People have, and always will be, at the heart of our organisation, says Kyndryl’s global CMO.
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Maria Bartolome Winans, Global CMO of Kyndryl, is a rare combination of business acumen and artistic flair.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in business and arts and knows how to balance them in her life. When the pressure of work gets too much, she turns to painting as a way of calming her nerves and unleashing her creativity.
She is also a personal trainer and enjoys challenging herself with kickboxing, TRX, and Russian kettlebells.
In a career spanning close to three decades, she has never been afraid to take risks and is always curious and eager to seize the chances that come her way.
“I had an incredible opportunity to be part of one of the largest spinoffs in the technology industry and that was taking IBM’s managed infrastructure services business and creating an independent company,” Maria says.
She joined Kyndryl after a 29-year career at IBM, where she held various leadership roles in marketing, communications, and sales. What attracted her to Kyndryl was the opportunity to take an important business and redefine it with a startup mindset.
Kyndryl started operations with around 90,000 employees, US$19 billion in annual revenue, and operations in over 60 countries.
“People have, and always will be, at the heart of Kyndryl. We don’t sell products, hardware, or software. We sell the expertise of our people,” she says.
The meaning behind Kyndryl
One of the first challenges that Maria faced as the CMO was to come up with a name for the company.
“Naming a product or a brand is hard, especially when you are planning to name a company that has thousands of customers and employees,” Maria says.
The team wanted a name that was different, memorable and meaningful, and one that reflected the new company’s values and vision.
“The “kin” stands for kinship. It’s all about relationships. It is about the trust that we built with our customers, our employees, and the way we work. The second part, “dryl”, is taken from the word tendril – it is about continuous growth. This is how we became Kyndryl,” Maria says.
Putting people first
Maria says that one of her main priorities was to make sure that everyone felt part of the new company and had a voice. The intent was to create a work culture of empowerment, engagement, and inclusion for the 90,000 people.
“We used social media platforms to create a voice for our people who shared their excitement on these platforms. We celebrated the launch of Kyndryl by planting 90,000 trees for each of our employees worldwide. This signaled that each employee was a root of the company. Our tagline “The heart of progress,” means that we want to humanize our brand and listen to customers before anything else,” Maria says.
Embracing diversity and inclusion
Maria was born in Chile and raised in Santiago by her Chilean mother and Spanish father. She then immigrated to the United States and has experienced being different and standing up for herself and having a voice.
Diversity and inclusion are very important to her personally and professionally.
“My definition of diversity and inclusion is simple: Diversity is being invited to a dance; inclusion is being asked to dance. To me, the inclusion piece is important. How do we ensure that we have everybody’s voices heard and have a forum where they can express themselves,” Maria says.
She says that diversity and inclusion also create stronger brands, because they bring different perspectives, experiences and ideas to the table.
The MOMA philosophy
Maria says that she always faces challenges with optimism and enthusiasm. Often she gets asked what keeps her up at night, and her answer always has been “What gets me up in the morning.”
“My only Obstacle is My Attitude (MOMA). This is the philosophy I believe in. We always encounter challenges, but we need to face these challenges with optimism,” Maria says.
She explains that being the Global CMO of Kyndryl is uncomfortable because rebuilding a US$19 billion company with thousands of people is a huge challenge, but also an incredible opportunity.
Her advice to anyone who wants to pursue a career in marketing is to be curious, courageous, and creative.
“Marketing is a dynamic and evolving field, and one needs to constantly learn, adapt and innovate. It is a team sport, and one needs to collaborate, communicate and co-create with others,” Maria says.
Q. When faced with a new challenge, where or who do you turn to for trusted information or advice?
Maria: It depends. If there is a personal challenge, my father is the first one that I call when I need motivation. He is the most optimistic person.
On the professional front, I trust my team for advice. They are extremely skilled. When we face problems, we lean in together. I have always empowered my team to make their decisions.
Q. Have you made a poor and regressive marketing decision?
Maria: Many, but I have always learnt from them. Many people have asked me if I am afraid of taking risks. I am not afraid of taking a risk. I am afraid of regret. The worst that can happen when you take a risk is that you can learn. I have taken many risks in my career. Moving to Kyndryl was one of them, and it has been an incredible experience.
Q. What would be your advice to CMOs?
Maria: The power of choice has been super important in my career, and it has guided me. While I chose to be a CMO, I also chose to be a mother. Always choose people that motivate and inspire you and then you can build a team that always keeps “people first.”
(The article is basis a conversation that I had with Maria Bartolome Winans during the recently concluded The Economic Times Most Promising Tech Marketers Awards 2023)
