The newly-appointed President of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) and Swim Ireland CEO, Sarah Keane, has addressed Matheson lawyers at the firm’s headquarters in Dublin.

Matheson hosted the Friday afternoon event, attended by over 140 staff members, to coincide with International Women’s Day last week.

Helen Kelly, partner and head of Matheson’s EU, competition and regulatory law group, hosted an In Conversation with Sarah Keane segment during the event.

Ms Keane shared insights into her journey to becoming President of the OCI and said that for men and women to perform to the best of their ability, they need to support each other and seek guidance and mentorship from high achievers. She also spoke about her ‘win-win’ philosophy and not backing down from a challenge.

She said: “It’s important to be bold for change in a crisis but crisis also gives us an opportunity to be braver and to embrace change and to make changes that we might not have made otherwise. It’s also essential in a crisis to seek and to take on board expert advice.”

Matheson’s managing partner, Michael Jackson, who also addressed the event, said: “We foster diversity and value all contributions and perspectives.

“At Matheson we consistently advocate for gender diverse talent whether we are looking at promotions, panels for internal or external events and within our client teams. At Matheson, we also have a long standing history and passion for nurturing and developing our employees irrespective of gender.

“Diversity in the workplace continues to be a strategic business priority for us and we have never been in a better place at Matheson than we are now as regards diversity.”