The LIA celebrates CEO Ayça Donaghy’s selection for the 2024 Women in Trade Association Powerlist

TAF, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), are pleased to have joined forces to champion the role of women in trade associations with the 2024 Women in Trade Association Powerlist.

The Lighting Industry Association (LIA) is thrilled to announce that CEO, Ayça Donaghy, has been selected for the 2024 Powerlist, thanks to her nomination from Bob Bohannon, Head of Policy and Sustainability at The LIA. This honour recognises Ayça’s passion, resilience, and dedication to delivering key initiatives that positively support lighting, safety, design, diversity, and sustainability across the lighting industry.

Ayça’s journey, from a Turkish immigrant in Belfast to becoming the CEO of the Lighting Industry Association at 38, is nothing short of inspiring. Her background – a degree in acting, work in education and an MBA – might not be typical of the lighting sector, but in her short tenure as the figurehead of The LIA,

Ayça has revitalised the association not just overseeing a return to profitability, but also building a freshly inspired, cohesive team.

Under Ayça’s leadership The LIA have launched several new initiatives. These include:

• ‘Young Industry Group, encouraging diversity, inclusion, and equity within the sector to minimise emerging skills gaps.
• Aligning with Dame Judith Hackitt’s efforts to prevent another Grenfell Tower tragedy, Ayça has steered the building of a Competence Standard in Emergency.
• Along with the policy team government outreach, the team achieved the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) accepting that their proposals were flawed and required revision.
• She is a keen advocate of sustainability, assisting the launch of The LIA’s Circular Economy product verification scheme, initiating bi-weekly, member-only ‘Sustainability Illuminated’ webinars to assist the association’s membership on their journey to achieving Net Zero.
• Building key alliances with parallel trade and professional institutions – this year Ayça won a place in the 40under40 Lighting Design Awards.

Ayça said: “I am incredibly honoured and grateful to have been selected for the 2024 Women in Trade Association Powerlist. A huge thank you to the Trade Association Forumfor recognising the strides I have made in leadership in our association and sector over the last 12 months, and to the wonderful Bob Bohannon for secretly nominating me! It is truly an honour to be named alongside so many powerful and inspirational women – I cannot wait to meet you all at the celebratory reception in London, bringing together the incredible women that have been recognised as inspirational in their sectors.”

The Trade Association Powerlist celebrates these achievements and encourages the next generation of women into the association sector. The celebratory reception is being held on the evening of Thursday 14th March 2024 in London, bringing together many of the 2023 and 2024 incredible women that have been recognised.

View the full Powerlist here: https://www.taforum.org/women-in-trade-associations-2024-powerlist/#