A Taylor native who graduated from Harvard University and found worldwide success in the business world has returned to the city as executive director of golf, parks and recreation.

Michael O’Malley, a three-sport star at John F. Kennedy High School in Taylor who went on to captain the Harvard baseball team and pitch in two College World Series, began his new assignment on September 29.

O’Malley, 56, succeeds Bonnie Cowell, who recently accepted a position in the administration of U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell.

“I am thrilled to be coming back as a public servant in my hometown,” O’Malley said.

Taylor Mayor Cameron G. Priebe said O’Malley is known and respected for his strong, personal leadership skills and should be a great fit in the city administration.

“Mike’s roots are in Taylor, he has always been a Taylor booster and he has strong ties in the community,” Mayor Priebe said. “I look forward to working with him on projects that benefit our residents and move our city forward.”

The O’Malley family is well known in Taylor and Michael’s mother and several siblings still live in the city.

In his younger days in Taylor, O’Malley excelled academically, earned nine varsity letters and captained the football, basketball and baseball teams his senior year at Kennedy High.

When he was inducted into the Taylor Sports and Recreation Hall of Fame in 2000, he also was recognized for his years at Harvard, where played varsity baseball for three years and graduated with honors in 1974.

O’Malley returns to Taylor following his retirement after a successful 30-year career in the automotive and marketing industries in which he held high-ranking leadership positions at General Motors, J. Walter Thompson and Omnicom/PHD.

O’Malley served as general manager of GM’s Cadillac Division, leading and engineering the resurgence of the Cadillac brand. He also served as general manager of GM’s North Central Region and co-led the unprecedented and successful reorganization of GM’s U.S. sales and marketing organization.

After that, he served as president of J. Walter Thompson, leading the 800-employee Detroit and Houston offices as well as all Ford Division marketing and advertising worldwide.

Most recently, O’Malley served as president of the Detroit and Chicago offices of Omnicom/PHD, one of the top media services companies in the world.

O’Malley’s experience in the automotive industry began long before his corporate positions. As the son of an automotive retail professional, he cut his teeth in dealerships, working in many capacities during his school days. He also sold new and used cars at dealerships in Michigan and Ohio.

Before his corporate automobile career, he taught western civilization history and math at McDonogh School in Baltimore, where he earned a State of Maryland teaching certificate at Johns Hopkins University.

O’Malley is married and the father of six daughters. After graduating from Harvard, he earned a Master of Business Administration graduate degree, with a concentration in finance, from the University of Detroit.