S4E8: Margaret Molloy: Marketer, Mentor, Connector & #BrandIreland Advocate
From a dairy farm in County Offaly to the C-Suite in a global branding agency, her university days in Ulster during The Troubles, her internship with Enterprise Ireland that brought her to New York, her work bringing foreign direct investment and thousands of jobs to Ireland, her MBA from Harvard Business School, her rise in the world of marketers where she is regularly named one of the profession’s most influential global voices, her launch of a #GlobalIrish movement built on the hashtag #WearingIrish that helped jumpstart the world of Irish fashion and design while further burnishing the Irish brand…Margaret Molloy may not have done it all–but she’s getting close.
We learn of the strategy, serendipity, and simplicity that shaped her career, her role as the global chief marketing officer of the leading branding agency Siegel+Gale, the meaning of “brand,” how the best brands are rooted in simplicity, the power of a personal brand, the importance of a diversity of personal brands, and Tourism Ireland as an exemplar of #BrandIreland.
A confirmed New Yorker now, Margaret keeps strong ties to Ireland, has mentored many aspiring Irish professionals in New York, brings a vibrant Irish voice to the American c-suite and to podcasting through her How CMOs Commit, and still is guided by the lessons learned back on the farm.
Join us for a most #GlobalIrishNation conversation with one of its most compelling citizens, Margaret Molloy.
Margaret Links
- Podcast: How CMOs Commit
- Siegel+Gale: Company Bio
Wearing Irish Links
Margaret Molloy
Chief Marketing Officer
Margaret Molloy, from Offaly, is the global chief marketing officer at Siegel+Gale, the strategic branding consultancy. A marketing thought leader, Margaret has held previous leadership roles at Gerson Lehrman Group, Siebel Systems, and Eircom; has published in Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and elsewhere; and is recognized as one the most influential CMOs on Twitter.
She is an influential advocate for Irish design as well. In March 2016 she launched the #WearingIrish initiative, encouraging everyone to wear Irish fashion once in March and to post their pictures on social media. For her part, she donned fashion and accessories by Irish designers every day in March. Her vision is for #WearingIrish to be an annual movement. She also serves on the advisory board of the New York Irish Center and is a supporter of Origin Theatre.
Margaret earned her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and her undergraduate degree from the University of Ulster and La Universidad de Valladolid, Spain. Growing up the eldest of six children on a farm, Margaret credits her accomplishments to her parents’ work ethic and thirst for education.
She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economic, and their sons, Finn and Emmet.
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