Marie Gleeson is a former Irish Navy Officer and Captain of the LE AOIFE. Having displayed tenacity and determination for excellence every day in her nearly 30 year long career, Mary’s military leadership and other prominent roles place her as one of the most inspiring keynote speakers to listen to. Whether addressing the art of decision-making, mental resilience or how to maintain team performance in challenging environments, Marie can do it all.
Marie’s career with the Irish Naval Service began as a Cadet in 1998. Rising the ranks steadily, Marie held pivotal positions such as Navigation Officer of Le Aoife, Executive Officer of Le Niamh, Director of Shore Operations and finally, Director of the Strategic Planning Cell at the Irish Naval Service in 2018. Over the course of 20 years in the Irish Naval Service, Marie was faced with numerous high-pressure situations that tested her resilience. No matter the challenge, Marie always came out strong, whether it was navigating the loss of a colleague overboard at sea or handling treacherous international drug busts.
After her retirement from the Irish Naval Service, Marie has held numerous prominent roles such as Chief Strategy Officer at Cognate Health, External Affairs & Stakeholder Liaison at Simply Blue Group and Senior Associate Consultant at Ingenium. Currently a Senior Advisor at BTAS Advisory Services, she is part of a network of former senior leaders who use their experience to deliver transformative results for their clients. She is also a Leadership Consultant & Coach at NavMar Leadership.
As one of the first female officers in the Irish navy, Marie knows better than most what it takes for a woman to succeed in a male-dominated industry. Displaying resilience, impeccable leadership and an innate tenacity, Marie’s story is one that audiences all over the world enjoy listening to. She has been invited as the keynote speaker at the 2022 Pendulum Summit as well as at the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals. When looking for a keynote speaker who is an expert on leadership, teamwork, diversity & inclusion, and overcoming adversity, consider booking Marie Gleeson. Enquire now!
How to hire Marie Gleeson
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Marie Gleeson for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Marie Gleeson's official speaking topics are listed below:
- Navigating Choppy Waters - Building High-Performing Teams in an Ever-Changing World
- Charting Your Course - The Leadership Journey to the Captain's Chair
- Beyond the Horizon - Overcoming Challenges & Surviving the Storm
- Commanding with Compassion - How to Lead with Strength & Empathy
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"Raw, personal and deeply honest, Marie is an exceptional storyteller. She connected with the audience in that rare way of making everyone in the room feel like she was speaking to them directly, taking them on her journey through the highs and lows of leadership, and life. Her story is a rollercoaster of emotions that reflects the true nature of leadership in all its forms, and will leave you feeling moved, inspired and uplifted." - Jennifer, Chief Executive, Nothern Health & Social Care Trust
“Marie delivered a very powerful speech to our Executive Institute members. Our membership community is mainly made up of Senior Executives from Ireland’s leading companies. Their feedback for Marie’s session was excellent giving the content a 9.8 out of 10 feedback score. We look forward to working with Marie in the future and are very confident recommending her as a speaker” - David, Marketing & Communications Director, Executive Institute
“When it came to finding the right person to address Irish primary school leaders on the conference theme ‘Leading with Purpose’, there was unanimous agreement that Marie Gleeson would fit the bill. Marie listened to our brief very carefully and delivered compelling and personal input on resilience, trust, empathy, mental toughness and the need to sustain yourself through your leadership journey. It’s rare that our audience responds with a standing ovation. Her message clearly resonated strongly with the 950+ principals present. Marie deserved every second of the applause and the accolades that followed.” - Páiric, CEO, Irish Primary Principals Network
“We had the pleasure of having Marie speak to our teams at Trigon Hotels as part of our Data Bites programme. Marie is uplifting, inspiring and motivational. She has a unique and powerful story and she tells that story in a way that captures an audience. Whilst the story is unique, it had the ability to resonate with a broad group of people in different ways. Marie’s experience in leadership and team engagement connected strongly with our own team while also having a very human side that gave a real sense of balance. I would highly recommend Marie as she has such an energetic and positive disposition and really is a pleasure to listen to” - Aaron, Managing Director, Trigon Hotel Group
“Marie was one of the keynote speakers at our Microsoft Ireland International Women’s Day event. To say that she captivated the room would be an understatement! She is a very inspiring speaker with an amazing story to tell. She connected her story to our theme of equality and the feedback from attendees was excellent. I would highly recommend Marie, she was a pleasure to deal with in the planning stages of the event and delivered a fantastic event for us” - Eimear, Senior Manager, Microsoft Business Operations
- 2024 – Senior Advisor, BTAS Advisory Services
- 2024 – Invited to speak at the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals
- 2022 – Keynote speaker at the Pendulum Summit
- 2022 – Director of Leadership & Human Performance, Ingenium
- 2021 – Chief Strategy Officer, Cognate Health
- 2020 – Non-Executive Director, Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency
- 2019 – Senior Associate Consultant, Ingenium
- 2019 – Leadership Consultant & Coach, NavMar Leadership
- 2018 – Director of Strategic Planning Cell, Irish Naval Service
- 2017 – Director HR Section, Irish Naval Service
- 2015 – Director of Logistics Section, Irish Naval Service
- 2013 – Commanding Officer, Irish Naval Service
- 2012 – Director of Shore Operations, Irish Naval Service
- 2004 – Navigation Officer, Irish Naval Service
- 1998 – Cadet, Irish Naval Service
