Maria Winans on branding
From Building a world-class brand from scratch with Maria Winans, Kyndryl · · The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlstrom®
“I get to create the brand. I get to position the company from the very beginning. So when I look back, I say, 'Wow, you know, it goes back to that career kind of only opportunity. What CMO, what marketer doesn't want to be part of creating something that you know is going to stand history and time.'”
On , Maria Winans, Chief Marketing Officer at KYNDRYL HOLDINGS INC, spoke about branding during Building a world-class brand from scratch with Maria Winans, Kyndryl on The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlstrom®.
About Maria Winans
Maria Winans, Chief Marketing Officer at Kyndryl Holdings, has discussed her role in building the Kyndryl brand from its inception following the company's spin-off from IBM. She stated that her initial responsibilities included creating the brand and motivating approximately 90,000 employees to embrace the new company. Winans described the brand's purpose as being "at the heart of progress," with a focus on humanizing the company's services and emphasizing relationships and partnership. She noted that the name "Kyndryl" was derived from "kinship" and "tendril" to represent enduring relationships and continuous growth. Winans has also spoken about Kyndryl's marketing strategy, which she described as data-driven and focused on outcome-based storytelling that centers on the customer. She highlighted the company's "Double Your Impact" campaign, which she said was designed to address the dual demands on CIOs of managing current operations while driving future transformation. Winans has emphasized the importance of agility, risk-taking, and learning from failure in marketing, and she has encouraged young marketers to "lean into discomfort for growth" and to "embrace risk as part of the journey." She has also discussed her commitment to diversity, noting that as a Hispanic executive, she has dedicated efforts to supporting the Hispanic community and advocating for minority representation at all levels of the organization.