A global business force of nature

Don’t tell Emer Timmons she can’t do something. She’ll most certainly prove you wrong.

1995 BA, Mathematics and Economics Founder and Managing Director, ET Solutions GmbH

Emer Timmons was the only woman in her maths and economics course at Maynooth in the early ‘90s. Today, the woman who has risen to the upper echelons of global business, been tapped by governments and global corporations around the world for her strategic thinking, and was recently honoured by the Queen with an Order of the British Empire, is trying to make sure that kind of scenario never plays out again.

Timmons is the kind of success story that is best explained by her relentless drive – a systematic pursuit of a set of well-defined professional goals. The set of business verticals in which she’s gained experience could be seen as a box-ticking exercise in how to rise up the corporate ladder – yet that would be wholly unfair. For Timmons, it may have been strategic, but first-hand experience is something she says is critical to success in management.

“It was all about getting the experience. I always put my hand up, even if early on I didn’t ask for more money,” she says. “What I wanted to do warrants many different types of international experiences.” Timmons says her decisions post-university were “absolutely critical.”

“I started with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in technology and found my passion. I worked seven days a week, 16hour days. Boy, did I put my hours in and don’t regret a minute of it.”

After two years, Timmons saw an opening with Denis O’Brien’s venture ESAT following deregulation of the telecoms market. Timmons was employee #12 at ESAT. “People thought I was crazy,” she recalls. “I took a 45% pay cut with no benefits, but I knew it was an important opportunity, so I took it. I believed in where I wanted to be and saw the door open.”

Timmons’ career took off from there and she never looked back. While working in the Middle East she was told getting a license in the competitive Dubai market wouldn’t be a runner, but convinced the global corporation to give her a chance to prove herself and her company. They gave her the tumultuous markets of Iraq and Afghanistan. Timmons, once again, saw an opportunity and took it, and made it the most profitable part of the business and a win-win for all. She was then offered the entire region.

Over her career, she has worked her way through various channels of business: fixed line, mobile, ISP, distribution, business development (both B2B and B2C), marketing and international (she supported clients in over 174 countries throughout her career). Timmons was able to use all of her experiences when she became the first female president of British Telecom in its 175-year history. She successfully transformed and ran a multibillion P&L and spent 10 successful years there. Timmons has become renowned for turning around unprofitable business lines and making a name for herself.

Over the last 20 years, Timmons has lived in America, Europe and the Middle East. She now lives in Switzerland, with a house in her favorite wine region of Burgundy. She says her third home is on a BA flight, being one of BA’s annual most frequent flyers. The lesson she learned from that early career move: “Your gut instinct is right 95% of the time. Yet, it’s the other 5% people spend their time worrying about. Listen to your gut.”

Among the many awards Timmons has won are the prestigious Gold Stevie Award for Global Female Senior Executive in Business Services and UK Female Corporate Leader of the Year, CBI Businesswoman of the Year, and UK Woman of the Year in Tech. She was the only European leader to be named one of the “21 Leaders for 21st the Century.” Timmons has addressed the United Nations on the need to reduce the gender pay gap. She also is co-chair of Leaders as Change Agents, an independent expert committee set up to advise the UK government and support a target for 33% of executive level FTSE 350 business leaders to be women. Two years ago, Timmons saw another kind of opportunity: She set up her own business, ET Solutions, based in Switzerland. “Now I’m doing it for me, not someone else, and using my experience to help more companies to be successful,” she says. She advises on a range of strategic international businesses issues for her clients, which include global corporates, sovereign wealth funds, governments and venture capital firms.

And yet, Timmons hasn’t forgotten where she came from. Despite having lived outside Ireland longer than in it, she loves to return to see her mother. She’s also planning to get involved with helping current MU students navigate their own career paths and, perhaps even more importantly, foster the confidence they’ll need to thrive along the way.