There was an unanimous decision by the judges for this year's Doyenne award, which went to Cera Ward, country manager of large customer sales for Google Ireland.

The award, organised by the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) is bestowed upon women making their mark in the Irish advertising industry.

Newstalk background

Ward, who was given her award at a breakfast on International Women’s Day, managed the sales team at Newstalk for nine years before becoming a Googler in 2011.

IAPI hopes the award, now in its third year, will incentivise companies to eliminate a gender imbalance at management level by highlighting the achievements and leadership skills of the nominated women.

The judges praised Ward for her “remarkable leadership skills” and future ambitions.

Gender balance

“She stood out due to her continued commitment to achieving digital excellence and gender balance at senior level,” IAPI said.

A special recognition award went to Michelle O’Keefe, managing director of Electric Media group, while the “rising star” winner was Aideen O’Neill from marketing agency Verve.

Panel of judges

This year’s judges were:

Colin Gordon

, chief executive of

Glanbia

Consumer Products; Alina Uí Chaollaí, director of marketing at Largo Foods; Google executive Dave Sneddon; Associated Newspapers sales manager Liz Doyle; and Orlaith Blaney, who is former chief executive of McCann Blue and now a marketing consultant.

Ward, who is currently on maternity leave, joins Estelle Gorby from Acorn Dublin and PHD's Gemma Teeling as a "doyenne" of the Irish industry.