2025 Business 100: Keynote Speaker
Maggie Timoney is the President and CEO of HEINEKEN USA, based in White Plains, New York. During her 20-plus year tenure with the HEINEKEN Group in the U.S., Netherlands, Canada, and Ireland, Maggie has been recognized as a transformational leader, demonstrated by her drive for results and her high impact on cultural and social change.
Prior to joining HEINEKEN, Maggie worked for Gallo and at Sound Distributing Corp., an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler, first as a sales supervisor, then as an on-premise sales manager, and finally as vice president of sales.
Maggie began her career with HEINEKEN USA in 1998 as a national sales planning manager. In 2001 she transferred to HEINEKEN Netherlands, holding several positions, including Global Sales and Distribution Manager, and back in the U.S., as Senior Vice President of Human Resources.
“I learned a lot in that role,” she said in an interview with the Irish Independent. “I always say HR doesn’t hire and fire, leaders do. And the problem is, in companies where HR is used for the people who hire and fire, that’s a weak company.”
Maggie was named CEO of HEINEKEN USA in September 2018. Before this, she was the CEO of HEINEKEN Ireland, where she made impressive strides in increasing revenue, profit, and market share goals while also achieving year-over-year increases in employee engagement.
Throughout her career, Maggie has been a trailblazer, breaking barriers as a senior female executive in the traditionally male-dominated beer industry. She is the first woman to lead a major beer company in the United States, marking a significant milestone in her professional journey.
Maggie helped grow the Women’s Leadership Forum at HEINEKEN emphasizing the importance of allyship, stating that decisions about careers are often made when women are not in the room
As the first female CEO of a leading American beer company, Maggie serves as an inspiration for many professional women, but she’s been quick to point out that she will be judged by her results, not by her gender. As she said in an NBC News interview, “I did not get this job because I am a woman. I got this job because I have left previous companies in a better place for having been there and that is what my job is today. I am a CEO who happens to be a woman, not a CEO because I am a woman.”
Recruited from her hometown of Ballina, County Mayo, to play basketball for the Iona Lady Gaels, Maggie quickly made her mark both on and off the court, setting the stage for her remarkable career.
A four-year standout for the Gaels, Maggie ranks as the team’s all-time leading scorer, tallying 1,894 career points, and all the while she was earning academic honors graduating with a Batchelor of Arts degree and an MBA.
“Iona became my home and has a special place in my heart,” said Maggie. “It was a pivotal time that helped shape me into the person I am today.”
Today, her dedication to Iona continues. In addition to serving as a member of Iona’s Board of Trustees since 2015, Maggie actively engages with students on and off campus.
In May, 2023, she delivered the first commencement address following Iona’s transition from a college to a university. Speaking to the graduating class, Maggie had this to offer:
“I have three words of wisdom – first, be yourself. My father once gave me the greatest lesson ever. ‘Whether you’re the Pope or the man sweeping the streets, at the end of the day, it’s dust to dust and ashes to ashes.’
“So, don’t get intimidated by titles and really try to be yourself. It is the greatest gift you can give yourself and equally important allow others to be themselves.
“Number two, build your tribe. Life is a contact sport – meeting people in person, looking them in the eye, networking, listening and talking. Number three, be present. Memories last a lifetime when you’re present. It is more difficult now to stay in the moment and it takes concerted effort to make that choice.”
“If you’re present and if you’re yourself – it’s going to be easier to build your tribe,” she concluded.
Maggie’s connection to Iona is particularly meaningful given the school’s deep-rooted Irish heritage.
Known as “Irish America’s University,” the institution was founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1940. Its origins trace back to the Irish monk St. Columba, who established a monastery on the Isle of Iona in 563 A.D.
In honoring its Irish heritage, Iona University opened a new campus in Westport, County Mayo, which began its first programs in May 2024.
The campus is located at the historic Westport House and was established to connect with the university’s Irish heritage and provide new global study opportunities for students.
In 2024, Maggie made history by serving as the Grand Marshal of the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade, becoming only the sixth woman to hold this prestigious position in the parade’s 263-year history.
When she led the parade up Fifth Avenue, the Iona community, including the basketball team, joined in the parade to march alongside her.
“Maggie was a leader during her time at Iona and she continues to pave the way not only for the Irish community but for all who aspire to achieve success in both business and in life,” said Iona President Seamus Carey. “Her journey to leading one of America’s most celebrated cultural events is a testament to her remarkable leadership and connection to her Irish roots.”
Left: Maggie Timoney delivers the commencement address to the 2023 graduating class of Iona University. Right: Sean Lane NYC St Patrick’s Parade Chairman, Tommy Smyth 2008 Grand Marshal, Maggie Timoney 2024 Grand Marshal, Loretta Brennan Glucksman 2018 Grand Marshal, Kevin Conway 2023 Grand Marshal, Hilary Beirne Parade CAO and St. Patrick’s Day NYC Foundation Chairman
Basketball
I started playing basketball with the Ballina Pacers under the brilliant coaching of Danny Thompson. I made the Irish national team and represented the country in Europe and pre Olympics before coming to the U.S. on a full basketball scholarship at Iona College.
My abiding memories are actually not the matches or the scores themselves but of the fun we had along the way. Danny driving us to Cork from Ballina, listening and singing every song on the Thriller album the entire journey there and back. And, in Ballina, the brilliant nights in Timmy McGrath’s pub with Danny, the Naylors and the McHales, enjoying the fun.
Iona University
Iona embraced me and helped shape me into who I am today.
What did you learn from team sports?
Leadership, individual contribution matters to the overall goal of winning. And most of all, the importance of operating in a team environment in order to deliver the results together.
Advice to a young person starting out.
Do the job you are in first before getting too far over your skills. Life is a contact sport – pick your head up from your phone and engage with people. It is becoming a lost art.
HEINEKEN – what makes it a special place to work?
The familial culture balanced with the performance culture.
Irish heritage and what it means to you?
It means everything to me. Being Irish and all that it embodies – sense of family, humility, resilience, joy, friendship, the ceol, ol agus craic etc.
Who were your early influencers?
• My parents.
• My grandmother.
• My extended family including nieces and nephews.
• My aunts.
• My friends.
Your personal approach?
Real as in ‘I am who I am.’ Tough but fair.
Leading the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade
It was a surreal – almost felt like an out of body – experience.
How did that happen? My parents looking down on me from above. My family and extended family and friends marching behind me with smiles and tears of joy. Representing my country, my county Mayo, my company, my family, women . . . .
It’s not just about the Parade.
The mission of the St. Patrick’s Day Foundation is not only to support the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade but also other related activities linked to celebrating the contributions of the Irish to American society, with student scholarships, educational initiatives, publications and an ambitious year-round program of social and cultural events.
What does the future hold?
Selling more beer.
Supporting causes close to my heart, such as Iona University, and the St. Patrick’s Day Foundation and helping others see their value.
Left: Maggie Timoney the grand marshal of the 2024 NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade with Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan. Right: Iona University interns with Maggie Timoney. “At Heineken we want to make sure that our interns flourish, that they thrive, and that they have access to senior leadership. It’s a two-way street – they learn from us and we learn from them.”
Iona University Hall of Fame 2001
Maggie Timoney ’89, ’92 MBA enters the Iona College Goal Club Hall of Fame as one of the greatest women’s basketball players in the history of the program.
A four-year standout for the Lady Gaels, Timoney currently ranks as the Gaels’ all-time leading scorer, tallying 1,894 career points. As a freshman, Timoney was named the 1986 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and her 12.7 points per game average still ranks as the top freshman scoring average in Iona history.
She led the team in scoring in each of her next three years, averaging a program-best 16.6 points per game throughout her career. As a sophomore, Timoney was named to the All-MAAC First Team after averaging 19.9 points a game. She also earned a spot on the conference’s Second Team during her junior year.
Timoney ranks among the top five all-time in the Iona record books in seven other offensive categories, including ranking first in field goal attempts, three point field goal percentage, and free throws made and attempted lists.
After graduation, Timoney served for two years as a graduate assistant coach for the Lady Gaels from 1989-91.
Having played basketball for her high school team (top row 4th from left), the Ballina Pacers, Maggie moved on to play on the Irish national basketball team.
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