Alice Maria Murphy, for the last year and a half, has been interacting with the wealthy and distinguished folks of Beverly Hills during her tenure as the chief of digital marketing at O’Gara Coach, a California-based high-end vehicle group. The client base of the company includes an array of Hollywood celebrities, and the vehicles on offer are sourced from high-end brands such as Lamborghini, McLaren, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin and Bugatti.
Murphy’s educational background includes a commerce degree with Chinese from UCD, and she embarked on her career in 2012 with the Irish Distillers International Graduate Programme right after university. Her initial role entailed representing the Jameson whiskey brand in Cyprus.
Her career path subsequently took her to Shanghai, where she took on the responsibility of Jameson and Absolut vodka for four years. She extensively travelled across Asia – an experience she describes as akin to mixing work with vacation.
In 2017, Murphy relocated to New York to assume the role of consumer experience and digital manager with Pernod Ricard USA. By the time she exited the beverages industry in 2022 to join O’Gara Coach, she had climbed the corporate ladder to become the group’s senior manager of market activation for North America.
Murphy asserts that her decision to leave Ireland was underpinned by a sense of adventure. She always harbored the aspiration to explore new places and desired a job that allowed her travel and cultural immersion. As her career trajectory took her to new destinations, she embraced it. Consequently, she chose the uncertainty and excitement of living abroad over a predictable life in Ireland, as she found vast opportunities and novel roles that weren’t available back home.
Murphy is ambitious and has a distinct vision for her professional future. In line with this, she recently exited her role with O’Gara Coach to enter the luxury brand consulting space. Although she plans to remain in LA, she will divide her time between LA and New York, aiming to include high-end fashion labels in her portfolio that currently carries a premium Irish whiskey and a deluxe Swiss watchmaker.
“She has long desired to venture into a realm of her own,” she professes. “ I’ve accumulated the necessary experience and am now energetically fuelled with distinct ideas.”
Murphy takes pleasure in her American life, however, she acknowledges the inequality accompanying the wealth and success she witnesses.
Murphy partially agrees with the concept of infinite possibilities, although she hasn’t fully embraced the ‘American Dream’. “It is imperative to comprehend that this concept doesn’t ensure success and its surrounding capitalist narrative has made it inaccessible for everyone,” she explains.
Admitting that life in America has its own appeal of opportunity, she recognises the openness in career possibilities. “Being ambitious, I’m against limiting myself. I thrive under this competitive atmosphere and find it motivating,” she says.
Although Murphy is no stranger to strenuous work, she admits that the fast-paced US work atmosphere can be overly demanding at times.
“It does feel as though work can infringe on one’s personal life because, here in America, the two often merge. Paid leaves are a cherished commodity, and colleagues perceive you as a foreign entity when you express the need for an extended break,” Murphy adds.
“The office environment lacks a bit of fun and Irish employees are often appreciated for their ability to liven up the office culture. Being away, I miss the spontaneous fun that is imbued in everyday life back home,“ she expresses.
“I recall actor Cillian Murphy commenting recently on the empathetic nature of the Irish, a sentiment which I wholly agree with. Returning home and engaging in effortless conversations, irrespective of the context, is something I relish.”
“Although I feel disconnected from the continuous evolution of Irish culture, being overseas for nearly a dozen years now, I am extremely proud witnessing modern Irish culture thriving from afar.” She adds, “A case in point being an increased emphasis on the Irish language in contemporary culture; although it’s satisfying witnessing these advancements in Ireland, an undercurrent of melancholy for being detached from its progress persists.”
Murphy is a resident of central Los Angeles, and her pastimes, when work does not consume her, encompass travelling and maintaining contact with her global network of friends, forged over the past ten years. Murphy, an ardent home cook and hostess, spent four years residing in Shanghai. This experience influenced her to compile a range of authentic Chinese recipes in her cooking files.
Murphy notes, “Living close to all the glamour in Beverly Hills has its allure, but I am not obsessed with fitness. Rather, I focus on a balanced lifestyle, which includes a nourishing diet, adequate rest, and regular sleep. I was raised in Dalkey and feel a deep connection with the ocean as a result. Hence, I try to escape to Santa Monica beach whenever I am able.”