20-22 May 2025
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Maria
Colacurcio
CEO at Syndio
"Business lessons learned from being a fitness world-record holder"
"Business lessons learned from being a fitness world-record holder"
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Session: Business lessons learned from being a fitness world-record holder
In addition to being the CEO of Syndio, a pioneer in global pay transparency, Mara Colacurcio is also a world-class, record-holding HYROX racer. Maria embodies how women can redefine leadership on their own terms. Breaking records in HYROX's intense hybrid fitness sport while simultaneously leading a startup, she dismantles outdated narratives about female leadership and athletic achievement. Colacurcio reveals how the mental toughness forged through punishing competitions—combining distance running with functional fitness challenges—directly translates to navigating the demands of scaling a mission-driven company. She shares how embracing physical and professional challenges has shaped her authentic leadership style and how women can harness their competitive spirit to drive breakthrough results. Drawing from her life in the gym and the boardroom, Maria will share hard-won insights about building mental toughness, navigating rough patches, and creating spaces where women can push boundaries and excel. Whether leading a team or pursuing peak performance, attendees will leave with practical strategies for turning challenges into breakthrough moments.Key Takeaways
- Mental Game Mastery: Learn how elite athletes develop unshakeable resilience and how to apply these same psychological tools to thrive under pressure in business.
- The Power of Productive Discomfort: Discover how embracing challenges rather than avoiding them builds the confidence and capability to tackle obstacles and drive transformative results.
- Building High-Performance Environments: Gain practical strategies for creating team cultures where women feel empowered to take risks, push boundaries, and achieve their highest potential.
Bio
As CEO of Syndio, Maria Colacurcio is passionate about helping companies build equitable workplaces where every worker is valued for who they are and their contributions. Prior to joining the company, she co-founded Smartsheet.com, which went public in 2018. Maria spent four years at Starbucks, which is one of the first Fortune 50 companies to go public with pay equity results. Having started her career working on congressional campaigns, she has a long history of mission-driven work and a compassionate and competitive attitude to spur change. As a CEO, she is walking the walk on eradicating workplace inequities. In our Zoom-centric world, she raised a $17.1 million Series B investment in January 2021 while eight months pregnant. Today, you can find her working from home with her husband and seven kids.