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The 100 Most Influential Irish Americans in Business: W. Flaherty – C. Galvin

January 2000

October 27, 2021 by Leave a Comment

William Flaherty

Chairman &CEO

Horsehead Industries Inc.

Revenue: $400 million

Employees: 1,800

William Flaherty founded Horsehead Industries in 1981 and is the company’s largest shareholder. Since its inception, Horsehead Industries has developed into three distinct operating divisions involved in the production of graphite, calcine petroleum coke, zinc metals and chemicals.

One of these highly successful divisions is Horsehead Resource Development which was described by Business Week magazine as “one of America’s 1,000 most valuable companies.” Horsehead Industries also made the Fortune 500 listing of the ten most profitable companies in 1991.

Flaherty is a member of many philanthropic organizations. He is a director of the national board of Junior Achievement, Inc. and a trustee and member of the executive committee of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

His previous business affiliations were with General Motors Corporation and Reynolds Metals Company. Flaherty’s roots are in Galway. He was born in New York City, and educated at Columbia and New York Universities.

Michael Foley

President &CEO

Heineken USA Incorporated

Revenue: $650 million

Employees: 260

A native of County Wexford, Ireland, Michael Foley earned a degree in Commerce from University College Dublin in 1972.

After gaining extensive international experience as a financial controller in both Japanese and U.S. multinational subsidiaries in Ireland, Foley joined Murphy Brewery Ireland Limited, the Irish subsidiary of Heineken NV, in 1983. He worked as controller and sales and marketing director before being appointed managing director in 1989.

Under his direction Murphy’s Brewery and the Murphy brand attained considerable success and in 1994 Foley was appointed president and CEO of Heineken’s North American operations. Since his appointment Heineken USA has taken a leading position in the competitive U.S. beer market.

Foley is a director of the American Ireland Fund, the Ireland-U.S. Council for Commerce and Industry, and the Beer Institute, among others. He is also the recipient of numerous awards for his civic and charitable efforts.

He and his wife Noirin live in Rye, New York with their three children.

Patrick Foley

Chairman

DHL Airways, Inc.

Revenue: $1.16 billion

Employees: 10,000

DHL Airways, Inc. is the U.S. arm of DHL Worldwide Express, the world’s largest and most experienced international air express network. Serving more than 220 countries, DHL specializes in international door-to-door express shipping of goods of any weight and size.

Patrick Foley has been chairman and chief executive officer of DHL Airways since 1988. He began his career with Westin Hotels and later joined Hyatt Hotels, where he served as chairman and president. Earlier this year, Foley announced his retirement as CEO. He will remain on as chairman until the end of the year.

Under Foley’s leadership, the Hyatt chain grew from about five to 100 hotels. From 1984 until he joined DHL, he served as vice chairman and later as CEO of Braniff Airlines.

A native of Washington State, Foley graduated from Washington State University and Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. He has family roots in County Kerry and is “intensely proud” of his Irish heritage. He currently serves on the foundation board of directors for the University of Limerick, Ireland. He is married with three children.

Michael R. Gallagher

Chief Executive Officer

Playtex Products

Revenue: $700 million

Employees: 2,000

Michael Gallagher began his career at Proctor &Gamble in brand management and moved on to become president and CEO of Reckitt and Colman, Inc. and L&F Products, both worldwide leaders in the manufacture and marketing of products for the home and professional and do-it-yourself products.

He also spent twelve years at Clorox Company, responsible for the company’s household, food and laundry products as corporate vice president and general manager.

Gallagher’s next move was to Playtex Products. Inc. where he has seen the company develop a diverse and successful portfolio of consumer and personal products that have made Playtex the industry giant that it is today. The name Playtex is synonymous with reliability and excellence and is known to consumers for high quality products that enrich their lives. Gallagher has focused the company’s growth strategies on “understanding consumers’ real-life needs and meeting them with creative solutions.”

In addition to his work at Playtex, Gallagher sits on the boards of Fleet Bank, Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Boy Scouts of Fairfield County. He is also a member of the board of trustees at St. Luke’s School.

Gallagher earned his MBA and BS degrees at UC Berkeley. He traces his third-generation Irish lineage to Adare, Co. Limerick. He lives in Connecticut and is married with three children.

Christopher B. Galvin

Chairman of the Board &CEO

Motorola, Inc.

Revenue: $29.8 billion

Employees: 135,000

Christopher Galvin began working at Motorola in summer jobs in 1967 and joined the company full-time in 1973. For the next decade, he held sales, sales management, marketing management, and product management assignments in the communications sector.

In 1983 he joined Tegal Corp. — a whollyowned subsidiary of Motorola and manufacturer of plasma etching and stripping equipment for the semi-conductor industry — as vice president, marketing, sales and service.

A year later he was named vice president and general manager of Tegal’s U.S. operations. Galvin was elected president and chief operating officer of Motorola in December 1993, chief executive officer in January and chairman of the board in June, 1999.

He received a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. and a master’s degree with distinction from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern. Galvin is a director of the Rand Corporation and the Illinois Coalition for Science and Technology; a trustee of Northwestern University and the American Enterprise Institute; a member of the Business Roundtable, Business Council and American Society or corporate Executives; and an advisory board member for the American Society for Engineering Education and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

His Irish ancestors immigrated to the U.S. around 1850 and settled in the Midwest.♦

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