Trailblazer Stories: In Her Own Words — A Conversation with Marta Ronquillo–Newhart
Some mentors enter your life quietly but leave a lasting mark that echoes in every room you step into. For me, that person is Marta Newhart.
Marta Ronquillo Newhart – Executive Biography
For over thirty years, Marta Ronquillo Newhart has been at the forefront of value creation in highly regulated industries. She has guided some of the world’s most admired companies through industry-changing mergers, acquisitions, brand evolutions, digital transformations, and policy reforms—delivering bottom-line results in complex global environments.
An Independent Director, enterprise leader, and Global Chief Marketing, Communications, and Brand Officer, Marta possesses extensive expertise in crisis and risk management, corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), reputation management, digital transformation, and brand equity. Her leadership has been shaped through significant, industry-defining moments across the Energy, Aerospace, Medical Devices, and multi-industrial sectors. She has navigated some of the most critical crises affecting Fortune 50 companies while also contributing to significant policy changes, including reforms to corporate tax rates and the normalization of trade status.
Marta’s global perspective is shaped by her international assignments in Beijing, China, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, as well as her leadership in B2B manufacturing in Mexico. Most recently, as the Chief Marketing, Communications, and Brand Officer at Westinghouse Electric Company, she provided enterprise-wide leadership for a $4.6 billion private energy and technology firm. She was directly involved in strategizing, executing, and integrating seven acquisitions over a period of eighteen months. She led a comprehensive brand transformation that elevated the company’s brand book value to nearly $300 million.
Before joining Westinghouse, she served as the Chief Communications Officer at Carpenter Technology, where she oversaw communications, branding, general management, and corporate strategy for a publicly traded technology and manufacturing firm with a $2 billion market capitalization. During her tenure, she also served on two boards of directors. She delivered national speaking engagements on leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as well as the transformation of communications into a strategic ecosystem.
A veteran of six global M&As, Marta led branding and communications strategies for several multi-billion-dollar deals, including Boeing’s $13B acquisition of McDonnell Douglas and Tyco’s $11B integration into Johnson Controls. Overall, she has managed communications for three major acquisitions at Boeing, two at Johnson Controls, and seven at Westinghouse.
Her experience includes leadership across one Dow Component and three Nasdaq companies, building brand equity, managing reputation through crises, and increasing investor confidence through impact-driven strategies.
Marta currently serves on APCO Worldwide’s International Advisory Council. Her contributions to the field have been recognized with the Diversity Journal’s Latino Leadership Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award, induction into the Hall of Fame by Ragan Communications, and the Corporate America’s Most Inclusive Leader Award from GlobalMinded.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in international business and international communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, as well as an MBA from Pepperdine University in Malibu. Marta has also completed the Digital Directors Network Systemic Cyber Risk Governance certification for corporate directors.
I was introduced to Marta through the 2023 Page Society’s Mentoring to Accelerate Progress and Success (MAPS) program, and I have been fortunate to learn from her wisdom ever since. Marta is more than a communications powerhouse; she is a trailblazer, a storyteller, and a mentor who leads with clarity, compassion, and conviction.
In this exclusive blog interview, Marta reflects on her remarkable journey, her leadership values, and the importance of lifting others as you rise. What makes this conversation especially powerful is that every insight and story is shared in her voice.
On Career Beginnings and Bold Pivots
“My early career started out in sales at Boeing. I didn’t start out in communications—I was on the commercial side of the house, actually, as part of revenue generation…
Selling airplanes is complex—it involves engineering hours, the economics for the airline, engines, and interiors. I worked in Greater China—Taiwan, China, Singapore—and was part of a team that sold 77 Boeing 777s in Singapore, and over 100 airplanes in China.
Having that experience, I learned the importance of communication. Good communication got the board to buy into your proposal. Poor communication? They wouldn’t even listen.
Eventually, the Chief Communications Officer came into my office and said, ‘You’re a really good storyteller. That’s what airlines like. Can you bring that here?’ One thing led to another—I got a significant pay raise and a jump in level—and I moved into communications.”
On Being the “Only One” in the Room
“There were no other women in the sales department. None. Just the admins.
That was the challenge—being someone different in a place where they weren’t sure about you. But I saw that as an opportunity. You have to win trust. You have to earn respect.
When you approach work with the mindset that you have to earn it, you try harder. You do better. And that stayed with me.”
On Realizing You’re a Trailblazer
“I don’t know if I ever had one defining moment. It was more of a series. When people started asking my opinion. When I was invited to speak. When people valued my wisdom.
The people I looked up to early on were African American—there were no Latinos. They cut through bias and resistance with clarity and excellence. They had to be twice as good, and they were. I wanted to be like that.
I didn’t set out to pave the way. But I believe you have to lift as you climb. I was the only woman, the only person of color—and I didn’t want to be the last.”
On Setbacks and Strategy
“I started to look at challenges as opportunities. What decisions am I making today, and how will they affect the organization next year? What will they mean to the people around me?
Even difficult customers—internal or external—are giving you a gift. They’re giving you feedback. You just have to ask better questions. That prepared me for board service. Boards want leaders who ask good questions.”
On Motivation and Staying the Course
“I grew up well below the poverty line. I told my dad, ‘I hate being poor.’ Not because of the money—but because of the struggle. I didn’t want to go back.
That’s what motivated me. My community. My people. I wanted to make them proud.
This year, there was a Kentucky Derby horse named Sovereignty. The odds were against him. The track was muddy. He started in the back. And he won.
There’s something powerful about those who don’t quit when things get messy.”
On Navigating Non-Inclusive Spaces
“My parents told me when I was 13, ‘You’ll have to be twice as good to be considered half as good.’
You can dwell on the unfairness—or you can say, ‘Okay, I got this.’ And be great.
Communication is the equalizer. If you’re a strong communicator, you’re going to be successful. It changes your career. Your life. Everything.”
On Mentorship and Strategy
“I had a mentor in Asia Pacific Sales. He taught me how to strategize—around a little coffee table in his office. That’s where we’d think about market dynamics, customer experience, and self-awareness.
He also taught me: how you show up matters. Not just your outfit—but your attitude and mindset. That sticks with me to this day.”
On Advice for Young Women
“Do what matters to you. Have a career your future self will be proud of—and that your 8-year-old self would admire. Also: I hope you can function on little sleep.”
On Leadership
“Leadership is inspiring others to achieve shared objectives.
Earlier in my career, I was rewarded for solving problems. But as a leader, your job is to coach others to solve them. That’s how you scale leadership.
I also believe in leading with compassion. Sometimes, the most compassionate thing you can do is help someone transition out of a role that isn’t working. That’s care.
And I believe in thinking like an owner. Imagine a company where everyone takes ownership of the mission, the results, and the solutions. No competitor could touch that.”
On Pride and Purpose
“What I’m most proud of is that I didn’t listen to the people who told me I didn’t belong.
I just realized—I was asking the wrong people.
If you were invited to the table, you belong there. Self-doubt is human. Leave it at the door.”
A Letter to Her Younger Self
“My mother used to say, ‘Don’t worry, Martita. Your day will come.’
And that’s what I’d tell my younger self: Everything that feels complicated now will one day be your strength. It will all pay off.”
Marta Newhart is more than a trailblazer—she’s a mentor and a reflection for many of us navigating this field. Her journey serves as a masterclass in resilience, and her voice reminds us that showing up fully and authentically is not just powerful—it’s essential.
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