John Sharkey joined MCI ten years ago and served in a number of management positions before his appointment as vice president for Corporate National Accounts. Sharkey began his career with Litton Industries and was involved in the start-up of a voice-messaging company in 1982 in Silicon Valley. Before working for MCI, he spent time with the General Electric Company and ROLM Corporation. Sharkey has played an integral role in the steady inroads MCI has made into the global telecommunications market. MCI is now the second largest provider of long distance communications in the U.S. and the third-largest carrier of international calling. Based in Washington, D.C., MCI also has a subsidiary in Dublin, Ireland.

Sharkey’s grandparents come from Counties Tyrone and Roscommon, and the importance of his heritage is reflected in his involvement with several Irish organizations, including Belfast’s Flax Trust and the American Ireland Fund. He is also a founding charter member of the Ireland Chamber of Commerce in the USA. This year he received the Club of Champions Gold Medal Award from the Catholic Youth Organization.

He has vacationed in Ireland several times, traveling to his grandfather’s childhood home in Co. Tyrone. He was a member of the delegation which traveled to Ireland for President Clinton’s historic trip in 1995. He also headed a delegation from 30 American companies which traveled to Dublin and Belfast last year.

Sharkey has fond memories of his upbringing in a Hell’s Kitchen very different from the one we think of today. He is a graduate of Iona College and the Management Institute at New York University. He and his wife, Helen, live in New York City.