Our History

An institute interwoven with the development of Ireland

Now entering our sixth decade, the Marketing Institute of Ireland has been there all the way, playing our part in Irish business life, facilitating and supporting the marketing professionals and business leaders who, by focusing on customers and markets, played their part in the creating what was to become the modern Irish economy.

We are particularly proud of the fact that the man widely regarded as the architect of the modern Irish economy, Taoiseach Seán Lemass TD, was an ardent supporter of our work, and served as President of the Institute for four years from 1967.

Commerce has been a feature of life in Ireland going back to the Bronze Age, when we were engaged in extensive international trade, but the story of the Marketing Institute really begins in 1962.

Since 1947 there had been an Irish affiliate of the London-based Incorporated Sales Managers Association (ISMA) in place, and there were Irish branches in Dublin, Belfast and Cork. Developments in the early 1960s were changing the business landscape. The Treaty of Rome had established the new Common Market, Teilifís Éireann had just been launched, and Ted Levitt had published the sensational “Marketing Myopia” article in the Harvard Business Review.

In what was to be a far-reaching event, the ISMA in Ireland broke with London and formed the Irish Institute of Marketing and Sales Management in 1962. This was a courageous move, as at that time the commercial culture in Ireland was very weak. There was a widespread aversion to risk-taking, a reluctance to change, and a shortage of well-trained business managers. Exports were low and aimed mainly at Britain. There was a general lack of initiative in sales management, and marketing was little understood and rarely practised. Furthermore, there was no university degree course available in marketing.

Our Timeline

establishing an independent, vibrant and relevant professional Institute.

The Swinging 60's

A new Diploma in Marketing was made available to students in 1962, examined by the Institute of Marketing in Britain. Student numbers increased, and links were forged with universities and other industry bodies.
Amongst the very early contributors at our events were Tony O’Reilly, General Manager of Bord Báinne, Jack Lynch TD, Minister for Industry and Commerce, and Garret Fitzgerald TD.
In 1964, the Institute affiliated to the European Contact Group of Marketing, and we were founder members of the European Marketing Confederation (EMC), its successor. Through our extensive participation in the EMC, we were centrally involved in the development of marketing at European level. A number of Institute members held high office in the EMC at different stages.
In 1965 the name of the Institute was shortened to the Marketing Institute of Ireland. This was not because the discipline of sales management was becoming obsolete, but to the contrary, it was clearly understood that sales management was just one subset of the full range of marketing disciplines.

1960's

establishing an independent, vibrant and relevant professional Institute.

Delivering Education

Groovy 70's

In the 1970s we focused on developing a degree-equivalent part-time professional qualification that would provide real practical benefit to individuals and their employers, and this was the Graduateship programme. In 1971, we launched our own programme of study and examinations for professional qualification in marketing. This was to be a two-tier four-year programme. A Certificate in Marketing would be awarded after completing Parts I and II, and students who went on to complete Part III achieved the Diploma in Marketing and Part IV would receive the Graduateship in Marketing of the Institute. The list of past graduates of this programme today reads like a who’s who of leadership in Irish business. Later in the 1970s we established the annual National Marketing Conference, which grew to become one of the major events in the business calendar in Ireland. Amongst the very early contributors at our events were Tony O’Reilly, General Manager of Bord Báinne, Jack Lynch TD, Minister for Industry and Commerce, and Garret Fitzgerald TD. In 1964, the Institute affiliated to the European Contact Group of Marketing, and we were founder members of the European Marketing Confederation (EMC), its successor. Through our extensive participation in the EMC, we were centrally involved in the development of marketing at European level. A number of Institute members held high office in the EMC at different stages. In 1965 the name of the Institute was shortened to the Marketing Institute of Ireland. This was not because the discipline of sales management was becoming obsolete, but to the contrary, it was clearly understood that sales management was just one subset of the full range of marketing disciplines.

1970's

Delivering Education

GEtting Marketing the Recognition it deserves

80's Title

Our priority in the 1980s was increasing public awareness of the importance of marketing. We campaigned for increased government support for marketing in private companies, especially for exporting, and we became established as the voice of professional marketing in Ireland. In 1986 our membership surpassed 1,000. In 1987 the government appointed the late Séamus Brennan TD as Minister of State for Marketing, the first time the term Marketing was used in the title of a government office. New courses were launched on sectoral marketing, including financial services and retail, and a newly refreshed Graduateship programme was introduced. Also in that year, Philip Kotler, one of the foremost marketing authors in the world, addressed over 700 members, students and others in Dublin, and he was conferred with Honorary Fellowship of the Institute.

1980's

GEtting Marketing the Recognition it deserves

Launching the certificate of professional selling

Launch of the Marketing Breakfast

The 1990s saw growth in membership, development of events for members, and further offerings in the professional development area. Membership surpassed 2,000 in 1990, and 2,500 in 1995. In 1994, conscious of the need to keep the disciplines of professional selling integrated with the other functions in business, we launched the Certificate in Selling. We launched the Young Marketing Breakfast series, and initiated the Top Marketing Forum for senior executives. We went online in January 1996.

1990's

Launching the certificate of professional selling

Launch of the All Ireland Marketing Award

Getting Digital

he turn of the century saw the Marketing Institute renew its activities in the training and development area, with a range of new offerings aimed at equipping marketers for the fast changing business environment, particularly regarding the challenges and opportunities presented by technology. The second half of the decade saw the Institute engage in a fundamental renewal, getting to grips with an unprecedented pace of change in the world. The governance of the Institute was reviewed and streamlined according to best industry practice, and our structures were condensed for stability and rapid businesslike progress. The All Ireland Marketing Awards were launched in 2007 and were an immediate hit with the marketing profession, providing a high-profile platform for the recognition of Irish marketing successes, and attracting the participation of hundreds of marketers and their companies. Also in these years, the Institute concluded its strategy to switch from directly operating its Marketing Graduateship qualification to instead concentrating on co-working with third-level institutions to jointly develop and offer leading edge programmes, and the first of these offerings was the Executive MSc in Marketing offered with T U Dublin.

2000's

Launch of the All Ireland Marketing Award

Orla Mitchell

ex-CEO WaterWipes & National Marketing Champion 2026

Prior to her board career, Orla worked with WaterWipes between early 2020- end 2022. As CEO and board member she with her exec team implemented a 3-year strategy that more than doubled the business with the brand now a top global brand leader in all its key markets including the U.S. An Irish founder owned global success story the WaterWipes brand, as the world's purest baby wipe has disrupted the wipes category with exponential growth in multiple geographies globally.
Until May 2019 Orla was Global President of Gum & Mints at Mars Wrigley Confectionery, a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. She led the Business Strategy, Global Innovation pipeline, Strategic P&L, capital program and Brand strategy for a Portfolio of Globally famous gum and mints brands including Orbit Extra, 5, Doublemint and Juicy Fruit to name but a few. She was also a member of the Mars Wrigley Leadership Team and Strategy team (a sub-team of the Leadership team responsible for Global Segment strategy).
Prior to this role she held the position of Chief Marketing Officer for Wrigley preceding the integration of the Mars Confectionery businesses. Orla was with Mars for 18 years in several different roles, and her business and marketing expertise across multiple regions make her a highly experienced strategic and marketing resource. Before joining Wrigley, Orla served as the CMO for Mars Global Food, where she promoted marketing excellence across the company’s global good business and helped create a strategic growth agenda. Prior to that, she was the European Marketing Director for Mars Foods Europe, where she was responsible for marketing Mars’ sauce brands in Europe. Orla began her time with Mars as the Marketing Director of Petcare for Mars Ireland and has moved up in the Marketing function since then. Orla has a passion for developing sustainable business legacy and growth strategies and has led several business turnarounds during her career to date. She is also very experienced in developing iconic and multi award winning communications campaigns.

Joe Heneghan - Revolut Europe

Partner & CEO, Revolut Europe

Joe Heneghan is Partner & CEO of Revolut Europe, leading the company’s expansion across the continent from 10 million to 45 million customers. With almost 30 years of leadership experience in banking, fintech, and public policy, he is part of Europe’s standout fintech success story and is changing how consumers and businesses engage with money. He previously held senior executive roles at Ulster Bank and Permanent TSB, having started his career in marketing, product management, and digital banking. He now plays a central role in shaping the future of financial services in Ireland and Europe. Joe serves on the European Central Bank’s Euro Retail Payments Board and the Department of Finance’s Industry Advisory Council. He is also a former Chair and current board member of Financial Services Ireland, representing the Irish financial services sector. Joe holds a B.Comm from the University of Galway and is a Certified Bank Director, accredited by the Institute of Bankers and UCD. He has also been a member of the Marketing Institute of Ireland for 30 years.

Alison Flannery

Research Director at Amárach Research

A dualist researcher, Alison has worked with Irish, UK and International brands and services during her 30-year research career. Originally from the UK, Alison studied Consumer Sciences in Newcastle upon Tyne before embarking on a Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) research and customer experience journey.
She has been in Ireland and with Amárach for the past 12 years, where she remains hands-on with various research projects and leads the research & ops teams.

Michael Carey

Chairman of Enterprise Ireland

Michael is co-founder and Executive Chairman of ‘East Coast Bakehouse’, Ireland's only commercial scale biscuit producer and also co-founder and Chairman of ‘The Company of Food’, a specialist food investment business. He is the current Chairman of The Housing Agency.

Beyond his leadership in food innovation, he has played key roles in An Bord Bia, Marketing Institute of Ireland, Grow Dublin Tourism Alliance, and many other influential organisations. He also serves as a judge for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

David Gillick

Former Irish Olympic Athlete

David stepped off the track in 2013 after a successful athletics career which included winning Ireland’s first sprint gold medal in 76 years when winning the European Indoor 400m championships in 2005, he went on to retained his title in 2009 and became an Olympian in 2008. A major goal for David was to compete in a global 400m final and 2009 he achieved just that, when finishing 6th in the Berlin World Championships. He still holds both the indoor and outdoor Irish 400m records.

Post his athletics career David went from full time corporate employment to the winning celebrity MasterChef and more recently was one of only three contestants to pass RTE’s gruelling hit TV show, Hellweek.

David’s core passions and values are built around fitness, food and promoting a healthy body and mind and has become a vocal advocate on mental health.

He has written two bestselling books, David Gillick's Kitchen and Back On Track, David's 4 part plan to a healthy lifestyle, in which David talks openly and honestly about his struggles with mental health post a sporting career and the strategies he used in recovery.

Today, David works in a number of areas mainly corporate wellness, performance and media. He is a regular sports correspondence for RTE covering all major sporting events including the Olympic Games.

Passionate about Irish sport and the voice of the athlete, David is a founding member of the Olympic Federation Of Ireland’s Athlete Commission and currently sits on Sport Ireland’s Anti-doping committee.

Aimee Connolly

CEO Sculpted by Aimee

Aimee Connolly is one of Ireland’s most recognisable and loved beauty entrepreneurs and she can usually be found hard at work on her award-winning cosmetics range, Sculpted by Aimee. Sculpted by Aimee is one of the fastest-growing Irish beauty brands in the market. The company currently employs more than seventy staff and it plans to soon become a globally recognised brand. Winner of the 2021 EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and now sitting on the EY Entrepreneur of the Year judging panel, Aimee is a qualifi ed makeup artist with more than 12 years of experience.

Sculpted by Aimee now has stores in Dublin, Kildare, Belfast and London.

Sir John Hegarty

Founder, Creative Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), The Garage Entertainment

John Hegarty has been central to the global advertising scene over six decades working with brands such as Levi's, Audi, Boddingtons, Lynx, British Airways and Johnnie Walker. He was a founding partner of Saatchi and Saatchi in 1970. He co-founded Bartle Bogle Hegarty in 1982 with John Bartle and Nigel Bogle. The Agency now has offices in London, New York, Singapore, Stockholm, Shanghai, Mumbai and Los Angeles. John’s creative awards are numerous. He has been given the D&AD President's Award for outstanding achievement and in 2014 was admitted to the US AAF Hall of Fame. John was awarded a Knighthood in 2007 and was the recipient of the first Lion of St Mark award at the Cannes Festival of Creativity in 2011. John has written two books: ‘Hegarty on Advertising – Turning Intelligence into Magic’ and "Hegarty on Creativity - there are no rules". In 2014 John co-founded The Garage Soho, an early stage investment company that believes in building brands, not just businesses. In 2022 John co-founded The Garage Entertainment, which aims to unlock creative potential through inspiring, distinctive and entertaining products.

businessofcreativity.com

Education Courses

Training Courses

Job Opportunities

Advertise a Marketing Job