Women in Enterprise welcomed members and guests to My Wines Roof Terrace on Wednesday evening for its annual Summer Social, bringing together women from across Gibraltar’s business community for an evening centred on conversation, connection and collaboration.

The event provided an opportunity for entrepreneurs, professionals and business leaders from a wide range of sectors to step away from their day-to-day routines, reconnect with familiar faces and build new relationships within the Women in Enterprise network.

Opening the evening, Women in Enterprise Chair and GFSB Director Carmel Khalilian reflected on the importance of professional networks at a time when businesses and careers continue to evolve at pace.

“We are living through a period of enormous change,” she said. “Technology is evolving rapidly, industries are transforming, and the way we work and do business is changing faster than ever before.”

Against that backdrop, she highlighted the role that communities such as Women in Enterprise can play in helping members navigate change together.

“None of us succeeds entirely on our own,” Carmel said. “Resilience isn’t just about individual determination. It’s also about community. It’s about having people around you who can offer advice, share experiences, challenge your thinking, open doors, and remind you that you’re not navigating everything alone.”

She described Women in Enterprise as a space where women can connect, learn from one another and celebrate one another’s successes, whether they are running a business, building a career, leading a team or exploring a new direction.

Carmel also thanked the Women in Enterprise committee for the time and energy they continue to invest throughout the year, recognising Janet Brear, MJ Feeke,, Rachelle King, Petra Boddington, Jessica Podesta, Tamsin Suarez, Valentina Skachkova and Krystle Robba.

Thanks were also extended to event sponsors Turicum and Isolas for their continued support of Women in Enterprise and its programme of events, and to the speakers who have contributed their expertise throughout the year across topics including leadership, resilience, negotiation, mentoring and professional development.

Guests were encouraged to help shape the future programme by sharing the topics and conversations they would like Women in Enterprise to explore over the coming year.

Adding a creative touch to the evening was local artist Charlie, who produced live portraits of attendees throughout the event and designed the conversation prompt cards that helped spark introductions and discussions among guests.

Closing her remarks, Carmel encouraged everyone to make the most of the evening.

“Take the opportunity to meet someone new, reconnect with someone you haven’t seen in a while, exchange ideas, share experiences and build relationships,” she said. “You never know where a conversation might lead.”

The GFSB would like to thank everyone who attended and helped make the Summer Social another successful celebration of Gibraltar’s growing community of women in business.