THE TEAM
Maria Gianoutsos
Founder & CEO
The counsel co represents a culmination of what Maria has always done, and the things that she cares about most deeply: being yourself, being authentic, and inspiring others to lead with those qualities.
Maria was born in New Zealand, raised in Australia, and has lived in the US for 30 years.
She is a diligent student of people and is deeply vested in the creative world. She has an Honors degree in Fine Arts from the University of Sydney, studied at The American Conservatory Theatre while living in Northern California, and is a proud member of SAG.
Intrigued by human behavior and its reaction to and relationship with storytelling, she started her career as a strategic planner at Ogilvy & Mather in Sydney, then moved to Ogilvy NY. It was in New York that she found her voice professionally. She worked in multiple capacities across planning, creative, and leadership roles at various agencies such as Weiss Whitten Stagliano, Ammariti Puris Lintas, and J. Walter Thompson.
Maria's commitment to people starts with her own, and she dived into the work of raising her daughters at a time when it was not popular to do so. Refusing to accept that maternity leave should be "disability", she left the corporate world and leaned into the spaces that are meaningful to her.
In 2003, Maria formalized what she had always done - identifying the potential in people, and guiding them to find the places where they could excel professionally without losing their own, unique voice. She became the connector for and the confidant to numerous leaders, largely in the creative space, where she hired and coached. For seven years she ran the North American division of a global executive search firm where she further honed her skills of leadership identification. Tempted by a glimpse back into the corporate world, she opted for the oldest brand in the advertising industry - J. Walter Thompson, where she assumed the role of Global Chief Creative Talent Officer. Partnering with the Global C-Suite, she spent three years as consigliere to the CEO while working to identify leaders globally who could help to redefine what creativity means, and how its magic can be applied to commerce. From March 2021 - March 2023, Maria was the Global Managing Partner, People at Brunswick in NY where she focused on the future of work and its impact on a global organization.
It was her clients and colleagues who inspired Maria to start the counsel co in 2019, the culmination of her journey to date.
Maria is immensely proud to be called Mum by her treasured daughters; Isobel and Amelia and to be the partner of Tracy with whom she lives on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. True to her roots, whenever possible, Maria can be found in the surf in Sydney or on the rocky beaches of Greece or Shelter Island.
Founder & CEO
The counsel co represents a culmination of what Maria has always done, and the things that she cares about most deeply: being yourself, being authentic, and inspiring others to lead with those qualities.
Maria was born in New Zealand, raised in Australia, and has lived in the US for 30 years.
She is a diligent student of people and is deeply vested in the creative world. She has an Honors degree in Fine Arts from the University of Sydney, studied at The American Conservatory Theatre while living in Northern California, and is a proud member of SAG.
Intrigued by human behavior and its reaction to and relationship with storytelling, she started her career as a strategic planner at Ogilvy & Mather in Sydney, then moved to Ogilvy NY. It was in New York that she found her voice professionally. She worked in multiple capacities across planning, creative, and leadership roles at various agencies such as Weiss Whitten Stagliano, Ammariti Puris Lintas, and J. Walter Thompson.
Maria's commitment to people starts with her own, and she dived into the work of raising her daughters at a time when it was not popular to do so. Refusing to accept that maternity leave should be "disability", she left the corporate world and leaned into the spaces that are meaningful to her.
In 2003, Maria formalized what she had always done - identifying the potential in people, and guiding them to find the places where they could excel professionally without losing their own, unique voice. She became the connector for and the confidant to numerous leaders, largely in the creative space, where she hired and coached. For seven years she ran the North American division of a global executive search firm where she further honed her skills of leadership identification. Tempted by a glimpse back into the corporate world, she opted for the oldest brand in the advertising industry - J. Walter Thompson, where she assumed the role of Global Chief Creative Talent Officer. Partnering with the Global C-Suite, she spent three years as consigliere to the CEO while working to identify leaders globally who could help to redefine what creativity means, and how its magic can be applied to commerce. From March 2021 - March 2023, Maria was the Global Managing Partner, People at Brunswick in NY where she focused on the future of work and its impact on a global organization.
It was her clients and colleagues who inspired Maria to start the counsel co in 2019, the culmination of her journey to date.
Maria is immensely proud to be called Mum by her treasured daughters; Isobel and Amelia and to be the partner of Tracy with whom she lives on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. True to her roots, whenever possible, Maria can be found in the surf in Sydney or on the rocky beaches of Greece or Shelter Island.