Mary Zalla is global chief executive officer of Landor
Associates. She brings over 20 years of practice and study on
creativity, brand strategy, innovation, design, and organizational
leadership. Mary has held a number of important positions at
Landor, including president of Landor, and managing director of the
Cincinnati and Chicago offices.
During her tenure at Landor, Mary has led brand development
efforts across a number of industries such as consumer packaged
goods, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, travel and leisure,
and more. Her work has involved the conceptual development of new
brands, brand architecture analysis and design, strategic brand
positioning, competitive category analysis, and visual and verbal
brand identity development. Mary’s past and present clients have
included Ethicon, Kraft, Lilly, Procter & Gamble, Rich’s, Sara
Lee, Solutia Inc., and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.
As managing director, Mary spearheaded the Cincinnati office to
become Landor’s single largest office, the hub of two of Landor’s
most important client relationships, and an office where emerging
practice areas such as brand environments and new media have been
developed.
Mary is passionate about creativity and knows it is the engine
of success within Landor. She is committed to the celebration and
elevation of creativity and regularly engages the organization in
discussion, debate, and learning about the importance of ideas, the
brotherhood of creativity and courage, and how to actualize the
best work.
“If creativity is the engine, then inspiration is the fuel. I
believe as an organization we owe our employees the type of
environment, physically and culturally, that allows them to be as
creative as they can be.” Mary spends a lot of time thinking about
the conditions that allow great creativity to emerge and challenges
herself and others to create those conditions.
Mary has authored articles on creativity and design research,
and has been quoted in many industry and consumer publications. She
sits on the board of the Cincinnati Museum Center, the Cincinnati
Chamber's Women Executive Advisory Council, and the Point/Arc of
Northern Kentucky.