Orla is the president of the gum and mints CBU for Mars Wrigley Confectionery and a member of the global leadership team. She leads the strategic development and delivery of some of the world’s most iconic brands, from Orbit, Extra, and 5 to Doublemint, and Altoids. Orla has worked for Mars for more than a decade, beginning as marketing director of Mars Petcare and previously serving as chief marketing officer of Wrigley.

Now based in Chicago, Orla was born in Ireland with roots in counties Galway, Wexford, Sligo, and Wicklow. She holds a bachelor’s in business studies and marketing from the National University of Ireland and an M.B.S. from University College Dublin. She argues that “Ireland continues to develop as an open nation economically and socially at the heart of the world because of a can-do attitude combined with hard work and an education system that supports maximum participation for those who choose, all of course underpinned by a sense of humor that ensures we do not take ourselves too seriously as there is always someone close by to bring you back to earth!”