Mari Baker
Director at Blue Shield of California,
Pacific U.S.
Mari Baker has spent over 30 years in Silicon Valley, developing her expertise in scaling companies and developing consumer products that disrupt the status quo. Her reputation has emerged as a strong leader, mentor and strategist, and she has demonstrated a rare skill set in being able to succeed in small, entrepreneurial environments as well as in large organizations. She brings these talents to the boards of the companies where she currently serves as a director: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE: JW-A), Blue Shield of California, Quicken, Inc., and GoShip.
Previously, she was director and chief operating officer of Velti plc, president and chief executive officer of PlayFirst, Inc, executive-in-residence at Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers, and president and chief executive officer of Navigenics, Inc. Mari is best known for building the Quicken business (1989 – 1999) while at Intuit, Inc. where she was senior vice president, and growing BabyCenter, Inc. (1999 – 2006) which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson. At J&J, she served for 5 years as a company president, tapping into J&J’s global footprint for expansion of BabyCenter, and supporting other operating companies in learning how to leverage the internet.
Supporting women in leadership is a passion that ignited when Mari joined the advisory board of the Clayman Institute on Gender Research at Stanford University. Subsequently, Mari was involved in the launch of LeanIn, and she co-founded the VMWare Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab at Stanford University. She has been an active champion for recruiting and retaining women in YPO, and has trained and supported chapters and regions globally.
Mari served on the Board of Trustees of Stanford University from 1996-2003, and in 2019 received the Governor’s Award from Stanford, the university’s highest award for alumni service. Mari has been recognized in the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame, Fortune’s list of Silicon Valley’s Most Influential Women, Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence, and Advertising Age’s Top 100.