7945_36-39_270809.qxd:36-39 20/08/2009 16:36 Page 36
GETTING AHEAD
‘The days of joining a big company and letting them manage your
career for you and your talent development are more or less gone’
E
DWARDTReillyhasenjoyedahighlysuccessfuland
richly varied career despite having worked for just
threeorganisationsinhis40-yearcareertodate,but
the president and chief executive officer of the
American Management Association (AMA) sees a
verydifferentworldtoday,whereindividualsmustbe
mindfulofmanaginganddevelopingtheircareersin
manydifferentorganisationsinordertorealisetheirfullpotential.
“Thedaysofjoiningabigcompanyandlettingthemmanage
yourcareerforyouandyourtalentdevelopmentaremoreorless
gone,”hesays.“Theremaybeahandfulofthosecompaniesleft–
maybeIBM,GE,PhilipsandSiemens–butmostnowhavean
elementofthevirtualorganisationabouttheminthattheybring
peopletogetherfordifferentreasons,aresuccessfulforawhile,
andmoveontodifferentthingsastheyneedthem.”
ReillyhimselfjoinedbroadcastandpublishinggroupMcGraw-
Hill straight out of college in the late Sixties. “I graduated on
SaturdayandwenttoworkthereonMonday,”hesays.Hespentthe
next30yearsthere,workinginarangeofitscompaniesinseveral
differentlocations.Hestartedoutasafinancetrainee,andworked
his way up to chief financial officer for an education-testing
company,whichmeantrelocatingtoCalifornia.Nextupwasthe
presidencyofasmalldivisionwithinthegroup,beforebecoming
managingdirectorofMcGraw-HillUKpublishingoperations.
“Ihadbythattimebecomewhatthecareeranalyserswouldcall
a‘crucialsubordinatetoanupwardlymobilesuperior’,”heexplains.
“Inotherwords,Iworkedforaguywhowasonhiswayupand
everytimehe’dgetbiggerresponsibilities,twoorthreeofuswould
allmoveandtakeovertheproblemchildren.Itgavemeanoppor-
tunitytobroadenmycareer,tothepointwhereIeventuallywent
li
w
li
A
ve
e
fe
d
ll
fromrunningMcGraw-HillUK,torunningEMEAandthenback
totheUnitedStatestorunMcGraw-HillInternational,theworld
job,fortwoyears.”
Therefolloweda10-yearstintaspresidentoftheMcGraw-Hill
BroadcastingCompany,beforeleavingthegroupin1995,whenhe
wasrecruitedtoheadupBigFlowersHoldings,anintegratedmar-
ketingandadvertisingservicesprovider.Duringhisfour-yearspellas
CEO,revenuesincreasedfromaroundUS$1bntonearlyUS$2bn.
Whenthecompanywassoldin1999,heoptedtoreturntothe
education business, this time heading up the not-for-profit
American Management Association (AMA). “So I joined here
Curiosity, openness to reasonable risk and the eightyearsagoandIprobablywillendmycareerhere,”hesays.
ability to embrace change are some of the
Reillybelievestoday’sgraduateswillhavetotakemorerespon-
sibilityfortheirowncareermanagement.“Companiesaremuch
ingredients for a successful and fulfilling career, lessstableandmuchlesshierarchicaltoday,sotheneedtomove
says Edward T Reilly, president of the American
from company to company is much greater. It’s now a much
moreinterestingbutmorechallengingcareerpaththatpeople
Management Association needtofollow.”
36 UCD BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60