Maria is CEO of Syndio, the pioneer in AI-native solutions like Intelligent Pay that helps the world’s best employers hire smarter, spend less, and retain talent with fair, real-time pay recommendations. Prior to Syndio, she co-founded Smartsheet.com, which went public in 2018, and spent four years at Starbucks, one of the first Fortune 50 companies to go public with pay equity results. (For European audiences) She continues to lead the way today, guiding Syndio to help multinational companies meet evolving pay transparency regulations while building smarter, more equitable systems for pay and advancement.

Maria’s leadership and expertise on purpose driven technology has received wide recognition, and she’s been named one of the 100 most exceptional entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs Builders + Innovators Summit for two consecutive years. A total shoo-in for the musical, Hamilton, she holds a BA in History and Political Science from Whitworth University, where she minored in music and studied vocal opera.

A competitive Hyrox athlete who started her career working on congressional campaigns, she is no stranger to the compassionate and competitive attitude needed to spur change. When she's not running races or Syndio, you can find her spending time with her husband and seven kids.