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Alumni Success Stories

Mary Pat Ryan ’78

Mary Pat Ryan ’78 made a mistake when she applied to Holy Cross. As Ryan laughingly explains, she was so swept up in the beauty of the campus that she neglected to notice that Holy Cross did not offer her intended major, marketing. Instead, she chose economics and went on to become a top marketing executive in new media entertainment.

Today, Ryan is executive vice president, subscriber sales and operations, at SIRIUS Satellite Radio. “There’s so much excitement as this medium really takes off,” she says. “My job is to ensure a great listening experience for our customers. That requires providing content people want and refining the technology so that it is affordable and easy to use.” She has been doing her job well – during her first 3 years, SIRIUS grew from a virtual unknown to a major national brand with over 3 million subscribers.

After starting her career in the marketing department of a publishing company, Ryan held key marketing roles working with HBO, DirectTV, and IMAX films. “Understanding consumer behavior is my passion,” she observes. “Throughout my career, although the delivery channel has changed repeatedly, my focus has always been the management of content for consumers, giving them more choice and satisfaction.” Ryan loves how marketing allows her to “use both parts of my brain because it combines financial discipline and creativity.”