May 4, 2026 Submitted By Notre Dame Academy, Hingham
Deirdre Nectow, a graduate of Notre Academy’s Class of 1978, will deliver the school’s 173rd commencement on May 21, 2026.
An alumna, and vice chair of NDA’s board of directors, Deirdre Nectow’s connection to the school began in high school and has remained strong well after graduation.
After graduating from NDA, Deirdre earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics and math from Mount Holyoke College. She also received an MBA from University of Chicago with a concentration in finance, marketing, and accounting.
Now retired, Deirdre Nectow was most recently a partner and head of global business development and strategic marketing for Cambridge Associates, a global investment firm that works with pension plans, endowments & foundations, healthcare systems, and private clients.
With over 40 years of experience in financial services, Deirdre’s career spanned a period of continuous change in the industry. She credits NDA, and the Hallmarks of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, for the foundation which has grounded her. She notes, “I left NDA well prepared for college and for a career, with a sense of confidence that I had something to offer to the world and that I could and should make a positive difference in other people’s lives.”
The experience of an all-girls education at NDA and Mount Holyoke College served her well as a leader in a male-dominated industry. “When I look around at the most successful women in financial services,” she explains, “there is a common trait that shows up in most. Women who have had a single-sex education exude more confidence and find their voice more easily in executive board rooms and most business situations.”
Deirdre lives out NDA’s belief in a well-rounded life of learning with a commitment to service. In addition to her work on behalf of NDA, she is longstanding supporter of the arts and is currently Chair of the Foundation Board which supports Mass College of Art. She also serves on Mount Holyoke’s Art Museum Advisory Board.
Deirdre and her husband Barry, live in the Boston area. They have two adult children, Abigail Nectow Boudreaux and Charles Nectow.