Aedhmar Hynes acknowledges that the subjects she picked for her studies in University College Galway (now University of Galway) in the mid-1980s have served her well. English, economics and, later, international marketing all proved solid foundations for a global career in corporate communications. Storytelling, she adds, is a passion, one she shares with her sister, Garry, co-founder of Druid theatre company.
Aedhmar’s storytelling capabilities have supported a three-decade career working for and subsequently leading a global public relations firm. She has stepped back from this role in recent years but continues to serve on multiple business and boards of not-for-profits from her base in the US.
Following college, Hynes arrived in London and joined a fledgling PR firm called Text 100, run by two young and ambitious executives, Mark Adams and Tom Lewis. The firm, she says, was “tiny but had huge ambitions”.
Text 100 focused on the technology sector, which was undergoing a boom at the time. US companies were increasingly looking to expand globally, with Europe a key focus.
“We got Bill Gates and Microsoft as an early client,” she says. “It was a time when the greatest mavericks of the technology era were coming of age. I had the opportunity to work with technology companies that were trying to navigate the complexities of culture across Europe, and we expanded on the back of this, including setting up an office in Dublin.”
Technology was seen as the new “rock’n’roll” with multimillion dollar launches, and business boomed. Text 100 floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1997.
When the firm decided to set its sights on the US, by establishing an office in Silicon Valley, Hynes “put her hand up” for the job. “I was a young Irish woman setting up a business in the US, never having done it before, but I received extraordinary support. The market opportunity was huge and allowed me to build a business way faster than I would have perhaps anywhere else in the world.
When the dot-com bubble bust, we were in a position to acquire competitors who had leveraged too much on the equity rather than taking cash
Hynes tapped in to the US culture of embracing risk. “There isn’t the same sense that if you fail, you can’t reinvent yourself. You totally can. I’ve benefited hugely from that.”
The market was competitive and more developed than the UK so she recognised the firm needed a differentiator.
“I realised that taking a strategic approach to communications was going to be our most powerful asset. Who you knew at that time was more important than what you knew, and I didn’t come with that Rolodex.
“Our pitch to CEOs was that we would differentiate them from their competitors and take them into different markets. It struck a chord and we landed significant clients.”
One of the more exciting projects for her was working for the Xerox-funded Palo Alto Research Center (Parc). “This was where Steve Jobs and Bill Gates had explored the graphic user interface. So much innovation had come originally from there and getting the opportunity to work with the research centre was extraordinary for me.”
Hynes went on to establish five US offices, but necessity meant she didn’t lose the run of herself in the dot-com bubble.
“At that time, there was always the temptation to [seek] stock rather than fees. Doing a business start-up, I couldn’t afford this. I needed fees to pay salaries and hire new staff. Ultimately, that meant that when the dot-com bubble bust, we were in a position to acquire competitors who had leveraged too much on the equity rather than taking cash.”
Hynes went on to lead the company globally. “I set about making us one global agency with a common technology platform, common training and methodologies. If you hired us in New York or Delhi, you got the same approach.”
I thought my children would have huge opportunities here both educationally and socially, but I also wanted them to feel rooted in Ireland
By the time she stepped down in 2018, the firm employed 800 people and had 28 global offices.
Hynes has kept busy since serving on the boards of companies such as Rosetta Stone, IP Group plc, Technoserve and the advisory council of MIT Media Labs, among others. She is also a long-time board member of the National University of Ireland, Galway.
She has enjoyed living in the US for more than 25 years, where she has raised a family of four children.
“I purposely decided to stay when I was raising a family. I thought my children would have huge opportunities here both educationally and socially, but I also wanted them to feel rooted in Ireland, so we spent a lot of time going back and forth.”
One of the big differences between Ireland and the US is the sense of humour.
“In the early days I found myself apologising a lot for my humour, as in Ireland we are inclined to be somewhat sarcastic. There is also more of a ‘drop-in’ culture – perhaps it’s the pub culture – where you will always find someone you know. The US is a lot more about planning.”
Her family enjoy the lifestyle Connecticut has to offer, and Hynes has taken advantage of her more flexible schedule in recent years to improve her game of golf.
“The thread in my work is still technology and the disruption of technology but I’ve loved the flexibility in terms of my time. It’s the first time in 30 years that I have not been combining running a company and raising four children.”
Hynes has also acquired a second home in the Long Walk in Claddagh in Galway.
“Now that we have a home there, I find the children wanting to take their friends, enjoying playing a round of golf, fantastic food and culture and freedom that in a way they don’t have here.”
