Maria Budet

As Chief Marketing Officer, Maria is responsible for shaping all organizational communications and marketing efforts, successfully raising Miami-Dade County’s profile as a world-class business destination in an integrated, consistent, impactful way. In this role, Maria leads the development and implementation of The Beacon Council’s global marketing and communications strategy including creative development and production, relationship management, digital and social marketing, paid and earned media, sponsorships, events, partnerships, media relations, and corporate communications.

A seasoned professional with more than 20 years of experience delivering creative, brand-building solutions for Fortune 500 companies including Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, The J. M. Smucker Company, and Johnson & Johnson, Maria was most recently a Group Director at WPP’s Zubi Advertising. In addition to leading account strategy and management for Dunkin’ Donuts, Walgreens, and SC Johnson, Maria also managed new business development. She managed similar responsibilities as Vice-President at CSA Marketing, crafting brand and promotional strategies for global brands including Nestlé Waters, Lysol, Bounty, and Pampers, and rolling out successful shopper programs at leading retailers across the country.

Prior to her work in marketing and communications, Maria wrote for a variety of print and online publications including Latina, Miami Herald, Teen People, The Miami New Times, MSN.com, CitySearch.com, LiveNation.com and HispanicAd.com. She also served as Executive Producer on “Generation ñ”, a PM magazine show for USA Broadcasting, based on an eponymous magazine where she was also Managing Editor.

A graduate of Yale University, Maria is involved with the Yale Club of South Florida and the Yale Alumni Schools Committee. She is also a Board Member and Vice-Chair of the Arts & Business Council of Miami.