“Mariana is a true customer experience innovation leader. As Bruce Temkin notes, customer experience (CX) is highly correlated with loyalty. While any company can improve portions of its customer experience, it takes more than a few superficial changes to create lasting differentiation. To become a customer experience leader, an organization must first create a customer-centric culture by mastering four customer experience core competencies 1) Purposeful Leadership, 2) Compelling value, 3) Employee engagement across the organization, 4) Customer connectedness infused by data/insight across the organization. Mariana did all this strategically and tactically by listening to customers through social media app store ratings and creating compelling feedback loops to drive technology and product improvements, tear down the silos, and make sure there was a unified message on what's most important to the customer. She is also very comfortable with technology and knows how to galvanize the team to use technology to solve system problems. She also managed $30M of capital expenses to ensure we prioritized top customer-facing issues. Her hunger to do the right thing and her insatiable curiosity and obsession with serving customers with excellence make her a leader in technology, media, communications, or a company with an extensive international footprint. Mariana is not only an amazing customer and consumer experience leader, but she is a character individual and will make anyone better simply by being around her. I would highly recommend Mariana to your leadership team. It's been an honor to serve alongside her these last five years.”
Mariana Saddakni
★ Strategic AI Partner | Accelerating Businesses with Artificial Intelligence Transformation & Integration | Advisor, Tech & Ops Roadmaps + Change Management | CEO Advisor on AI-Led Growth ★
New York City Metropolitan Area
5K followers
500+ connections
About
I don’t just talk AI. I build the roadmap, get people aligned, and lead transformation from the inside.
I specialize in helping organizations evolve fast. Whether you're a Fortune 50 fintech or a scaling company, I step in when complexity is high, time is short, and success can't be optional.
Right now, I’m leading platform adoption across 300+ internal apps at a Fortune 50 fintech. I'm reshaping how 300,000+ employees interact with digital tools to get work done. The impact? Faster delivery, better experience, and measurable business value.
When leaders bring me in, they’re not looking for a deck. They’re looking for a partner who can turn vision into results.
Here’s how I help organizations evolve:
• ACCELERATE TRANSFORMATION
I define and execute strategy at scale across product, design, engineering, and change.
• DRIVE AI ADOPTION
I align AI with business goals and help teams actually use it, not just pilot it.
• FIX WHAT'S BROKEN
I identify friction in platforms, processes, or culture and lead the fix.
• UNIFY TEAMS
I create shared purpose across silos so work moves forward, fast.
• DELIVER OUTCOMES
I measure what matters—engagement, adoption, ROI—and tie it to executive priorities.
WHY IT WORKS
I’ve been inside. I know how to navigate resistance, shift culture, and make new systems actually stick.
I don’t overcomplicate. I clarify.
And I don’t leave until the work is delivered.
>> If you're leading big change and need someone who makes it real, I’m the partner who gets it done.
Activity
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📚✨ Who doesn't like new beginnings? Excited to kick off the new school year at Columbia University School of Professional Studies. And, for the…
📚✨ Who doesn't like new beginnings? Excited to kick off the new school year at Columbia University School of Professional Studies. And, for the…
Liked by Mariana Saddakni
Experience
Education
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Parsons School of Design - The New School
Master of Fine Arts - MFA Media & Technology
The MFA Design and Technology program provides a dynamic, challenging, and idea-driven environment in which to address the influence of creative practice on society. This program approaches technology with a critical eye, understanding the ever-present impact that computational technologies have on our lives. Areas of practice include wearable technology, game design, new media art, digital fabrication, physical computing, interaction design, data visualization, and critical design.
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Licenses & Certifications
Volunteer Experience
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Member
Chief
- Present 4 years 8 months
Economic Empowerment
Chief is a leadership network for women executives — created to unite women in power, cross-pollinate ideas and effect change from the top down.
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Board Member
SocialMedia.org
- Present 7 years 8 months
Social Services
SocialMedia.org is the community for social media leaders at the world’s greatest brands. As a Board Member, I represent our company in high-level, confidential discussions with other senior leaders at major organizations.
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Co-President DIRECTV NY Chapter
DIRECTV NY Chapter of Women’s Leadership Exchange
- 1 year 1 month
Civil Rights and Social Action
Started and Co-President of the DIRECTV NY Chapter of Women’s Leadership Exchange, an employee resource group supporting women’s career development and enrichment.
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Director of Operations
WOMEN IN TECH - Global Movement
- Present 2 years 8 months
Science and Technology
Skills
Courses
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Coaching and Leadership Essentials
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DESIGN THINKING – Innovation Tools & Process – Luma Institute
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LEADING FOR ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT - Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)
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NextDesign Leadership Training Institute - Understanding Cross-Disciplinary Innovation
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NextDesign Leadership Training Institute – Visual SenseMaking
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Honors & Awards
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I.D. Magazine Interactive Media Design Review
I.D. Magazine
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IDEA – Industrial Design Excellence Awards (featured in BusinessWeek Magazine)
IDEA
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THE ONE SHOW DIGITAL MARKETING
The One Club for Creativity
The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising, design and digital marketing. For over 40 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has had a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.
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YOUNG GUNS
The One Club for Creativity
Winner of YG Award selected among 32 talented creatives globally celebrating creative professionals age 30 or younger. The Young Guns is the industry’s only global, cross-disciplinary, portfolio-based awards competition that identifies and celebrates today’s vanguard of young creatives.
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eHealthcare Leadership Awards
eHealthcare Leadership
Received 15 Major Awards for creation of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Web presence.
Languages
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Spanish
Native or bilingual proficiency
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English
Native or bilingual proficiency
Organizations
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One World Leadership
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- PresentThe Institute of One World Leadership® is The World's Leadership Institute®, developing Leaders with Positive Values in 119 countries across the world.
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Women in Tech® Global
Director
- PresentWomen in Tech is the world’s leading organization for Inclusion, Diversity & Equity in STEAM. Our community counts over 200.000 members across the world with chapters in all 6 continents. With our Head Office in Paris, we are a Global Movement with chapters on 6 continents, counting over 200.000 members.
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Chief
Member NYC Chapter
- PresentWomen have always been powerful. We’re not waiting for a seat at the table — we're building our own.
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The One Club For Creativity
Juror – Member
- PresentSupporting & celebrating the global creative community | One Show / ADC Awards / Young Ones / Young Guns / ONE School +
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WIN: Women in Innovation
Member
- PresentWomen in Innovation is a non-profit that exists to inspire and advance women as change-makers and leading voices in innovation, with a presence in New York City, London, and San Francisco.
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SocialMedia.org
Board Member
- PresentThe community for people leading social media at the world's biggest companies.
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