Maria was chasing a feeling ever since she got her first job in fashion. Inspired by her father, an entrepreneur in handmade leather accessories with a great eye for aesthetics, Maria learned early on the art of workmanship, the importance of detail behind every piece, and the discipline required to build and run a successful business.

She began her career as a Business Consultant at Ernst & Young, where she developed a strong foundation in global business strategy, analytics, and operational problem-solving. Knowing she was ultimately destined for the fashion world, she pursued an MBA in luxury fashion and retail before joining Inditex, where she gained a 360-degree view of the business across planning and allocation, sourcing, product development, buying, and merchandising.

Raised in a multicultural environment between Europe and the United States, Maria has always brought a global lens to product, consumer behavior, and brand building. In 2012, she joined GUESS, where she built a successful career and grew into a senior leadership role overseeing women’s apparel across GUESS and Marciano. During her tenure, she helped reposition Marciano through elevated assortments, sharper product storytelling, stronger inventory discipline, and deeper cross-functional alignment.

Today, she brings over 15 years of experience building and scaling apparel businesses across performance, activewear, and lifestyle categories. In her current leadership role at FIGS, Maria leads global merchandising strategy for a performance apparel business, translating customer insight, functional product needs, and market opportunity into assortments that balance performance, comfort, style, and commercial impact.

What has stayed constant throughout Maria’s career is her belief that great product is never just product. It is emotion, function, timing, discipline, and storytelling working together. With a keen eye for aesthetics, a deep understanding of consumer behavior, and the ability to anticipate market shifts, Maria creates product strategies that resonate emotionally and perform commercially. Whether launching new categories, repositioning a brand, or scaling a global business, she brings a rare combination of creativity, strategy, and execution to every stage of the process.