Alison Ritchie is the Managing Director of Polar Ice Ltd., Ireland’s leading manufacturer of dry ice products since 1996. Polar Ice is located in Portarlington, Co Laois. As a serial entrepreneur, Alison established her second business Polar IceTech Ireland Ltd. in 2005, growing the business to become the market leader in Cryogenic Cleaning, and successfully selling the business earlier this year.

Alison has a Business Degree from DCU. She subsequently trained and qualified as a Financial Accountant (CPA) and a certified Tax Advisor. Alison was awarded the Ulster Bank Business Achievers Award for Women Led Business in Leinster 2015, and presented with special award from Offaly LEO in recognition of her contribution to Female Entrepreneurship in the same year. Most recently Alison was a finalist in the ‘Accountant of the Year (Industry)’ in the prestigious Accountancy Awards 2016. 

Six awards were presented with Evelyn O’Toole, Founder and CEO, Complete Laboratory Solutions (CLS), taking the overall WMB Businesswoman Award 2016. 

Polar Ice Ltd’s MD Alison Ritchie received the WMB Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O’Brien, Co-founders of FoodCloud, received the Newstalk WMB Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Professor Susan McKenna-Lawlor, Founder and MD, Space Technology Ireland Ltd was named FEXCO WMB Woman in Technology Award recipient.Ann O’Dea, CEO and Co-founder Silicon Republic, received the Boots WMB Empowering Women Award 2016; and Elaine Cohalan and Jenny Synnott, Co-founders of The Dublin Cookie Company, received the Sodexo WMB Female Newcomer Award for 2016.

The day-long event included an impressive line up of business people who spoke on the theme – A Decade of Progress – and included:Keynote Speaker: Dee Forbes, Director-General, RTÉ; Gelong Thubten, Buddhist Monk and Mindfulness Specialist; and Susan Vinnicombe, CBE, Cranfield School of Management.The day also included a panel discussion on the theme with Marissa Carter, Founder and MD, Cocoa Brown; Martha Ryan, Head of HR, Boots Ireland; Rosemary Delaney, Founder and MD, WMB; and Caroline O’Driscoll, Partner, KPMG and Co-founder of I WISH, taking to the stage.