Áine Browne

Catching up with Áine Browne, we find her balancing business between Italy and Ireland, running a successful kitchen showroom in Limerick while managing operations remotely from Umbria. Her journey has been one of reinvention, spanning industries from IT to aviation, hospitality to commerce. She reflects on embracing change, seizing opportunities, and why more women should consider careers in technology.

A Natural Problem-Solver

Growing up in Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick, Áine was surrounded by entrepreneurship. Her parents ran a kitchen business, making work a natural part of family life.

From a young age, she had a natural inclination towards maths and science, but it was a conversation with her mother that set her on the path to IT. Hearing a radio segment about women in tech, her mother encouraged her to consider the field. Acknowledging that her analytical mindset might make for a good fit, she decided to pursue it. For Áine, the decision to go attend UL was an easy one, “My older cousins went to UL, I always wanted to go to UL, I never wanted to go anywhere else”. 

From Labs to the Luas

Studying Information Technology and Telecommunications at UL proved a challenging but rewarding experience. Áine particularly enjoyed the labs, working with electronic boards and soldering irons. The Glucksman Library, which had recently been refurbished at the time, was where she spent her days during exam season.

For her work placement, Áine joined Ulster Bank Group Markets in Dublin. “I worked on the IT Helpdesk answering users, looking after the extranet, learning about the IT network and security.  I worked a lot of weekends on office move projects, stripping out comms rooms and setting up pc’s, making sure everything was back up and working for the busy bankers on a Monday.  I loved it, best experience ever”.

After graduation, she took on contract work before landing an interview for the Luas Project working with Sinclair Knight Merz an Australian company. “I remember going for the interview, I was one woman up against eight men.  I never thought I would get the job but I did.” Soon, Áine managed all IT operations for the project. She admits that it was a big challenge that required her to get help and outsource some of it, but she learned to manage a network fast. “It was a sink or swim situation, I wasn’t giving up, so I swam”. 

A Life Abroad

Her career took her through Network Administrator and Project Manager roles at Danone, the Irish Prison Service and St. Luke’s Hospital before a major life change: moving to Italy. In 2010, she and her husband, an Italian engineer whom she met while working on the Luas project decided they needed a life change. And so, they bought and restored a farmhouse in Umbria, rebuilding and converting the barn into three rental cottages and launching a holiday business.

Relocating to Qatar in 2012 for her husband’s job meant another career pivot. With a gap on her CV, IT jobs were out of reach, so Áine leveraged her Italian language skills and joined the Italian Chamber of Commerce as a Project Manager. Here she managed events for the Italian Trade Commission and was responsible for Business Development for companies entering the market.  Later, she moved into a corporate role with Etihad Airways before another move in 2016 took the family to India, where, unable to “sit idle” she began working with a local software development company in Lucknow to create websites.

Back in Italy in 2017, she continued running the holiday rentals while welcoming her third child. But she was already planning her next move.

Bringing Cucine Lube to Ireland

By 2022, Áine saw an opportunity to return to her family’s roots. Having installed Cucine Lube kitchens in her rental cottages, she was impressed by their durability. She contacted the company directly, secured the rights to bring the brand to Ireland, and two years ago, opened a Cucine Lube store on the Ballysimon Road in Limerick. Cucine Lube is Italy’s leading kitchen brand, offering an extensive range of bespoke designs at affordable prices. She now manages logistics, customer care, and social media remotely travelling between Italy and Limerick monthly while her brother runs the store.

The IT Mindset in Business

Even though she’s no longer working in IT, Áine credits her degree for shaping her mindset of “there is always a solution”. Learning project management, crisis management and structured problem-solving has been invaluable across all her career moves.

Áine is passionate about encouraging more women into IT and engineering, believing that opportunities have expanded, particularly with flexible working arrangements. With her eldest son finishing secondary school next year, she is already encouraging him to consider UL.

Looking Ahead

Never one to stand still, Áine is now focused on expanding Cucine Lube in Ireland and improving her digital skills in social media and AI.

From IT networks to global commerce, and farmhouse renovations to high-end kitchens, her career has been one of continuous learning and adaptation.

Her philosophy remains clear: Keep learning, keep moving and embrace new challenges.