Gráinne Wafer has been named as the recipient of 2023 All Ireland Marketing Champion Award, ahead of the Marketing Institute Ireland All Ireland Marketing (AIM) Awards, which take place tonight in Dublin.
Wafer is global director beer, Guinness, Baileys, and Smirnoff with Diageo and sits on the Diageo Global Marketing and Global Senior Management teams.
Over the course of her career with Diageo, which spans over two decades, Wafer has held a variety of senior roles and has been instrumental in a number of significant brand achievements such as the Arthur’s Day celebrations for Guinness’ 250th anniversary; the brand and business transformation of Baileys and launches of products like Guinness 0.0, Guinness Nitrosurge and Guinness MicroDraught.
Recipients of the Marketing Institute Ireland All Ireland Marketing Champion Award are “individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to business, demonstrating leadership, vision and skill.”
Accepting her award, Wafer says: “As marketers today, our role is not just to create value for our brands and organisations. We also have the responsibility to use our role as story tellers to shape a more progressive and inclusive industry, where everyone is represented from script to screen. As marketeers and story tellers, we have a unique opportunity to drive action and change, in service of a more sustainable, inclusive, and progressive world.”
“Gráinne exemplifies the economic impact that Irish marketing professionals deliver at home and abroad year in, year out,” says Shane McGonigle, CEO of the Marketing Institute of Ireland (MII).
“With a key senior role across a range of iconic brands, she continues to have success after success over the course of her tenure with Diageo. This is testament to the commercial acumen, innovative storytelling and insights-driven approach that she brings to the brands that she works on. Her passion for marketing extends beyond her day-to-day job as she actively campaigns to boost diversity across the sector. These factors combined are what makes her such a worthy recipient for this year’s award,” he adds.
