Meet Maria Hughes

Maria Hughes is the Principal Consultant of Hughes Consulting and Coaching, LLC. A former senior healthcare executive, she spent 16 years at Humana Inc., most recently serving as Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer. Her earlier leadership
roles at Humana included Enterprise Vice President of Shared Business Solutions and Director of Performance Management for the Medicare Division. Before joining Humana, Maria spent 15 years in progressive leadership roles at Ford Motor Credit Corporation.

In 2019, she was honored by Black Enterprise as one of the Most Powerful Women in Corporate Diversity and recognized by Savoy Magazine as one of the Most Influential Women in Corporate America. She was inducted into the
Southern Illinois University College of Business and Analytics Alumni Hall of Fame, and continues to serve on its External Advisory Board. Maria also serves as a Global Advisor for the Women Leaders of the World program at How Women Lead,
advancing the development of women leaders worldwide. She previously served on the board of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

Maria earned a B.S. in Business from Southern Illinois University, an M.S. from Central Michigan University, and holds a Six Sigma Black Belt certification from Ford Motor Company.