For the past six years, Maeve McPhail, a native of Drogheda, County Louth, has worked as the southeast region district sales manager for JCB North America, the third largest construction equipment manufacturer in the world.

Based in Savannah, Georgia, she is responsible for seven dealerships, from North Carolina to southern Georgia, assisting in driving JCB sales and market share.

“I am proud to say I am the first woman to have this position in JCB North America,” Maeve, a graduate of Rutgers University in New Jersey, says. Prior to joining JCB, she was the New York sales manager for Guinness UDV.

She’s also proud to boast of her Irishness: her mother’s family came from County Offaly and her father’s from County Fermanagh. “Being Irish is an integral part of who I am,” Maeve says. “I believe my sense of humor, drive to succeed and zest for living can be attributed to my Irish heritage. Although I call Savannah my home, I will always have a soft place in my heart for my first home, Ireland!”