03-19-2026RAPID RESPONSE

Maryam Banikarim on career chaos, C-suite pressure, and betting on yourself

The former CMO of Univision reflects on navigating setbacks, redefining identity beyond job titles, and how her upbringing during Iran’s revolution shapes her view of resilience and leadership.

[Photos: Rachel Murray/WireImage/Getty Images; Milad Fakurian/Unsplash]

Career disruption is accelerating across the economy—and few people have navigated it more boldly than Maryam Banikarim. The former CMO of Univision, Gannett, and Hyatt, and host of The Messy Parts podcast, Banikarim shares hard-won wisdom about C-suite politics, and what it means to ultimately bet on yourself. Growing up in Iran during the time of revolution, Banikarim offers a unique perspective on the current Middle East conflict—and her determined search for hope amid the chaos.

This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by the former editor-in-chief of Fast Company Bob Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode.

Let’s start with The Messy Parts, because first of all, I love that word, messy. I feel like creativity is messy, growth is messy. We have plans, but life is really what happens when your plan didn’t work out. Have you always been drawn to messy?

I think I never knew anything but messy. I’m a kid who grew up in a revolution. My mom and dad went to college in Boston and left me behind with my grandmother in Iran when I was 3, which most people think is really traumatic, but what else did I know? I had a father who drowned windsurfing when I was a sophomore in college.I only know messy. But what I also learned as a result is how to pick myself back up pretty quickly. And I think the sooner you learn that, the easier it gets. Not that we want people to have complicated journeys, but I do think you develop this muscle memory that, while it may be hard, you learn that it’s going to be OK.

And sometimes the mess is the opportunity, too. It’s finding the opportunity in the mess.

A hundred percent. Bloomberg talks about having started Bloomberg as a result of being fired. When people step away or pause, whether by choice or by somebody else’s choice, what ends up happening is that you have to decompress and deal and find a pathway. I had a job that I took at Ammirati Puris Lintas. It’s not even on my résumé.I took that job, and a week in I knew, oh, things were not good here. And that was terrifying. But if I hadn’t walked away from that job, I wouldn’t have had a pivot in that moment that really became transformative for my career after that. It’s easy to see that in retrospect, but when it was happening and I was like, “Oh my effing God,” yeah, that didn’t feel so good.

Yeah, but it’s hard to walk away from things, especially if you’re someone who’s like, “No, I’m a successful person. I get things done. I solve problems. Why can’t I solve this one?”

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