Mary O’ MahonyHead of Rolex Awards for Enterprise, Ireland

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Mary O’ Mahony joined Rolex in 2002 and has held leading roles in the company’s two flagship philanthropic programs. From 2002 to 2008, she worked for the newly established Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Since mid-2008, she has headed the Rolex Awards for Enterprise: Young Laureates Programme, supervising the inaugural series of this Rolex initiative. She is currently overseeing preparations for the next series of the Rolex Awards, which will be presented in 2012.

Mary O’ Mahony was born in Ireland, and holds qualifications in European Studies from the National University of Ireland and in Management from the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

After graduation, Mary O’ Mahony built a career in higher education cooperation, working initially in Brussels for the European Union, where she administered student mobility programs. She then spent seven years at the Geneva-based Association of European Universities, an organization bringing together university leaders from across the continent with the objective of improving university cooperation. She was appointed deputy director of the association and her duties included liaising with other university organizations around the world and examining the impact of new technology on education.