An accomplished business consultant and former officer in the United States Navy, Maxwell Mulholland draws upon more than three decades of cumulative experience in both the public and private sectors to excel in his role as President of M+M Strategic Enterprises LLC, a management consulting firm located in Winthrop, Massachusetts. Outside of his professional life, Maxwell Mulholland is an active member of the community who also serves as an Overseer at the USS Constitution Museum.
Located today in Boston's historic Naval Yard, the USS Constitution Museum is dedicated to the most famous sailing frigate in American history and one of the oldest still-existing warships in the world. Commissioned by George Washington in 1794 and launched by John Adams in 1797, the USS Constitution served the U.S. Navy well in numerous conflicts while earning the nickname “Old Ironsides.”
The “Old Ironsides” nickname originated during the War of 1812, when the warship engaged an equivalent enemy frigate, the HMS Guerriere of Britain’s superb Royal Navy. During a fierce battle off the coast of Massachusetts, British sailors shot multiple cannonballs at the USS Constitution, only to watch helplessly as they bounced off the ship’s sturdy oak sides. The phenomenon prompted an American sailor to declare that the USS Constitution’s sides must be made of iron.
The nickname further entered American lore in the 1840s, when the Navy proposed scrapping the USS Constitution. However, the publication of Oliver Wendell Holmes’ famous poem “Old Ironsides,” coupled with support from prominent U.S. military heroes, prompted a public outcry that convinced the Navy to retain and restore the ship.
