About Mari Pat Varga
President
Varga & Associates, Inc.
For more than 20 years, Mari Pat Varga has supported businesses and individuals in building organizational cultures and robust communications practices that engage people, customers, and communities while driving profitable results.
With career roots in radio and television broadcasting, Mari Pat’s perspectives and practices derive from her varied professional background. Now she offers her communications expertise to leaders in diverse settings. She has been an internal collaborator, working with airlines and the banking industry, as well as a consultant in leading corporate and not-for-profit organizations.
Internal Collaborator
Mari Pat Varga finds that one of her advantages as a consultant is that she has experienced working both inside an organization as a full time employee/executive and as an outside consultant. The balance of these two distinct experiences has shaped her realistic and practical approach to what works and what does not.
Looking for a new challenge and growth opportunity, Mari Pat switched hats. She took a hiatus from her private practice in 2002 to lead the newly created Office of Communication & Leadership for Banco Popular North America (BPNA). There she was responsible for all internal and external communications, along with overseeing the Banco Popular Foundation and community outreach efforts for the bank. During her tenure at the bank, employee engagement – as measured by Hewitt Associates – increased by nearly 20 percentage points and employee participation in company-wide satisfaction surveys was 95%. In 2007, the Banco Popular Foundation granted over a half million to 43 organizations with 60% of employees contributing – a dramatic shift from 12% contributing in 2005.
Her team developed and implemented all strategic communications that supported the bank in meeting the goals around its four pillars – Performance, Customers, People, and Community. Her team also led BPNA’s Customer Service Vision initiative that introduced a bank-wide strategic plan, including process alignment and people engagement, designed to create a culture of superior customer service. Customer satisfaction – as measured by J.D. Power – rose significantly during her time as the bank.
Honors and Awards
Mari Pat and her team were instrumental in supporting BPNA as it achieved such prestigious honors as the 2005 FORTUNE Best Companies to Work For and regional Best Company awards in Orlando, Chicago, South Florida and St. Louis. In 2006, USA Today Make A Difference Day Award for Community Service. Most recently, BPNA was named an honoree for the 2007 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Corporate Stewardship Award. Communication & Leadership’s monthly newsletter, Popular People, was honored in 2006 and 2007, recognized with silver and gold Inspire Awards recognizing Popular People as among the nation’s top 100 company newsletters.
Culture Builder, Communication Consultant, Educator
Returning to her practice in 2008, Mari Pat – along with her clients – found value in her deep dive into the corporate world of work. The ability to relate fully to what goes on daily provided a sort of communication short hand to understanding the dynamics, needs, relationships, and goals that leaders face everyday. In essence, the holistic experience helps her to identify core issues that matter and resolve problems quickly.
From both inside and outside these organizations, Mari Pat has provided expertise as a culture builder and communication consultant, coach, educator, speaker, and trainer. With her guidance, individuals and businesses have increased their leadership acumen, customer loyalty, and employee collaboration through excellent communications and culture-building practices.
Mari Pat has also served as a visiting faculty member of both Columbia College and DePaul University in Chicago. She serves on the Advisory Board of A Silver Lining Foundation and the Alma Dance Company in Chicago and is a volunteering member of the Inspiration Cafe. She is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators, the Executives Club of Chicago and the Business Marketing Association. She is the author of two books (Great Openings and Closings and The Presenter’s Journal) along with the video field guide, OnPoint Presentations and has authored a number of articles on communication excellence. Mari Pat received her B.A. in Communication from the University of Dayton.