Loyola Planted the Seeds Rob MacKay ’84 and the Jesuit Refugee Service

Loyola Planted the Seeds: Rob MacKay ’84 and the Jesuit Refugee Service By Jim Muyo

THOUGH SEEDS MAY often take a while to take root, we may have a new record of longevity in the case of Rob MacKay ’84 and Fr. Tom Smolich, SJ. The two first met in 1980 during Rob’s freshman year at Loyola, the year that happened to be thenMr. Smolich’s first year teaching English following studies at LMU and Fordham University as a Jesuit scholastic.

What grew from that first encounter is a 42-year relationship that is still growing strong and that has placed Mr. MacKay on the Administrative Council of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), a worldwide Jesuit ministry that last year served nearly one million refugees.

What makes this story more intriguing is Mr. MacKay’s initial reluctance to accept what is turning into an eight-year appointment on the Council, the body that reviews, approves and helps to shape JRS’ outreach and support of refugees in more than 50 countries worldwide.

When Fr. Smolich first approached Mr. MacKay about sitting on the Council in 2015, Mr. MacKay was well entrenched in a remarkable corporate career that took him from KPMG, Mercedes-Benz Leasing Mexico, PepsiCo and S&P Global. Duties in these C-suite positions had him living in Mexico, Texas and finally in Manhattan when Fr. Smolich, Mr. MacKay and his wife, Aida, got together for one of the many dinners that they shared since their days at Loyola.

“I told Tom I’d think about it,” Mr. MacKay said. “On the way home, my wife asked why didn’t I just say yes.” But, Mr. MacKay had reservations. His corporate responsibilities were taking an enormous amount of time, and he had just been named interim CFO of S&P. Still, he did not want to be the one to say no to Fr. Smolich. “So, I asked my bosses at S&P. They were very supportive and said that this was important work and they would accommodate whatever I needed in terms of time.”

With the pathway to participation available, Mr. MacKay agreed to join JRS’ Administrative Council. He is finishing his second, three-year term and is staying on for two more years to complete some complex projects already in the works for JRS.

As they stayed in contact over the years, Fr. Smolich also admired Mr. MacKay’s career more and more, his leadership duties and decision making for major corporations. “He’s been a great board member because he asks the right questions. He’s been really helpful in how we figure out budgeting. We’ve done a lot of institutional strengthening in areas of financial management.”

Fr. Smolich added that Mr. MacKay has helped to plan for future investments in programming and the sustainability of that programming, much of which is determined by the shifting landscape of the needs of the world’s refugees.

For Mr. MacKay, the work is rewarding, and he plans to remain active in doing work in supporting the underserved even after his final two years at JRS. But, he traces his involvement back to his Loyola roots.

“The Jesuits are great at planting seeds,” Mr. MacKay says. “You hear so much the motto, ‘Men for Others,’ and it’s something that is so well ingrained from the moment you walk onto the Loyola campus to the moment you leave. You really live it.”

Fr. Smolich, second row, first from the left; and Rob MacKay, second row, fifth from the left at the May 2022 joint Board and Senior Leadership meeting in Rome with Fr. General on the roof of the Jesuit Curia.

JRS: On the Ground Serving Refugees Around the Globe

In 2021, JRS provided services to 999,518 people in 57 countries, spending $80 million to carry out its important work. No wonder the organization turns to seasoned professionals such as Rob MacKay ’84, who are trained in the art of creating and managing budgets as well as resources on a sustained basis to serve displaced people in need. The JRS staff, which includes volunteers, interns, religious and refugees that have taken on positions within the organization, numbers 8,871. JRS services include education, health care, protection, advocacy, pastoral care and emergency assistance as well as mental health and psychological support. Fifty-five percent of people served last year were women and girls.