As we enter the new millennium, the Irish in the U.S. have reached a level of success that the immigrants of the last and early part of this century could have not possibly imagined. Our annual list of the “Best and the Brightest” offers more than a few surprises, such as Harvard being the number one graduate school, and the unusually large percentage of Irish-born.
George C. Moore
Chairman & CEO – Targus Information Corporation
George Moore moved from the world of international consulting to information technology when he formed his own company, Targus Information Services, in 1993. The company specializes in intelligent call processing solutions for telecommunications applications.
When Moore joined CACI, an international consulting company, in 1976, he was responsible for the development of demographic and marketing information systems which later became industry standards.
He co-founded National Decision Systems (NDS) in 1984, the first U.S. company to develop a new generation of marketing information work stations with databases stored on CD-ROM.
Moore sold NDS in 1990. He also owns a company named Erne Heritage Holdings, which in turn owns Belleek giftware, Galway Irish Crystal and Aynsley China Ltd. Moore also controls Ravensdale Investments, a venture capital company whose holdings include three rapidly growing information technology companies (besides Targus).
A graduate of University College Dublin and George Washington University, Moore is married with three children.
Thomas J. Moran
President & CEO – Mutual of America
Mutual of America is one of the nation’s preeminent life insurance companies serving health, education, humanitarian and government communities. In 1994 Thomas J. Moran became the first chief executive officer of the company to emerge from within its ranks.
Moran began his career with Mutual in 1975 as a pension underwriter and he has since served the company in a variety of areas, including the implementation of Mutual’s hotline system, an innovation which enables clients to have on-line access to their records, reducing paperwork, thus saving money.
Moran serves on the boards of the Life Insurance Council of New York, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, the University College Dublin Graduate School of Business, the United Way of Cork City and Genovese Drug Stores, Inc. He is also a member of the Ireland Chamber of Commerce in the U.S.A. (ICCUSA).
A native New Yorker, Moran earned a B.S. degree from Manhattan College and he also serves on the board of his alma mater. His grandparents were from Counties Fermanagh and Cavan, and Moran lives in New York with his wife Joan.
Kevin Moriarty
Chairman & CEO – Del Taco Inc.
Del Taco, Inc., a chain of Mexican-style fast-food restaurants, is quickly making a name for itself in a market niche once dominated by Taco Bell. Much of the company’s style derives from the character of its chief executive, Kevin Moriarty, who has led Del Taco from Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganization and aggressive expansion across the nation. Since Moriarty took the helm in 1990, sales have doubled to about $250 million. In 1999 the company plans to open anither fifty oulets.
Before joining Del Taco, Moriarty held executive positions at Burger King, USA. Some of his most valuable experience, however, came earlier, as he helped run his family’s tavern in the Flatbush section of New York City, where he says he learned that value and quality are what it takes to please the customer.
Moriarty received The Golden Chain Award from Nations Restaurant News, in 1997. He attended Suffolk Community College and studied financial management at the Wharton School of Business.
He is married with two sons and resides in Mission Viejo, California.
A first-generation Irish-American with roots in Counties Kerry and Cork, Moriarty exults, “Where else can the son of Irish immigrants run a Mexican restaurant chain except in America?”
Susan Morrice
CEO – S. Morrice & Associates LTD.
It’s been over 20 years since she left her home in Belfast, but Susan Morrice is always looking for ways to do business in her native country. The owner of an independent energy company engaged in the exploration and production of oil and gas in the U.S., Morrice co-founded and also owns one-fourth of a company called Lough Neagh Exploration, Ltd. With Lough Neagh, some of Morrice’s resources are engaged in looking for natural gas close to the North Sea. She readily admits that part of the reason she founded her own company was to explore Ireland. If Lough Neagh hits gold, “then we will have a hand in the ultimate success of our country,” she told the Denver Business Journal four years ago.
Morrice earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees in geology from Trinity College Dublin. She is a member of the American Ireland Fund and the America Ireland Partnership. She accompanied the late Commerce Secretary Ron Brown on a trade mission to Ireland.
Morrice is married to Alex Cranberg, a Denver oilman, and they have two young daughters, Hannah and Clare. They live in Colorado.
John Patrick Mulcahy
Co-CEO – Ralston Purina Company / Chairman of the Board & CEO – Everyday Battery Company Inc.
J. Patrick Mulcahy has been chairman and chief executive officer of the Energizer Company for twelve years, and as a second-generation Irish American he takes pride in the fact that Eveready/Energizer is Ireland’s largest battery company.
Under his stewardship, the company has been transformed into a powerful global marketing organization. In October 1997, Mulcahy also assumed the position of co-chief executive officer of Ralston Purina, Eveready parent.
Mulcahy grew up in upstate New York and attended Cornell University. He joined Ralston Purina for the first time in 1967 and then, accepting his commission that year, attended Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia and Intelligence School, Fort Holibird, Maryland. Following service in Vietnam, Mulcahy was awarded a Bronze Star and Army Commendation medal and returned to the U.S. and Ralston Purina Company in June 1969.
Mulcahy, whose father’s family hails from County Limerick, is married with six children.
Michael Murphy
President & CEO – M&M/Mars / Regional President – Mars, Inc.
As president and chief executive officer of M&M/Mars and regional president of Mars, Inc. Michael Murphy is responsible for confectionery operations and manages all food, pet care and confectionery business in the Americas, North and South.
Murphy joined Mars in 1971 as a manager for one of the computer centers for Uncle Ben’s Foods. Prior to joining the company, he studied in Mexico for several years before transferring to the University of Houston where he earned a B.S. in Computer Science. Fluent in Spanish, he enjoys working with bilingual students in Los Angeles as part of the Principal for a Day program, a program in which corporate executives adopt a school.
Murphy also sits on the National Board of D.A.R.E. and is a life member of H.O.G., Harley Owner’s Group (he owns six motorcycles). A second-generation Irish American, he traces his roots to Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo and he has several relatives in Kilkenny. Mars has a subsidiary in Dublin, and Murphy has traveled to Ireland several times for both business and pleasure.
He is married with three children and lives in Virginia.
Michael J. Murphy
Senior Vice President, Corporate Sales – Roadway Express
Prior to forming Connell Limited Partnership in 1987, William Connell was chairman and CEO of Avondale Industries, Inc., which was spun off from the Ogden Corporation in 1985. Since then, his new venture has acquired several companies which were part of Avondale and Ogden, all of which are primarily involved in metals recycling and the manufacture of industrial products.
Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Connell graduated magna cum laude from Boston College in 1959 and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School four years later. His Irish roots are very important to him, as evidenced by his membership in the Eire Society, the American Ireland Fund and the Irish American Partnership. He is also active in a number of local community and cultural organizations in Boston including the Boston Citizen Seminars and the JFK Library Foundation. Connell’s father was born in Killarney, County Kerry, and his mother’s family came from Sligo. He is married with six children.
Timothy J. Noonan
President & COO – Rite Aid Corporation
Rite Aid Corporation operates over 4,000 drugstores in 31 states and the District of Columbia. The company also owns Eagle Managed Care, a subsidiary which markets prescription benefit plans and other managed care services to employers.
Timothy Noonan joined Rite Aid in 1969, and started his retail career as a store manager and pharmacist. Through the years he held numerous key positions at the nationwide drug store chain, and is currently president and chief operating officer. He has also been a member of the board of directors since 1995.
Noonan also serves on the boards of directors for Diversified Prescription Delivery (DPD) and the United Way of Harrisburg. He is a member of the advisory board for the Business College of Niagara University.
A native of Syracuse, Noonan graduated from Niagara University in 1963, and from Albany College of Pharmacy in 1966. His father’s family was from Co. Leitrim and his mother’s from Co. Roscommon. He resides in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania with his wife Carol. They have five children and eight grandchildren.
Robert J. O’Connell
President & CEO – AIG Life Companies
Robert O’Connell has been president and chief executive officer of AIG Life since 1991 and during that time the company has enjoyed some of the most successful years in its 35-year history.
O’Connell also serves as senior vice president of life insurance for the parent company, American International Group (AIG), which has had a remarkable growth in revenue and income thanks in large part to its life insurance business in growing foreign markets like Southeast Asia. AIG also has a subsidiary in Ireland.
O’Connell is a member of the boards of numerous AIG subsidiaries as well as that of the Life Office Management Association (LOMA).
Prior to joining AIG, O’Connell served as senior vice president at New York Life Insurance Company. He has also been an assistant professor of economic history at Fairfield University.
Born in New York City, O’Connell is a second-generation Irish American; his grandparents on both sides of his family came from Killarney. Married with two children, he holds a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dean R. O’Hare
Chairman & CEO – The Chubb Corporation
Dean O’Hare began his career with The Chubb Corporation, an insurance holding company based in Warren, New Jersey, in 1963 as a surety underwriting trainee. He was named an officer of the corporation in 1972, was chief financial officer from 1981 until 1994, and was first elected president in 1986. He took up his present position as chairman and chief executive officer in 1988. He is also chairman and chief executive officer of Chubb &Son Inc., a subsidiary of The Chubb Corporation.
O’Hare was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and graduated from New York University in 1963 with a B.S. degree in financial management. In 1969, he earned an M.B.A. from the Pace University Graduate School of Business Administration.
As well as being an active member of several insurance industry and business organizations, O’Hare participates in several civic and philanthropic organizations. O’Hare serves as a director of the American Ireland Fund and of Co-Operation Ireland, an organization that promotes cooperation between Northern and Southern Ireland. He is married and has two sons.
Eileen O’Neill Odum
Regional President – GTE Northwest Incorporated
Eileen O’Neill Odum was named regional president for GTE Northwest in Everett, Washington in August 1994. In this capacity, she is responsible for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of GTE’s network, which serves more than 1.5 million customer lines located in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and northern California.
During her 20-year career with GTE, Odum has served in positions of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing, business planning, operations and finance. She has been elected to the board of numerous business and social service agencies including the Partnership for Learning and the Nature Conservancy of Washington.
She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from the University of Washington in Seattle. Her Irish roots are third-generation on her mother’s Moore side, and fourth-generation on her father’s side. Her father’s family hail from Counties Mayo and Dublin. Odum lives in Woodinville, Washington with her husband Steve and their three children.
Vicky A. O’Meara
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary – Ryder System, Inc.
Vicki O’Meara joined Ryder System in June 1997 from the Chicago office of the law firm of Jones Day Reavis &Pogue, where she was a partner and chair of the firm’s worldwide environmental, health and safety practice.
She is executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Ryder — a $5.5 billion global logistics and transportation solutions company based in Miami, Florida — and also serves on the company’s senior management committee and corporate strategy council.
O’Meara has also served in a variety of federal government positions in Washington, D.C., including Assistant Attorney General in charge of the environment and natural resources division, an appointment made by then president George Bush.
The holder of a BA degree from Cornell University, a law degree from Northwestern University, and a master of arts degree in environmental science and resource policy from George Washington University, O’Meara is a fourth-generation Irish American with family roots in County Tipperary. She is divorced with two sons.
John T. O’Neill
Executive Vice President & CFO – Hasbro, Inc.
John O’Neill began his career with the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen &Co. He joined the U.S. Army in 1967 serving as captain in the Army Medical Service Corps in the United States and Vietnam. He received the Bronze Star in 1970.
Upon completing his military service, O’Neill joined Peat Marwick in 1970. In 1987, he joined Hasbro. The maker of such children’s favorites as Monopoly and Mr. Potato Head, Hasbro has a subsidiary, Hasbro Ireland Limited, in County Waterford, Ireland.
O’Neill is also very active on behalf of his home state of Rhode Island serving on the board of trustees/directors of Women and Infants’ Hospital of Rhode Island, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and the Rhode Island Philharmonic.
Born in New York City, O’Neill earned a B.S. in Accounting from Providence College and is a Certified Public Accountant. He traces his roots on both sides of his family back to County Kerry. His mother’s family is from Cahirciveen and his paternal grandparents are from Valencia Island.
O’Neill is married with four children.
Donald E. Panoz
Founder, Chairman & CEO Emeritus – Elan Corporation PLC.
Don Panoz founded the Elan Corporation in 1969, and within a few years the small company became one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical research and development companies with subsidiaries in Ireland, Europe, the Pacific Basin and the U.S.
Panoz is also founder, chairman and CEO of Chateau Elan, Ltd., an Atlanta-based winery and resort featuring a 150-bedroom inn and conference center.
Born in Ohio and raised in West Virginia, Panoz attended Pitt University and Duquesne in Pennsylvania. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of law from Trinity College Dublin, and was appointed lecturer of pharmacy at the University of Georgia. He received the Irish Management Institute’s Chairman’s Award for Leading Industrialist and holds Irish citizenship.
Since his retirement from the Elan Corp. Panoz has turned his attention to motor racing. He developed a race car that finished in eighth place this year at Le Mans, the famous twenty-four-hour race held annually in France. In October he held the inaugural twelve hour Petite Le Mans in Braselton, Georgia.
Patrick Purcell
President & Publisher – Boston Herald
Patrick Purcell, owner and publisher of the Boston Herald, has vast experience in the world of publishing. In 1980, he joined News Corporation as associate publisher of the Village Voice. In 1984, he was appointed president and publisher of the Boston Herald and three years later assumed the responsibility of publisher of the New York Post.
In 1990, Purcell was named president of News America/Newspapers, responsible for the Boston Herald and San Antonio Express News. Three years later, he was appointed president and CEO of News America Publishing with responsibility for TV Guide, Mirabella magazine and News America’s free-standing inserts, as well as remaining publisher of the Boston Herald and New York Post. A native of New York, Purcell earned a B.B.A. from St. John’s University and an M.B.A. from Hofstra University.
Purcell is the East Coast president of the American Ireland Fund. A first-generation Irish American whose father came from County Waterford, Purcell is married with four children and two grandsons.
Michael R. Quinlan
Chairman – McDonald’s Corporation
Michael Quinlan joined McDonald’s in 1963 as a part-time mailroom employee while a scholarship student at Chicago’s Loyola University. Uncertain about his career path during college, he had switched from pre-med to pre-law.
When McDonald’s offered him a full-time position in their purchasing department he jumped at the opportunity and he hasn’t looked back since.
Attributing his success to being “fearless” and “not being afraid to take chances,” he was named president and chief operating officer of McDonald’s Corporation in 1982.
A native of Oak Park, an area just outside of Chicago, Quinlan boasts Irish roots on both sides of his family — his great-grandparents emigrated from Counties Wexford and Limerick in the 1800s.
Quinlan has been a member of McDonald’s board of directors since 1979, and is chairman of the board’s executive committee. He served on the board of directors of The May Department Stores Company and Catalyst, a non-profit organization helping women assume leadership roles in corporations and other organizations.
Quinlan earned a B.S. and M.B.A. from Loyola University in Chicago.
Edward T. Reilly
President & CEO – Big Flower Holdings, Inc.
The holding company of such diverse operations as TC Advertising and Laser Tech Color, Big Flower Holdings last year added six new companies to the fold, including two broadcasting groups, a marketing firm and a publishing group.
Edward Reilly joined Big Flower in April 1996 after more than 20 years in the advertising, broadcasting and publishing businesses. Two months later he was elected to the board of directors and in April 1997 he was named president and chief executive officer.
Reilly was formerly the president of McGraw-Hill Broadcasting, having previously held the position of executive vice president of McGraw-Hill International Book Publishing.
The holder of a B.S. degree in business administration from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, Reilly was born in New York City. He is vice chairman and a member of the executive committee of The Advertising Council, and serves on the board of trustees of Lynchburg College in Virginia.
A fourth-generation Irish American whose father’s family came from County Cavan, Reilly is married with two children, 23-year-old Kristen and Greg, 21.
William F. Reilly
Chairman & CEO – Primedia Inc.
William F. Reilly, chairman, co-founder and chief executive officer of Primedia Inc., has been a leader in media and publishing since he became president of Macmillan, Inc. in 1980.
Primedia Inc.’s properties include Channel One, Weekly Reader, New York, Chicago, Seventeen, Modern Bride and American Baby. Reilly began his career in 1964 with W.R. Grace &Co. in New York.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he is a member of the Board of Trustees, he also received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and served as a First Lieutenant with the U.S. Army Airborne Division.
A fifth-generation Irish American on his father’s side, with roots in County Cork, and third-generation on his mother’s side, Reilly heads the endowment fund for Cardinal Hayes High School in the South Bronx and was honored by Covenant House last year. He is a director of FMC Corp., WNET/Thirteen and Citymeals-on-Wheels. Being an Irish American, he said, means he feels a “deep cultural heritage, particularly on the literary side.”
Arthur F. Ryan
Chairman & CEO – The Prudential Life Insurance Company of America
The Prudential Life Insurance Company is one of the largest diversified financial institutions in the world, providing services to over 40 million people. Arthur Ryan is the first chairman and chief executive officer in Prudential’s 123-year history to have been appointed from outside the company.
Before joining Prudential in 1994, Ryan was president and chief operating officer of Chase Manhattan Bank, which he had joined 22 years earlier. He is a past president of the New York State Bankers Association and is a member of the board of trustees of New York’s Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and the American College of Life Insurance. He is also a member of the Irish American Partnership.
Born in Brooklyn, Ryan attended Providence and Dowling Colleges, and American University. He is a second-generation Irish American with family roots in County Limerick. He is married with four children.
Frank J. Ryan
Company Group Chairman – Ethicon, Inc.
Since 1963, Frank Ryan has been employed at Ethicon, Inc., a member of the Johnson &Johnson family of companies. He started with the company in Chicago in manufacturing, and is now based in New Jersey.
In October 1998, he was promoted to company group chairman for the Ethicon franchise, with responsibility for Ethicon U.S., Ethicon Europe, Worldwide Operations, the European Logistics Center, New Business Development and International Franchise Marketing.
Ryan’s parents both moved to the United States from Co. Clare, and his wife, Margaret’s, parents are also Irish born. A native of Chicago, Ryan holds a B.S. degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business. Johnson &Johnson, Ethicon’s parent company, has several operations in Ireland.
Ryan is a member of the board of trustees of St. Peter’s Medical Center, New Brunswick, New Jersey and a former member of the board of Prevent Blindness, New Jersey. He and his wife have three daughters.
Patrick G. Ryan
President & CEO – AON Corporation
Patrick Ryan is chairman, president and chief executive of Aon (Gaelic for `one,’ pronounced `ane’) Corporation, a global insurance and consulting services organization.
Ryan began his career in the insurance industry in 1959, as an agent for Penn Mutual. In 1964, he founded Ryan Insurance Group which merged with Combined International Corporation in 1982. At that time, the Wisconsin native became president and chief executive officer of the merged entity, which was renamed Aon Corporation in 1987.
Ryan serves as chairman of the board of trustees of Northwestern University, his alma mater, and as a trustee of Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center. He is a recipient of several awards, including Illinois’ highest award, the Order of Lincoln Medallion, which recognizes a lifetime of accomplishment. He also received the College of Insurance’s 1997 Insurance Leader of the Year.
Ryan and his wife Shirley founded and are active in the Pathways Center for Children and the Pathways Awareness Foundation. Ryan has traced his Irish roots to County Tipperary. He and his wife live in the Chicago area with their three sons.
Patrick M. Ryan
President & CEO – Yardville National Bank
Patrick M. Ryan has been president and chief executive officer of Yardville National Bancorp and its subsidiary, Yardville National Bank, since 1992. Prior to joining Yardville National Bank, he was first vice president at Howard Savings Bank in Livingston, NJ.
Ryan is a fifth-generation Irish American. His father’s family is from County Clare and his mother’s from County Cork.
He is president of the Friendly Sons and Daughters of St. Patrick of Mercer County, chairman of the Annual Dinner Committee and serves on the Ancient Order of Hibernians’ St. Patrick’s Day Committee.
Ryan is also Chairman of the Hamilton Township Economic Development Corporation and sits on the Board of Directors of the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce, the Hamilton Area YMCA and the American Red Cross. He has been recognized in the Times Market Leaders Recognition Series and was honored at the Boy Scouts of America’s Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner.
Ryan earned a B.B.A. degree in Business Administration from Notre Dame University. He and his wife Sandy live in New Jersey and have five sons.
Thomas M. Ryan
President & CEO – CVS Corporation
CVS, headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, is the nation’s leading drug store chain with over 4,000 stores in 24 states east of the Mississippi and the District of Columbia. As president and chief executive officer of the chain which fills more prescriptions than any retailer in America, Thomas Ryan is a very busy man.
Ryan joined CVS in 1975 as a pharmacist, and he has gone on to hold a number of managerial and professional positions in the company.
A director of Fleet Financial Group and Reebok International, Ltd., Ryan also serves on the board of trustees of the University of Rhode Island. He serves on the boards of numerous community and civic organizations including The Rhode Island Philharmonic and Trinity Repertory Company, and is a member of the Sons of Irish Kings.
A native of New Jersey, and a second-generation Irish American with family roots in Counties Cork and Antrim, Ryan holds a B.S. degree in Pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island with his wife Cathy. They have four children.
Moira Shanahan
President & Founder – Braindance
“We have great ideas and great talent, and have proven ourselves as successful salespeople for countless clients around the United States,” says Moira Shanahan of the marketing company she founded in 1985. “What we produce really works.” Shanahan’s clients obviously agree — she has provided strategic thinking and sales solutions to such Fortune 500 companies as American Express, Schering Corporation, BellSouth, Norwegian Cruise Lines, GTE and UPS.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a dual degree in modern language and linguistics, Shanahan says she first recognized the potential of company newsletters as a selling tool while working for a computer training corporation. Originally called NewsLetters Plus, the company changed names and moved premises earlier this year. Now Braindance produces marketing materials, including newsletters, for companies throughout the country.
Shanahan was named one of the “divas” of Atlanta business by Business to Business magazine this year. She has also been named one of Entrepreneur magazine’s “75 Entrepreneurial Superstars,” and as a finalist for Small Business Person of the Year by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. She is a member of the Irish/America’s Cup training committee and is a member of the board of directors for Theatre Gael.
Shanahan is a second-generation Irish American: her father’s family came from Counties Wexford and Meath; her mother’s family, the McCushings, were from Counties Roscommon, Armagh and Monaghan. She is married with three children.
John T. Sharkey
Vice President – MCI Worldcom
John Sharkey joined MCI WorldCom — a global telecommunications company providing local, long distance, international and Internet services — in 1986.
Sharkey, who started his career with Litton Industries, is a board member of the American Ireland Fund, Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center, Mutual of America Institutional Funds and Belfast’s FLAX Trust.
As a board member of the Ireland-U.S. Council for Commerce and Industry, he delivered a speech in Belfast in late January on the internationalization of business, and the role the Council plays in Ireland, North and South.
In 1995, Sharkey led a Chamber of Commerce trade delegation of potential investors to Ireland, and also participated in President Clinton’s trip to Derry, Belfast and Dublin in 1996.
Sharkey traces his Irish roots back to Drumquin, Co. Tyrone. A native New Yorker, he majored in marketing management at Iona College, and at the Management Institute of New York University. He has continued his education with business and leadership courses at the London Business School, Harvard and Northwestern’s Kellogg School. He and his wife Helen reside in New York City.
Jeremiah J. Sheehan
Chairman & CEO – Reynolds Metals Company
Jerry Sheehan has been at the helm of Reynolds Metals Company since last year, having originally joined the organization in January 1988.
Reynolds Metals is a leading global aluminum and packaging company. The company also produces a broad range of plastic products, primarily for its packaging and consumer products businesses.
Reynolds has operations throughout the U.S., Canada and other areas including Europe, Latin America and Australia. One subsidiary operates in Ireland. Before joining Reynolds, Sheehan served for 24 years in various executive positions with the Continental Can Company.
He is a member of the board of directors of Union Camp Corporation and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Sheehan also serves as a trustee of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges and on the board of directors of the Richmond Metropolitan Coalition Against Drugs.
A native of New York City, Sheehan is a first-generation Irish American and his father came from County Limerick. He is married with three children.
Kevin M. Sheehan
Executive Vice President & CFO – Avis Rent a Car Inc.
As executive vice president and chief financial officer of the second largest rental car agency in the world, Kevin Sheehan is responsible for overseeing all financial aspects of Avis’ multifaceted operations, including the offices of the controller; treasurer; tax; internal audit; insurance; information technologies, and corporate services.
Before joining Avis, Sheehan was a senior vice president of HFS, Inc., the predecessor of Cendant. He also held positions at STT Video Partners, Reliance Group Holdings, Inc. and was involved in the formation of Telemundo Group, Inc. as senior vice president, finance.
Sheehan has an MBA in Finance and Taxation from New York University, and earned his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Hunter College.
He is a second-generation Irish America with his father’s family hailing from Counties Clare and Kerry, and his mother’s family, the Beglins, from Counties Derry and Sligo. A native of New York City, Sheehan lives with his wife Lauraine and their two children, Kevin, Jr. and Caitlin, in Cold Spring Harbor, New York.
John F. Smith, Jr.
Chairman, CEO & PResident – General Motors Corporation
Worcester, Massachusetts native Jack Smith is widely credited with playing a very important role in the resurgence of Michigan’s General Motors at a time when other car manufacturers were experiencing difficulties. GM is the world’s largest full-line vehicle manufacturer, and also has business interests in electronic, telecommunications and information technologies. The company just signed an agreement to be the exclusive automotive sponsor for the U.S. Olympic Committee through the year 2008, and is expected to spend as much as $1 billion to this end, dwarfing previous sports-sponsorship deals, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Smith, a B.B.A. graduate of the University of Massachusetts, earned an M.B.A. from Boston University and was later awarded doctorates from both institutes, and a third from Providence College. His grandparents came from Counties Cavan, Clare and Kerry and he is married with three children.
Chris T. Sullivan
Chairman & CEO – Outback Steakhouse
At each of the 450 Outback Steakhouses operating throughout the U.S. and internationally, the recipe for success hinges on the philosophy `No rules, just right.’ For chief executive officer Chris T. Sullivan, who was recently named as Inc. magazine’s entrepreneur of the year, it’s an apt motto.
Sullivan, a graduate of the University of Kentucky, began his restaurant management career in January 1972 with Steak and Ale restaurants. His 25-year-plus career has also included successful stints at Bennigan’s and Chili’s.
In 1988, Sullivan founded Outback Steakhouse along with Bob Basham and Tim Gannon. In 1997, Outback opened 86 new steakhouses, 13 of which were located outside the U.S.
Sullivan is third-generation Irish American and his father’s family hailed from Co. Cork. Outback is currently exploring the possibility of opening an eatery in Dublin, which would be its first foray into Ireland.
A keen sportsman, Sullivan opened the Old Memorial Golf Club in Tampa, Florida with his partners. He is also the owner of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Sullivan, who is single, has two children.
H. Brian Thompson
Vice Chairman – Qwest Communications International, Inc.
H. Brian Thompson is vice chairman of Qwest Communications International Inc., a global communications company providing state-of-the-art image, data and voice communications. Prior to the merger of Qwest and LCI International, in June 1998, Thompson served as chairman and chief executive officer of LCI. He joined LCI in 1991.
Thompson was recently appointed Americas Co-Chairman of the Global Information Infrastructure Commission, a multinational organization launched in Brussels in 1995 to chart the role of the private sector in the developing global information and telecommunications infrastructure. He also serves as a member of the Irish Prime Minister’s Ireland-American Economic Advisory Board, and is chairman of the Advisory Committee for Telecommunications for Ireland’s Department of Public Enterprise.
Thompson, whose father was born in Lurgan, County Armagh, received his MBA from Harvard’s Graduate School of Business and holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts. He is married with two children.
Bernard W. Walsh
Company Group Chairman – Johnson & Johnson
Bernard Walsh’s career at Johnson & Johnson spans over 30 years, and in that time he has held several positions at the world-famous healthcare company.
Walsh currently serves as a company group chairman of Johnson &Johnson’s skin care franchise worldwide. He was named to this position in October 1998. He also serves as a member of the consumer and personal care group operating committee.
A B.A. graduate of St. Peter’s College in Jersey City, Walsh was also presented with an honorary doctorate from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He is a member of the Ireland-United States Council and is also involved in a number of other community organizations, including the United Way of Northeast Florida. A first-generation Irish American whose father was born in County Mayo, Walsh is married with three children and six grandchildren. He and his wife reside in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Joseph M. Walsh
CEO – Curtis Circulation Company
The Curtis Circulation Company is the largest distributor of consumer magazines to over 200,000 retailers in North America. Co-owned by Joseph Walsh and the LaGardere Group, a major French multimedia company, the distributor currently represents 25 percent of the sales volume of magazines sold on newsstands and checkouts in the United States and Canada.
Curtis is also a worldwide exporter of magazines. Some of the prestigious publications distributed by Curtis are Atlantic Monthy, The Economist, Newsweek and McCall’s.
A native of New York, Walsh attended Iona College and graduated with a major in accounting. Prior to entering private industry he held a management position at KPMG.
A first-generation Irish American, whose parents came from County Cork, Walsh became an Irish citizen along with his wife and five children.
He is a member of several Irish American organizations, including Project Children, the Irish American Partnership and the Irish American Unity Conference. He and several of his associates opened — and continue to support — a shelter for homeless women and their children in East Harlem, New York.
Michael J. Walsh
President & CEO – Tandycrafts Inc.
Tandycrafts, Inc., based in Forth Worth, Texas, is the parent organization for a group of companies operating in specialty retail and manufacturing.
Mike Walsh joined Tandycrafts in 1983 as general counsel and secretary. He rapidly moved up through the ranks, and in April 1996 he was appointed president and chief executive officer.
A native of New York City, Walsh graduated Fordham University with a B.S. degree in 1962, majoring in accounting and minoring in philosophy. He went on to earn his J.D. degree from St. John’s Law School in 1966, and was admitted to practice law in the state of New York that same year.
Walsh and his wife Hildegarde live in Texas. Their daughter, Petra, graduated Harvard University this year with a B.A. degree. Walsh is a first-generation Irish American, both his parents came from County Mayo. He is active in a number of local community and cultural organizations in Fort Worth.
John F. Welch Jr.
Chairman & CEO – General Electric Company
Since Jack Welch became chairman in 1981, GE’s market capitalization has grown from $12 billion to nearly $260 billion in 1998.
According to an article about `celebrity’ CEOs in The Wall Street Journal, Welch is “legendary for toughness, problem-solving and a knack for boiling down business truths into simple dictums.”
Business Week magazine says that since Welch took the reins at GE, he has “relentlessly reshaped this icon of the American economy.” The magazine also complimented Welch, calling him “the gold standard against which other CEOs are measured.” Now 63 years of age, Welch has announced his intention to retire in the year 2000.
Born in Peabody, Massachusetts, he holds a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Massachusetts and postgraduate degrees from the University of Illinois.
A second-generation Irish American, Welch is a past recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which pays tribute to the achievements of different ethnic groups. He has expressed his pride in his Irish heritage.
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