Maggie Timoney was a star basketball player at Iona College. A four-year standout for the Lady Gaels and a member of Iona’s Goal Club Hall of Fame, Maggie still ranks as the team’s all-time leading scorer with 1,894 career points.

As a freshman, Maggie was the 1986 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year. She then led the team in scoring in each of her next three years, averaging a program-best 16.6 points per game throughout her career. As a sophomore, she was named to the All-MAAC First Team after averaging 19.9 points a game. She also earned a spot on the conference’s Second Team during her junior year and ranks among the top five all-time in the Iona record book in half a dozen offensive categories, including ranking first in three-point field goal percentage and successful free throws.

After earning her undergraduate degree and then a master’s in business administration at Iona, Maggie entered the business world. She held sales positions, then strategic planning jobs and also distribution assignments for Heineken Ireland. She continuously moved higher within the company and, eventually, she was named CEO. She also has served as the managing director of Heineken Canada.

Maggie returned home last month when she was named CEO of Heineken USA in White Plains. She is the first woman CEO of a major U.S. beer company. According to the company’s president for its Americas region, Maggie understands the challenges and opportunities and she has the right mix of strategic vision, people leadership and grit to ignite future growth in the U.S. market.

Bet you a beer that all her skills can be traced to her basketball (and classroom) days at Iona.