Maryam Banikarim is the global Chief Marketing Officer at Hyatt Hotels Corporation where she is responsible for helping Hyatt become the most preferred hospitality brand – driving loyalty and community among high end travelers with a portfolio of twelve global brand experiences. Known for her boundless curiosity, ability to build dynamic teams and forge powerful partnerships, she is a force for change.
Most recently she was the first Chief Marketing Officer at the Gannett Company, responsible for national sales, company-wide marketing, communications and research. Prior to Gannett, she was senior vice president at NBC Universal and chief marketing officer for Univision Communications, Inc. Before that, Maryam founded a strategy firm, consulting for such clients as Deutsche Bank, Bacardi and Time-Warner. She also worked at Turner Broadcasting, MacMillan Publishing, and was a lead team member for the launch of CitySearch, an early Internet start-up. Maryam began her career in account management at Young & Rubicam.
Her achievements have been widely recognized:, The New York Post’s “50 Most Powerful Women in NYC,” Fast Company’s “Fast Fifty” list of corporate trailblazers and trendsetters, Fast Company’s “Top 10 Disrupters,” Crain’s New York Business and Advertising Age’s “40 under 40,” Advertising Age’s “Women to Watch,” Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business 1000,” Adweek’s “Changing the Game” list of advertising women of New York, as a 2015 Brand Innovator. Additionally, she is recognized as a Woman of Distinction by the League of Women Voters of the City of New York and was honored by the Girl Scouts Council of Greater New York.
She serves on the boards of The Association of National Advertisers, Reporters Without Borders, Columbia University’s Alumni Association, and Advertising Week. She is also a member of The Chicago Network. Maryam earned both her MBA and Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University, and received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College, where she was a Harry S. Truman scholar. Maryam resides in Chicago with her husband, two teenage children and their dog Charlie.