About Elizabeth Sheehan

Take the drink and snack brands in any kitchen – it’s almost certain Elizabeth Sheehan worked on marketing at least one of them. Across international markets for companies such as Allied Domecq, Mars, PepsiCo and Suntory, she has led marketing and sustainability for dozens of household name brands from Tullamore Dew to Tropicana.

With her own career a model for women in business, she now dedicates much of her time to building gender equality on boards and senior leadership teams, as Country Executive for the 30% Club in Ireland.

“We don’t set quotas,” she explains. “The fundamental insight is that when 30 percent of a team or people at a meeting are women, all voices get heard. The 30% Club is a business movement. It’s proven that organisations with balanced leadership teams have better business results, people retention and engagement scores.  Remaining committed to this work on diversity and inclusion has never been more important than it is now”.

She serves herself on the boards of the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland, Bus Éireann and creative agency Pluto. She co-founded and was Chair of Ad Net Zero Ireland, the advertising & marketing industry's drive to reduce emissions.

A gem of a course proved the perfect fit

Elizabeth was always keen to maximise her chances of living and working abroad. “My father was a jeweller in a large family business,” she says. “I knew I’d like business and I love languages. The perfect combination was business with a language at UCD; the BComm International with Spanish. Some of my friends had gone to UCD and recommended it as an amazing experience.”

Happily for Elizabeth, her UCD experience was also positive and set her on a lively career track.  

“I remember in my Commerce degree at UCD trying to decide would I go the HR route or the marketing route. I chose marketing because I loved it, but what I really loved about it was figuring out what made people tick. So then in recent years, I’ve moved much more into the leadership and people space.”

Swift immersion in international marketing

Having relished a year in Madrid on the Erasmus programme as part of her UCD course, Elizabeth spent another year there after graduating. She then took part in a European orientation programme run by Ibec, for which her sponsor was the drinks company C&C International.

After six months’ training in its Dublin office, she was sent to the Allied Domecq office in Lisbon to support the launch of Tullamore Dew in Portugal. From there, her next role with the company was in Rio de Janeiro.

“Working in Brazil was the most eye-opening experience I ever had,” she says. “They were world-class marketeers. To this day, I use what I learned from them.”

From Rio, she returned to the Spanish office and then moved to the Benelux office, which meant two and a half years in the Netherlands. “Learning Portuguese and Dutch along the way was a huge achievement but a joy and a cultural unlocker.”

By then keen to spend some time in Ireland, she returned in 1998 to join Mars, working in its confectionary and food business for five years.

Headhunted in late 2003 by PepsiCo, she joined in early 2004 to lead its soft drinks marketing, as Head of Marketing for Ireland and working on global teams for brands such as 7Up.

In 2013, she joined Suntory as Marketing Director, leading projects such as the launch of Lucozade Zero, and eventually became European Director of Sustainability.

Embracing a portfolio career

The Covid pandemic, and Elizabeth’s three sons hitting their teens, meant it felt time for a career shift and less travel. “In Suntory I had moved into the world of sustainability and also spent a lot of time with my own executive coach considering my impact and the next phase of my career,” says Elizabeth.

“That led to me starting work in sustainability consulting, helping organisations to build sustainability strategies. My first few clients were all recommendations from amazing women who were former colleagues.”

Having benefitted so much from coaching, she also decided to qualify as a professional coach. She now works 1:1 with her own coaching clients, and co-founded The Coaching Network, a panel of executive and leadership coaches. She has also worked as a university teaching specialist with UCD in recent years.

Working towards gender equality

In leading the 30% Club in Ireland since April 2025, she has been striving to advance gender balance at board and C-suite levels, while remaining pragmatic.

“The global environment has changed in the past year or so, but it’s apparent that organisations are fundamentally sticking to values and culture, and working hard to ensure balanced talent is coming through.

“The 30% Club helps by offering clear, practical steps to follow and useful tools for CEOs, and run different industry initiatives that help our members ensure their leadership can grow.”

Panel

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?

One of my female colleagues in Suntory Ros Goti used to say, “Say Yes until you have to say No”. It’s such a great unlocker. Women especially can get imposter syndrome, but we shouldn’t. We must own our careers, our strengths and our lives, and not be shy about it.

What advice would give anyone keen to succeed in international business?

It comes down to curiosity, respect and staying open to the fact that people do things differently to you. When you’re stepping into someone else’s space, either their company or their country, you must respect their norm, while retaining your own values.

In Japan, for example, a lot of decision-making happens outside the meeting room. They call it nemawashi – the conversation over dinner or coffee where things happen. When you get to the meeting, all you’re really doing is signing on the dotted line.

What has helped you most in your career?

I’ve worked with so many inspirational people and leaders whose support has gotten me to where I am now.  I still have great relationships with so many friends from different roles. Hopefully, I can do that for a few people too. I’d like to leave the workplace better than I found it. 

November 2025