Marketing Leadership · AI Strategy · Systems Thinking

I translate complexity into systems that scale.

15+ years building revenue-generating marketing operations across healthcare, insurance, technology, and government. Now bringing AI strategy to organizations that want to move faster without losing clarity.

Zynx Health (Hearst) Confie Seguros Healthcare AI Cohort Co-Lead TechWalk LA Co-Director IA Before AI 10 Countries · 5 Languages
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Co-directing TechWalk LA Fractional CMO, Operations & AI Strategy Healthcare AI Cohort Co-Lead 16 AI Certifications (10 Anthropic) Built Custom MCP Server (Gmail/Calendar) Building IA Before AI
$6.1M
Pipeline built from $96K baseline through integrated marketing & sales operations
Zynx Health
357%
Website traffic growth via SEO and thought leadership strategy
Zynx Health
$3M+
Cost reduction by building internal media buying function
Confie Seguros
46%
Increase in marketing-qualified leads year over year
Zynx Health
About

The translation lens

Mariana Small speaking at a podium

I grew up across ten countries in a diplomatic family: Brazil, Algeria, Iran, Senegal, New Caledonia, Mexico, Australia, Germany, France, and the United States. That background didn't just give me languages; it gave me a cognitive architecture for translating between systems, cultures, and ways of thinking.

In marketing, that means I see the connective tissue others miss. At Zynx Health, I transformed marketing from an order-taking function into a strategic department that generated $6.1M in pipeline. At Confie Seguros, I built and led a 17-person multinational team across the US, Mexico, and Peru, cutting $3M in advertising costs while improving ROI.

Today, I co-lead an AI Cohort for healthcare marketing executives, focused on practical applications of AI in marketing operations. I'm also developing IA Before AI, a framework for cognitive sovereignty and information architecture as prerequisites to effective AI collaboration.

The thread across all of it: I build systems that make the work repeatable.

Based
Santa Monica, CA
Countries Lived
10
Countries Visited
64 (goal: 100)
Languages
English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French
Largest Team
17-person multinational (US, Mexico, Peru)
Largest Budget
$23M
AI Strategy

How I work with AI

My AI practice is hands-on. I write code with Claude Code, build automation workflows with n8n, architect knowledge systems in Notion, and deliver AI marketing consulting to organizations navigating the transition. Every day.

As co-lead of the Healthcare AI Executive Cohort (Healthtech Marketing Network), I guide marketing leaders through practical AI integration. As co-director of TechWalk LA, I bring the tech community together monthly for conversations that bridge strategy and implementation. Through ResonantGrowth, I serve as a fractional CMO delivering operations and AI strategy to growth-stage companies.

I also build the infrastructure: I designed and deployed a custom MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for secure Gmail and Calendar integration — choosing to build from scratch rather than trust third-party tools with credential access. This is hands-on AI engineering, not just strategy advice.

My framework, IA Before AI, starts from a simple premise: information architecture and cognitive sovereignty must come before AI adoption. The goal isn't replacing human judgment — it's building AI-human collaboration systems where both sides are better for the partnership. The organizations that get this right aren't the ones with the most tools. They're the ones who structured their thinking first.

Anthropic Certified
AI Fluency Track
  • AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations 2025
  • Teaching AI Fluency 2025
  • AI Fluency for Educators 2026
  • AI Fluency for Nonprofits 2026
  • AI Fluency for Students 2026
Claude Platform Track
  • Claude 101 2026
  • Claude Code in Action 2025
  • Introduction to Model Context Protocol 2026
  • Introduction to Claude Cowork 2026
  • Introduction to Subagents 2026
Other AI Training
  • AI Accelerator Mindvalley · 2026
  • AI Mastery Mindvalley · 2026
  • AI Builder in a Day Section · 2025
  • AI Amplifier HealthTech LaunchPad · 2025
  • AI for Marketing Masterclass HealthTech LaunchPad · 2024
  • AI Marketing Enablement Masterclass HealthTech LaunchPad · 2024
  • Healthcare AI Cohort Co-Lead Healthtech Marketing Network
Expertise

What I build

Team & Budget Leadership
Outcome
Efficient teams that deliver measurable outcomes, not just activity
Proof
$3M cost savings, 90% CPL reduction ($120→$12), 17-person multinational team, $23M budget
Marketing Operations & Systems Architecture
Outcome
Full-funnel visibility through integrated MarTech: routing, scoring, and attribution tied to revenue
Proof
$6.1M qualified pipeline at Zynx Health
Revenue Operations
Outcome
Marketing directly accountable to revenue, not vanity metrics
Proof
46% lead increase, $6.1M pipeline in 2024 (from $96K baseline)
Go-to-Market Execution
Outcome
Traffic, engagement, and conversion lifts that compound over time
Proof
357% traffic growth, 395% page views via SEO strategy
Brand Strategy & Management
Outcome
Unified brand systems that scale across locations, markets, and teams
Proof
Unified branding across 250+ retail locations, +5% brand recognition across 6 refreshed brands (Confie Seguros)
AI Strategy & Integration
Outcome
Organizations that use AI with intention. Structured thinking before tool adoption.
Proof
Healthcare AI Cohort co-lead, TechWalk LA co-director, 16 AI certifications (10 Anthropic), custom MCP server build
Leadership

Validated by the people who worked alongside me

In a Korn Ferry 360° assessment, 17 colleagues across clinical, finance, HR, sales, product, executive, and vendor teams were asked to describe me in five words. These are the words that appeared most often:

Driven Creative Kind Knowledgeable Positive Collaborative Resourceful Warm Intelligent Growth Mindset Resilient Empowering Transparent Forward-thinking Integrity
Influence Style

Leads through relationships and trust, not positional authority. Top influence technique: building rapport and connection before getting to business. Persuades through logic, example, and earned credibility.

Cross-Functional Trust

Every function (clinical, finance, HR, sales, product, executive leadership, and external vendors) independently validated the same pattern: she builds trust across organizational boundaries and creates psychological safety for collaboration.

Operating Philosophy

"Leave things better than I found them." This isn't a tagline. It's the consistent thread validated across every role, from transforming PCA-LA into the top Porsche Club region in the country, to building Zynx Health's first integrated marketing-sales pipeline.

Recommendations

What colleagues and executives say

Mariana consistently brings valuable knowledge with a strong practical mindset, especially in tools like Claude, Notion, and other AI platforms. What truly stands out is her ability to translate complex concepts into real-world applications that can be implemented immediately.

Ana Cristina de la Torre
Sustainability & Human-Centered AI Leadership

Her ability to integrate marketing and sales operations created unprecedented visibility into our pipeline. She focused relentlessly on driving leads to the business and exceeded all my expectations for what a Head of Marketing could do with limited resources.

Jesse Rosenthal
Sr. Vice President · Zynx Health

Mariana possesses a natural and unique blend of marketing and operations expertise that serves her well when building relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Her motto is 'leaving things better than she found them.'

Anya Weaver, MS, PCC
ICF Certified Executive Coach · Korn Ferry

Mariana's data-oriented thinking has been critical in building a solid technical and operational foundation for marketing initiatives. She takes a holistic approach that integrates the broader commercial team, subject matter experts, and other stakeholders into the process.

David Manin
Vice President of Marketing · FDB (First Databank)
Education

Foundation

Formal Education
MBA, Foreign Commerce & Exchange
Fundação Getúlio Vargas · Brasília, Brazil · 1999–2001
BA, International Relations & Diplomacy
Schiller International University · Heidelberg, Germany · 1995–1997
Executive Education
  • Strategic IQ: Creating Smarter Corporations · Harvard Business School
  • Strategic Marketing Management · Harvard Business School
  • Executive Presence & Influence · Wharton School of Business
  • GOLD Executive Development Program · Hearst / Korn Ferry
  • Hearst Leadership Development Program · Harvard Business Publishing
  • Positive Psychology · University of North Carolina
  • Public Relations (Distinction) · UCLA Extension
  • Private International Arbitration · International Chamber of Commerce
  • Penetrating International Markets · UC San Diego GPS
Connect

Let's talk.

Open to senior marketing and operations leadership roles, advisory engagements, and speaking opportunities at the intersection of marketing and AI.

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