HEATHER McGlinn Hansma is the head of strategy for the Internet and mobile group at Wells Fargo and Company, a diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores and 12,000 ATMs and the Internet across North America and internationally.

A native of Pennsylvania, McGlinn Hansma graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University, and later earned a MBA from Harvard Business School. 
A second generation Irish American, McGlinn Hansma traces her roots to Hollygrove, Co. Galway.  She traveled to Hollygrove as a youngster to meet her grandmother’s siblings, see where her grandmother grew up, and explore the dairy farm that is still in the family. She plans to take her children to Ireland when they get older.

Married with two daughters, McGlinn Hansma says of her Irish heritage, “I make sure that my daughters know that they are Irish and tell them that they have family still in Ireland who think of them as their American cousins.  As a kid, I would write nearly all my biography assignments on my Irish-born grandmother (Glennon) who was full of laughter, wisdom and a deep sense of what it means to be Irish American.  She always pushed us to take advantage of both homelands.

“One of the best parts of Irish culture is its strong literary heritage.  My mother valued these parts of her heritage and was a teacher and author. 

“When she died, we sponsored a writing prize in her honor.  It is the Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction through Philadelphia Stories.  My family welcomes all aspiring writers (Irish or not) to apply.”
 

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