Mullingar native named CEO of the Year
Fiona Matthews awarded title at IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards
Fiona Matthews, the managing director of Applegreen’s Republic of Ireland business, has been named CEO of The Year at the IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards.
Fiona received her award at an event at the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road, Dublin attended by more than 960 guests, having topped the CEO of the Year category ahead of 10 other nominees.
She said that she was “absolutely thrilled to have won the award” and “felt humbled and privileged to have been shortlisted alongside the other phenomenal nominees”.
She dedicated the award “to her family and the brilliant support that I have at home and also to my Applegreen family and the brilliant teams who inspire me every day”.
Applegreen Group chief executive Joe Barrett said that winning the CEO of the Year Award represents “a significant achievement for Fiona and is a fantastic recognition of her wonderful leadership skills” and her overall impact on the business.
“Fiona has a huge passion for the retail sector and for empowering our people across the business to work together to deliver the best experience on the road for our customers,” Mr Barrett added.
Fiona joined Applegreen in October 2019 as commercial director for its Republic of Ireland business and became managing director of the ROI business in April 2021. She had previously worked with The Walt Disney Company, Kepak, and Glanbia.
Applegreen
Applegreen opened its first service station in Ballyfermot in 1992, and now operates almost 200 locations in Ireland. It also has operations in Britain and the United States, and employs 17,000 people.
Applegreen is expanding through acquiring and developing new sites and upgrading a number of its existing locations. Its Irish partnership with M&S Food will see up to 60 M&S Food at Applegreen locations open over the next decade.
This year, Applegreen is adding approximately 15 new M&S Food ‘shop in shop’ locations across its network, taking the overall number of outlets to 20.
Businesswoman of the Year Awards
The IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards, sponsored by Key Capital, DS Automobiles, Glenveagh, Kuehne + Nagel, Pinergy, Eversheds Sutherland, Ornua and Paul Sheeran, and in association with Marks & Spencer, Movement, Enterprise Ireland and istil 38, celebrates women in business across 14 categories. Now in its 16th year, the awards ceremony recognises the ever-expanding contribution Irish women make to business and modern life.