Mary T. McDowell (born 1964) is an American technology executive. From 2019-2021, she was CEO of

Mitel Mitel Networks Corporation is a Canadian telecommunications company. The company previously produced TDM PBX systems and applications, but after a change in ownership in 2001, now focuses almost entirely on Voice-over-IP (VoIP) products. Mitel ...

, a global business communications provider. Prior to that, McDowell was CEO for

Polycom Poly, formerly Polycom, a part of HP Inc., is an American multinational corporation that develops video, voice and content collaboration and communication technology. Polycom was co-founded in 1990 by Brian L Hinman and Jeffrey Rodman. In 2018 P ...

from 2016 until its sale to

Plantronics Plantronics, Inc. is an American electronics company — branded Poly to reflect its dual Plantronics and Polycom heritage — producing audio communications equipment for business and consumers. Its products support unified communications, mob ...

in 2018. While at Polycom, she led a strategic pivot to open ecosystems and bought Obihai to strengthen the company’s phone and cloud products. She is on the boards of

Autodesk Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquartered ...

and

Informa plc Informa plc is a British publishing, business intelligence, and exhibitions group based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has offices in 43 countries and around 11,00 ...

. At Nokia she was in charge of its mobile phone division and oversaw the introduction of

Nokia Asha The Nokia Asha series was a range of low-end feature phones and smartphones produced and marketed by Nokia. The name "Asha" came from the Hindi word meaning "hope". On 3 September 2013, Microsoft announced its purchase of Nokia's mobile devic ...

feature phones,

Nokia Life Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...

Tools, and

Nokia Money Microsoft mobile services are a set of proprietary mobile services created specifically for mobile devices, they are typically offered through mobile applications and mobile browser for Windows Phone, (operating system), platforms, BREW, and ...

. Before Nokia, she worked at

Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...

Hewlett Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

from 1986 to 2003, where she was at one point in charge of its server division. In 2012 she was described as one of ten "disruptive individuals" reshaping the mobile phone industry. In 2018, she was recognized as one of the top 10 women in

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Engineering.

Personal life

McDowell is married to Kevin Longgino, the CEO of the

National Kidney Foundation The National Kidney Foundation, Inc. (NKF) is a voluntary health organization in the United States, headquartered in New York City, with over 30 local offices across the country. Its mission is to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, impr ...

Awards

*''Distinguished Alumni Award'' 2011 *''World Master of Innovation'' 2009 *''Top 10 Women in Wireless'' 2008 *''Top 20 Women in Technology'' 2000Note: from the Association of Women in Computing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDowell, Mary T. American telecommunications industry businesspeople Nokia people 1964 births Living people Businesspeople from Chicago Grainger College of Engineering alumni Hewlett-Packard people American women chief executives