IAPI has awarded four Honourary Fellowships to former trailblazers in the advertising world. Patrick Hickey, Alan Cox, Orlaith Blaney and the late Eoghan Nolan were all awarded Honourary Fellowships this week.
At 32, Orlaith Blaney was managing director of McCanns, making her the youngest person to lead an international agency in Ireland. She also served on the IAPI board for 13 years and was only the second female President of IAPI to be appointed in 2014. She was former secretary of the International Women’s Forum, on the Advisory Board of the Women’s Executive Network, a former mentor for the Women Empowering Women programme and the IMI 30% Club Programme. She is now director of corporate affairs at Irish Water.
“I am absolutely delighted and privileged to be recognised by IAPI in this way. The ad industry will remain my first love and it is a career I really thrived in and enjoyed immensely,” says Blaney.
“This Fellowship is the icing on the cake for me. Thank you to the IAPI Board for recognising me in this way. Many of my friends are my agency clients and colleagues to this day and I am pleased to say I keep in touch with many of them”, she adds.
“It has been five years since IAPI have awarded Fellows of the industry, so we’re delighted to recognise this extraordinary group of individuals who have, over the past couple of decades, raised the bar for the entire industry”, says Sean Hynes, President, IAPI and Co-Founder/Creative Director, Bonfire, who presented the IAPI Fellowships at a ceremony attended by over thirty advertising and communications leaders on Tuesday 24th May.
Alan Cox, meanwhile, is one of the most widely recognised industry leaders over the past decade and has played a considerable role in championing the role which marketing and advertising plays in business and he co-authored Marketing Multiplied with Jim Power and Chris Johns in 2017, the only study of its kind in Ireland that examined the impact of advertising on the wider economy.
Cox has also taken leadership roles in championing the need for better and further education in the advertising sector while through the creation of Core he was instrumental in the development of Ireland’s largest marketing communications group.
“I have enormous respect for the pivotal role that IAPI plays in the development of our industry; so to receive this fellowship from the Institute means a lot to me; it’s a great honour,” says Cox.
Patrick Hickey, meanwhile, was one of the founders and former CEP of Rothco, which is now part of Accenture Song. During his tenure as CEO, the agency grew to become the biggest and most successful agency in Ireland and remains to this day the most creatively awarded Irish agency at the Cannes Lions. He stepped away from Rothco in 2021 and is currently non-executive chairman of Mobility Mojo.
“It was a privilege to be in an industry full of wonderfully creative people. Working with clients that backed world beating creativity are amongst my favourite times. I am humbled to receive this honour from IAPI and its board. The Irish advertising sector has never performed better on the world stage. It is very satisfying to know the Irelands creatives now know that they belong up their with the very best. I am accepting this award on behalf of my former partners and all of the brilliant people who shared our journey in Rothco,” says Hickey.
Meanwhile, Eoghan Nolan who sadly passed away in 2021 was among Ireland’s truly great creative directors and copywriters. He was a board member of IAPI and board member and director of ICAD where he was part of the team that steered it back on track in the late 1990s when it was in danger of dissolving. He also won Ireland’s first ever D&AD Pencil. Lynne Tracey, former President of IAPI, and herself a Fellow, accepted the award on behalf of Eoghan’s family.
“It has been five years since IAPI have awarded Fellows of the industry, so we’re delighted to recognise this extraordinary group of individuals who have, over the past couple of decades, raised the bar for the entire industry”, says Sean Hynes, President, IAPI and Co-Founder/Creative Director, Bonfire, who presented the IAPI Fellowships at a ceremony earlier this week.
