About Us

Michael Mahoney, Principal

Places lived: United States (Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Washington DC), The Netherlands (Amsterdam)

Education: MBA with high distinction, Harvard Business School; BSE computer science engineering and BA economics, University of Pennsylvania

Experience: Sales & marketing leadership roles at IBM, Amdahl, Mainspring Communications. Vice president, AT&T business services. President, Americas & Northern Europe, International SOS

Focus: Early career – how businesses leverage technology for competitive advantage. Mid career – how sales & marketing excellence create economic strategic value. Current focus – leading global teams who are committed to customer service

Intellectual influences: Harvard Business School professor, Clay Christensen

Turning points: Becoming an Eagle Scout – scouting values profoundly shaped my life and established my commitment to service.

Returning to business school – “much older than a typical student, I decided I needed stronger financial skills and a broader business network. About the time I learned of my acceptance, my wife and I also found out that we were expecting our first child. Both Linda and I quit our jobs and moved to Boston with a baby on the way. Big risk, but great rewards.”

Hurricane Wilma disaster response – deployed with American Red Cross, experience indirectly led to the opportunity with International SOS.

Some people intuitively and practically get the idea of service. They serve to lead. That’s Mike Mahoney. Throughout his career Mike has served others: colleagues, customers, and communities around the world.

Mike’s dedication to serving well has made him successful in tough and competitive environments and businesses. Early on at Amdahl, for example, as EDS global sales team leader he increased sales by 40% in Europe and Asia over a two year stint. He also initiated corporate strategy for market entry into Russia. Later, at IBM, as director of business development and alternate channels he reenergized growth in lagging VAR channels and increased growth by 75%. Subsequently he became AT&T’s vice president, enterprise segment, with full responsibility for sales, distribution, product, and marketing strategy for a $6 billion dollar business offering complex technology and networking products.

Mike’s pursuit of service has allowed him, like some of his colleagues at Tapestry, to change course and take roads less traveled. More recently, from 2006 to 2009, he was president, Americas and Europe, of International SOS Assistance. SOS is the largest, global provider of medical services, including medical assistance, on-site clinics, risk assessment, and consulting services.

Mike’s service to the community includes work as a volunteer for Tabitha House Foundation (Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Mike recently brought his teenage daughter with him to build houses), as director of ARTFEST (the largest arts festival in the US Southwest), and as a member of the National Eagle Scout Foundation.

“I didn’t do a lot of planning,” says Mike, “but I look at life in five year segments. I am a big fan of Harvard Professor Clay Christensen and his theories of disruptive innovation. You need to make sure your career is on the right side of the disruption.”

At Tapestry Mike hopes to apply Christensen’s thinking about innovation to healthcare and K-12 education. “We will move from centralized to decentralized leadership in both areas,” he says, “just like in technology markets, and I want to accelerate that. I will remain a volunteer in the philanthropic arena, but it’s time for business through a multi-stakeholder approach to lead change against vital social objectives.”

Mike and Linda have three children and, in 2011, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in Paris.