WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP LUNCHEON
Mary Ricks, President of Kennedy Wilson, was the Honorary Speaker at The Ireland Funds Women in Leadership Luncheon on December 6th at the Four Seasons Hotel. In a moving tribute, Kennedy Wilson’s Chairman & CEO, Bill McMorrow described Mary’s unique skillset and expressed deep appreciation for the way Mary has helped build the company’s success, particularly in Ireland.
Kennedy Wilson is a global real estate investment company headquartered in Beverly Hills. Mary Ricks oversees the company’s investment activities focused on multifamily and office properties in the western U.S., UK and Ireland. Mary has over 30 years of experience in international real estate investment. in 2018, Bisnow selected Mary as one of the most influential women in UK commercial real estate and in May 2019, she was honored as the industry leading figure for CBRE’s UK Capital Markets conference. Mary received a B.A. in Sociology from UCLA and is a founding board member of the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at University of California, Los Angeles. Mary is a former UCLA champion softball player and was a member of the team that won the ’84 & ’85 NCAA World Series.
Honorary Chairs of this year’s Luncheon were Erin Doyle Ebeling of Alice Phelan Sullivan Corporation, Sarah Friar of Nextdoor, Janet Reilly, EJ Tracy and they were joined by over 400 guests. Consul General of Ireland Robert O’Driscoll was there along with The Ireland Funds America Board Director Bart Murphy and Dublin-based VP of The Ireland Funds Caitriona Fottrell, as well as longtime supporters Eileen Moore, Maureen Sullivan, Marie Woods and Orla MacLean.
Janet Reilly, a former broadcaster and co-owner & monthly columnist of the Nob Hill Gazette, greeted the lively audience and introduced Marjorie Muldowney, Vice President at The Ireland Funds. Marjorie warmly welcomed the crowd and spoke passionately about the women leading a myriad of non-profit programs in Ireland, as well as the women in powerful leadership positions in the U.S. who may be able to help them in their mission. She recognized the important role so many Irish women have played in passing down the traditions of their Irish ancestral background.
Mary’s presentation was underpinned by a call to action in supporting women’s advancement, encouraging others to use their talent to help women on our teams use their own talents. “We need to go beyond the talking and move to action!”, she said and announced the new Women’s Initiative that has been launched at Kennedy Wilson, with the goal of recruiting and retaining more women. Mary highlighted sports as an important catalyst for developing team-building skills, drive, ambition and resilience. She praised Ireland for its progress on a range of social issues relating to diversity and inclusion, recognizing the achievements of Ireland’s Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar. Mary also spoke of the wonderful restoration work that Kennedy Wilson has undertaken at the Shelbourne Hotel, one of its most iconic properties. Mary then joined Janet Reilly in conversation about her career, who closed by presenting Mary with a rare Limited Edition collection of “Seamus Heaney’s Poems and a Memoir”, signed by Seamus Heaney and Thomas Flanagan.
Special guests included key members of the leadership teams at Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Eastdil Secured, First Republic Bank, Pacific Western Bank, and William Fry. Also attending were guests from Bank of America, DLA Piper, Nextdoor, and Linesight, The event was generously supported by Colin & Nikki Ryan, Tony Minella of Eldridge, John Paul Construction, the Resmark Companies, Steve Silk of Eastdil Secured, Donal McCarthy of Sisk Group, and Waterman Moylan. Other top supporters included the teams from Nextdoor, Plant Construction, Michael Roberts Construction, Inc., Cain International, Crestbridge, FPI Management, KSN, Lafferty, Henry J. Lyons, O’Mahony Pike, UCSF and Wells Fargo.
Special thanks to CBRE, Fieldfisher, Goodbody Fund Management, Institutional Property Advisors, Helen Hartnett of the Irish Technology Leadership Group, Ginny Kavanaugh, Ann King, LinkedIn, Mason Hayes & Curran, Sheila McCarthy & Karen Powell, Cinta Murphy of Cinta Salon and UCSF Medical Center for their generosity, as well as Kathleen Ryan and the UCD Foundation. We are grateful for the gifts received from Allen & Overy, Bank of Ireland, Liz Ferrari, Rosemarie MacGuinness, Barbara McGettigan, Ann Miller, Jeannie Sangiacomo, Michael Stone of Designer Group, Suzi Tinsley, Warner Walker Architects and VITA Planning & Landscape Architecture.
The Luncheon Drawing, which included an exclusive Ireland trip, was generously sponsored by The Shelbourne Hotel, Dromoland Castle, and Sheen Falls Lodge Hotel. Other sponsors included Cinta Salon, San Francisco Giants, Four Seasons Hotel, and Mission Rock Resort. Thank you to our generous sponsors.
Thank you to all our guests for joining us at this wonderful Luncheon and supporting The Ireland Funds. We look forward to welcoming everyone to the San Francisco Gala Dinner on Friday, March 6th, 2020.
Thanks to our sponsors
