Michael Gibbons was raised in St. John’s parish in the Bronx by immigrant parents. He attended Bishop Dubois H.S. and graduated from St. Francis College in Brooklyn in 1962. He also received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from St. Francis College in 2009.

After serving in the U.S. Navy, he had various sales positions until joining Estee Lauder in 1967 where he last served as Executive Vice President until his retirement. While at Estee Lauder, he also served as chairman of the international center in NYC, a private not-for-profit center that welcomes and assists new immigrants and refugees.

He is involved in several Irish-American organizations; is past president of the Ireland-U.S. Council for Commerce and Industry; has been a director of the American Ireland Fund, the Knights of St. Patrick, the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Foundation; and served on the U.S. Board of the Prime Minister of Ireland’s economic advisory council.

He was honored as the grand marshal of the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2009.

Mike and his wife, Cynthia, have four children and four grandchildren.