In addition to fashion and fabulous prizes, topics of courage and risk-taking were also on the agenda …
As the biggest, buzziest, most glamorous business event of the year, THE GLOSS GALA in association with Goodbody always includes inspiring, thought-provoking speakers.
Michelle O’Keefe, Head of Wealth Advisory at Goodbody introduced the theme of the evening – courage. This is in keeping with the ethos of Goodbody’s all-female wealth advisory team who has always championed giving women the courage to take control of their finances, to feel confident about setting financial goals and achieving them.
Michelle outlined the success of THE GLOSS | GOODBODY Investment Club, a female-focused community created to promote financial feminism and the power of connection. Following the success of this initiative, in March this year Invest In You was launched as a dedicated online space that’s open to everyone, offering expert-led video masterclasses, practical tips to maximise your finances, and inspiring stories from female leaders designed to help women take control of their financial lives. A recent Goodbody survey revealed that 78 per cent of Investment Club members reported increased financial confidence since joining – a reminder of what’s possible when women invest in themselves.
The theme of courage was reinforced by award-winning war correspondent, journalist and author Lara Marlowe. You could hear a pin drop as she took to the 35-metre RDS stage enthralling the 1,650 guests made up from finance, banking, media, marketing, government, recruitment and tech. She opened her profoundly moving speech by defining courage. “Courage is for me one of the greatest virtues, up there at the top with love and charity. Courage is a miracle because it is contrary to the survival instinct which tells us to keep safe and seek protection. Courage requires us to take risks. It can endanger your peace of mind, relationships, career and, in extreme cases, your life.”
Lara started her career with CBS 60 Minutes before moving to the Financial Times, TIME and The Irish Times – for which she was a staff foreign correspondent based in Paris and Washington from 1996 until 2023. Having worked in journalism for more than 40 years, she has witnessed courage and its mirror, cowardice, in politics, business and daily life, and has reported on more than a dozen wars, most recently in Ukraine.
Lara related how the second World War still feels very present in Paris, where she lives. “Through four years of Nazi occupation, most French people just tried to get on with their lives. When liberation was imminent, thousands became “des résistants de la dernière heure” – last minute members of the Resistance. Only a tiny percentage had the courage to resist occupation in the darkest hours. I ask myself, “What would I have done?” I want to believe that I would have had the courage to join the Resistance. We cannot know until we are tested. The question was hypothetical for most of our lives. It is less hypothetical now. We are entering an era where courage is required of private citizens, most obviously in the US, but also across Europe.”
For Lara, courage means a willingness to speak up and act, to take risks including financial and economic. “We must find the courage to stand up for those less fortunate than ourselves, for our own rights and for what is right, full stop. Our survival as individuals and as a society depends on it.”
“I never wanted to build a business to just make money,” declared Trinny Woodall, the second special guest speaker. Trinny is no stranger to THE GLOSS events and, this year, she returned to talk about her personal and professional journey. As CEO of her disruptive namesake brand, which she founded in 2017, it quickly became one of Europe’s fastest-growing direct-to-consumer start-ups, generating multi-million pound revenues.
As the business has scaled, Trinny has built a loyal global online community, known as the Trinny Tribe. As she recounted in her bestselling book, Fearless, Trinny has faced addiction, struggled with financial pressures and suffered personal loss. She inspired the audience with her belief in taking risks, taking control, and backing herself.
Known not just for her style – she was wearing Bernadette Antwerp – Trinny is nothing if not honest and open. She discussed her “complex relationship” with her mother, her struggles with IVF, the difficult decision to leave her husband, Johnny, and, poignantly, his subsequent suicide. She elaborated on her complicated relationship with money, her decision to consult business gurus and defy the naysayers. At the funeral of her former husband, one friend advised her “to get a proper job.” As a former addict, Trinny took stock of her life and realised that she was only truly “happy when she made other people feel better about themselves”.
“I knew if I didn’t try at 51 to set up Trinny London I would always have regrets. Often, we get stuck and need a reset. It’s important to give yourself permission to do and say what you want.”
Raising the funds for her business was a challenge, which necessitated her selling her ‘forever home’ and enviable archive of clothes accrued during her career when she starred with Susannah Constantine in the globally successful TV show, What Not To Wear. Indeed, she gave an insight into their friendship, describing Susannah’s more laidback approach to life and work, in contrast to her own fierce work ethic. She is forever crisscrossing the globe to meet her Trinny Tribes. The secret to her success? Trinny revealed that meditation (for over 20 minutes every morning) has helped with the stresses and strains of executive life.
She also revealed the secret to her desirable collection of designer bags, especially Prada and her latest acquisition, a grey pre-loved Hermès Birkin bag. After every significant milestone in her business, she has bought herself a handbag – symbolic purchases that acknowledge her success and undeniable hard work. Inside, she keeps a photograph of her daughter Lyla.
As an extra bonus, every guest at THE GLOSS GALA received a fabulous tote, make-up bag and products from Trinny London to take home.
Photography by Conor Healy / Picture It Photography