The Postgraduate Leadership Award honours alumni from AMBA & BGA business schools who have been making an impact in the business world following their graduation.
The award recognises the inspirational work of these graduates through their achievements, performance, and recognition.
Lorna Conn is a powerful figure in Irish business. In January 2022 Lorna became CEO of Cpl, Ireland’s largest talent solutions company, with over 13,000 employees, operating in 47 offices across 13 countries. In March 2023 she was appointed to the Executive Committee of Cplʼs parent company – Tokyo listed OUTSOURCING Inc (‘OSIʼ) and is the only serving female.
Lorna is Senior Managing Executive Officer of the Overseas Technology Business with regional oversight of UK and Oceania, in addition to her Cpl role. OSI operates in 39 countries worldwide, has 250+ sister companies and employs more than 130,000 people worldwide.
Lorna Conn said of her win, “It is a real honour to win this award. It was such a privilege to study at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and I am so grateful for my time there. I see firsthand the power of a good education and I really do believe it is one of life’s great levellers. It was an important part of the route to my roles with Cpl and with OUTSOURCING Inc of which I am very proud. It is wonderful to be recognised with an award like this from my peers and I am incredibly grateful.”
Professor Anthony Brabazon, Dean of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, said, “Lorna is an outstanding business leader who has had global impact in her sector. She is also an outstanding role model for our current students. We are immensely proud of her achievements as an alumna of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business and she is most deserving of this award.”
Andrew Main Wilson, Chief Executive of the Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association (AMBA & BGA) said: “On behalf of the AMBA and BGA team, I would like to congratulate the finalists and winners of this year’s Excellence Awards.
“This year, the competition was stronger than ever. The entries who have made the final shortlist in each category should feel proud of their achievements.
“Additionally, the students and graduates who have been shortlisted as finalists today have all used their qualifications to achieve a spectrum of impressive results, in terms of the positive impact they have made to business, education and society as a whole.
“It was thrilling to be able to celebrate the AMBA network’s achievements at this glamorous Gala Dinner – in particular its been amazing to celebrate exceptional innovations and successes in the higher management education industry.
“I also want to take the opportunity to thank our partners, Kortext, Canvas by Instructure, Cesim Business Simulations, Perlego and BlueSky Education. Their support for our awards – and the business education sector – is greatly appreciated.”
ENDS
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Awards selection process:
The finalists were shortlisted by AMBA & BGA’s senior management team. A panel of judges then reviewed the shortlisted entries, selecting a winner and a highly commended entry for each award. Our judging panel is made up of AMBA board members, business experts, deans and management leaders.
All of our judges were selected based on their experience and qualifications.
The winners and highly commended entries can be seen here.
Best Culture, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative 2024, in association with BlueSky Education
Winner
Highly commended
Best Business School Partnership Award 2024, in association with Perlego
Winner
Highly commended
Best CSR and Sustainability Initiative 2024, in association with Cesim Business Simulations
Winner
Highly commended
Best Lifelong Learning Initiative 2024, in association with Canvas by Instructure
Winner
Best Innovation Strategy Award 2024, in association with Kortext
Winner
Highly commended
BGA Business School Impact Award 2024
Winner
Highly commended
Start-Up of the Year Award 2024
Winner
Highly commended
Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2024
Winner
Highly commended
Postgraduate Leadership Award 2024
Winner
Highly commended
AMBA Student of the Year Award 2024
Winner
Highly commended
BGA Student of the Year Award 2024
Winner