Fermoy woman: ‘My career path wasn’t a straight line..I’m proof it doesn’t need to be’

Trust your path and know that what’s for you won’t pass you, but be prepared to put the hard work in.

So says Fermoy native, Laura Howard, who is speaking from experience, having had to leave college in her first year of Arts in UCC to unexpectedly make her way in the world.

“Due to personal reasons, I had to abandon my BA in Arts a few months in. I remember I was furious at the time, even if I know now that it was a blessing in disguise,” said Laura.

She got a job in Sofa So Good in her home town where she fell in love with retail and ‘the psychology of selling’.

Today, Laura is regional sales manager for Trinny London, leading retail across Ireland, the UK, and the US, and managing 14 stores, including in London and Saks 5th Avenue in New York. She is responsible for a team of up to 50.

“The job involves people management, sales strategies, profit and loss performances, HR, marketing and more,” she says.

“You never know what will happen on any day,” she said. 

“You have to be resilient in retail, at any moment, there could be an issue you never saw coming.”

And there usually is! Before our call, Laura was making sure a team in a London store had sufficient fans to deal with temperatures of 33 degrees. But it’s all in a day’s work for Laura, who has vast experience to support her in the often demanding role.

After Sofa So Good, she became the store manager in the country’s first Pandora (Jewellers) on Winthrop Street, and later progressed to Retail Operations Manager, managing 15 stores in Ireland from 2010 to 2019. After that, she moved to a sales and education role with Estée Lauder Companies, where she was over seven brands, including Tom Ford Beauty, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, and Le Labo, and supported the launch of Balmain Beauty into the Irish market, which she’s especially proud of.

“In that job I was backstage at two successive London Fashion Weeks in 2023 and ’24 as we did the show for Erdem, and my claim to fame is that Anna Wintour walked past me – twice!”

She started with Trinny London in February, 2025, and is relishing the role.

“No two days are the same, and that’s partly why I love it. Monday and Friday, I’m usually working from home in Fermoy, but for the rest of the week, I could be anywhere. It’s demanding, but I thrive on that,” said the 39-year-old.

She has huge admiration for entrepreneur Trinny Woodall, who she says is ‘so involved with the business.’

“She’s genuinely inspirational and so passionate about what she does,” said Laura, who is equally passionate but is also protective of her work/life boundaries to avoid burn-out.

Living with her husband Danny in Grange, outside Fermoy, the couple are ‘happily and proudly child-free by choice’.

“I love nothing more than locking the gate on a Friday and relaxing for the weekend. Danny and I are foodies, we love travelling and walking. I also enjoy pole fitness and yoga, and find it a great way to switch off!”

Laura also returned to education last year, completing an NFQ Level 8 qualification in Leadership and Transformational Change through MTU and Springboard.

She attended last year’s Network Cork Businesswomen of the Year Awards as a non-member.

“I travel a lot and I wanted to establish a core network in Ireland, so I went along and I remember I was blown away by a sense of female empowerment in the room that night. It was incredible, and I joined straight away. Being part of Network Cork has really spurred on my entrepreneurial spirit. I don’t think I’ll ever not be a member now.”

Winning the award for Advanced Career Employee this year was really special.

“It was the first time in a very long time that I felt seen and recognised for what I’ve done, and that was so refreshing. It was also quite funny, as last New Year’s Eve I wrote a letter to myself saying that this time next year I’d be walking past my award – and I am! I manifested it,” she said.

Laura is a believer in manifestation, but believes it also takes hard work, clear goals, and creating opportunities to turn ambitions into reality.

“My career path wasn’t a straight line, and I’m proof that it doesn’t need to be, but you do need to be passionate about what you do, and you must be ready to put in the hard work.”

Her ultimate ambition is to ‘work as a retail director for an Irish company… not necessarily in beauty’.

“Trust the process, even when the path does not make sense yet. Some of the best opportunities in my career came from relationships, risks and experiences I never originally planned for. Everything really does happen for a reason, and while I still have big ambitions and goals for the future, I genuinely feel like I’m on the right path and I’m very excited for what’s still to come.”