Maureen Lally is the Vice President of Marketing for Tyco International North America Installation and Service, which includes Tyco Integrated Security and Tyco SimplexGrinnell.
Prior to joining Tyco, Lally was responsible for marketing and strategy for the Electronic Controls and Services business of Danfoss, a global manufacturer of components used in refrigeration, HVAC systems, power controls and industrial automation. In her role and as part of the EL Division leadership team, Lally was responsible for all strategic and operational marketing activities, including strategy development, product and service portfolio management, market segment management, and marketing communications and promotions.
Previous to Danfoss, Lally served as the Global Strategic Marketing Leader for Ingersoll Rand, responsible for the marketing efforts of Trane, Hussmann, and Thermo King. While there, she built and led a global strategic marketing organization with the responsibility to increase customer focus and accelerate orientation toward vertical and emerging markets. Lally also held senior marketing roles in Trane's commercial air conditioning business in the Americas and led the marketing and communications for the U.S. operations of Skanska, a leading global construction organization.
She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Management from Syracuse University and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University.
How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
Education and hard work have always been my foundation. Working hard and performing well was an important part of my upbringing, no matter the stage of my childhood. I recognized at a young age - and affirmed later in life at work - that in order to be taken seriously and earn respect among my peers, I need to build confidence through fact-based preparation in whatever I do.
How has your previous employment experience aided your tenure at Tyco?
My professional career has always been in the business to business marketing sector. I got my start with AT&T and went on to start my own business in Marketing and Communications where I worked with many clients across multiple industries.
I then joined Skanska USA, Trane and then Tyco’s business focused on the commercial building sector. My early experience in the construction and commercial building industry taught me about how decisions are made across a wide spectrum of influencers during the lifecycle of the building.
It also taught me the importance of learning the various motivators within each industry to guide how to market and sell services, and the importance of linking what we do to quantifiable customer outcomes - around energy and operational efficiency
What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at Tyco?
In order for me to be successful, I have to be completely convinced that what I am doing is the right thing for our customers and the industry. Tyco’s strategy for truly leading and innovating in safety and security is something that resonates with me. I’m fully invested in Tyco’s offerings. At the core, what we do is help protect what matters most to people and that’s an inspiring mission. It is a delight to provide subject matter experience for our customers who require our knowledge and leadership on safety and security in buildings and cities, globally.
What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?
It’s so important to have a broad-based interdisciplinary education – for women especially. I have focused throughout my career on constant learning – keeping an open mind, asking questions and seeking information.
Remember that the jobs people have today will not necessarily be here in the future, and the jobs of the future do not exist yet, so join networks and associations regardless of the industry you’re in to grow your knowledge set and expand your horizon for new opportunities.
Relatedly, in this need for an innovation-driven climate to drive economic growth, many are focused on science, technology, engineering and math – the STEM subjects – as the future of our workforce. Art and design are a missing component, and I believe they are poised to transform business in the 21st century just as science and technology did in the last century. We need to add art and design to the equation — to transform “STEM” into “STEAM” for more multidisciplinary thinking.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career to date?
I’ve learned that technology – and therefore jobs – evolve. I was born in Rochester, New York, home of Kodak headquarters. A global giant in photography products when I was growing up, Kodak is now essentially irrelevant for lack of evolving and innovating quickly. I started my career as a product manager for telecommunications, including fax technology, now a seemingly archaic method of communication. How we do marketing in the future is bound to change as well.
No matter your career focus, it is important to remain open and expose yourself to areas outside of your professional requirements. The ability to innovate will be important and diversity is the most important criteria for creative team problem-solving, and therefore an essential ingredient in fostering innovation.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
I prioritize daily and I’m very good about keeping lists. When you have a family, there are a lot of things that you need to juggle. It’s true what they say – it takes a village. I coordinate with my husband every day and we check in with each other regularly as schedules inevitably shift, but it’s important to have multiple backup plans and a network in place to help you and your family.
What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?
It’s difficult for women even at the highest levels to compete for senior level positions. It’s not that women aren’t coming in at entry level roles, but they are not moving ahead into mid-level and senior management roles. We need to get more women in those mid-level and senior management roles, because once they are there, they have a fair shot at progressing further.
Additionally, research shows that women feel a need to reach perfection in their role before they raise their hand to move forward. Men are typically more aggressive in chasing stretch goals, networking with peers and clearly communicating what they want. It’s not enough to just work really hard, because you’re not always rewarded based on hard work. Women need to communicate more clearly about what they want, and get more comfortable with taking risks.
How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?
In my experience, mentorship only works if the relationship is mutually beneficial and not set in a formal capacity. I like to think of it more as a “force of networks.” You have to be truly committed to improving your professional and/or personal expertise and then you should seek out people who are like-minded thought leaders.
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s not realistic to set expectations of meeting on a set schedule. Starting somewhere small such as asking for advice on a focused topic of mutual benefit to build rapport and checking in over time is the best way to build a professional relationship.
Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
Having just moved back to the U.S. from three years in Germany, I admire Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany for her leadership, and hard work, and Indra Nooyi, the CEO of Pepsi. Ms. Nooyi has said her best advice is to always assume positive intent and I think that’s a powerful guiding principle.
I also had the opportunity to see Meg Whitman, the CEO of Hewlett Packard when she generously spoke at a Tyco Women’s Growth Network conference. She shared her work/life balance experiences and I was totally impressed by how down to earth she is, wrestling with the same problems that many other women in the workforce have faced, including me.
What do you want Tyco to accomplish in the next year?
On September 1, Tyco merged with Johnson Controls, bringing together two great companies to provide customers with smarter, safer and more sustainable solutions for stores and buildings.
Johnson Controls and Tyco have highly complementary businesses and in the coming year, I’m looking forward to the integration between the two. I’m really pleased to be a part of the sales and marketing work-stream focused on building up expertise, skillsets and a new approach to ultimately develop a stronger marketing organization in the new Johnson Controls.