Karla Flannery

As Chief Marketing Officer, Karla Flannery champions the MMGY Global brand through storytelling, marketing innovation and thought leadership. Her vision and enthusiasm drive the company’s global marketing and business development strategies, which are interwoven with her people-centric approach. Working with the Global Leadership Team to drive the company’s vision forward through client growth, brand conception and agency positioning, Karla strives to inspire connections between brands and people. As an innovation catalyst for the company, Karla’s focus on diversity and belief that a good idea can come from anywhere foster a culture of collaboration and creativity.

With over thirty years in the global marketing industry, she has traveled the world and developed brand campaigns and marketing strategies for powerhouse brands Procter & Gamble, United Airlines, Oreo, Chips Ahoy! and Belvita. Beginning her career with Leo Burnett Worldwide in Chicago where she worked for over 25 years, she rose to Executive Vice President, Group Account Director leading brand experience and marketing planning. Karla then worked as Global Marketing Strategist for Mondelēz International, honing her ability to identify the human truth that is at the center of a successful marketing campaign. As Tourism Director for the Illinois Office of Tourism, Karla developed recovery strategies for the state’s tourism industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, refreshed the brand to become more relevant, contemporary and competitive, as well as led the strategy and creative development for the award-winning “Middle of Everything” campaign.

Born in Mexico City and bilingual in Spanish and English, Karla brings a multicultural approach to marketing and vital experience at developing strategies that span continents and cultures. Because of her empathy as well as her unique perspective and experiences, she is able to identify what is at the core of people’s needs and how MMGY Global can best address them. Karla has a knack for finding the universal insights that tie us all together, which she learned from her time working with snack giants Oreo and Chips Ahoy!. As she says, “in the end, we all like cookies, right?”