Mary Falvey serves as a strategic advisor and director of early-stage and privately held companies, particularly in situations of rapid growth or requiring a strategic pivot or restructuring. Her experience combines entrepreneurial leadership, senior operating and governance positions, broad and diverse consulting experience, and government service through two Presidential appointments.
She has worked in a range of industries, with particular focus on medical devices, healthcare IT, automotive, software, and financial services. Engagement scope includes top-level counsel and assistance to solve complex problems and develop clear focused strategies to drive sustained growth. Based in San Francisco, she spends three months each year in France and serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD in Fontainebleau.
Ms. Falvey started her career with eight years as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in New York, Amsterdam, and Zurich. Subsequently, she served as Chief Financial and Administrative officer of Citibank’s Investment Management Group, Senior Vice President Administration of Blyth Eastman Dillon, and Vice President Finance of Shaklee Corporation.
In the 1980s, she stepped in, upon her father’s illness, as CEO of Falvey Autos, Inc. one of the original distributors of imported automobiles in the U.S., to restore growth and profitability in a challenging business environment. She acquired the assets of another company, quintupled revenues, restored strong profitability, and ultimately sold the three dealerships to two established family businesses.
Ms. Falvey is an experienced corporate and nonprofit director. She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the San Francisco Symphony (since 2002) and as a Presidential Councillor and Trustee Emeritus of Cornell University. Previous board service includes the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Basic American Foods, Golden Gate Bank, and a number of early stage technology companies, as well as advisory boards of Wells Fargo Corporation, Greater Bay Bancorp, and the global alumni board of the Harvard Business School.
She also served as a member of the National Commission on Social Security Reform, a Trustee of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds (which consists of the Secretaries of Treasury, Labor, and Health & Human Services, and one member of the public from each political party), and a member of the Composite Committee of the United States Medical Licensing Examination.
She has a BA (with honors) in Economics from Cornell University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
