MARIA ELISA MARTINEZ
Maria Elisa Martinez has held several roles of increasing responsibility during her 16-year career at
Johnson & Johnson. In these roles, she has overseen the Organizational, HR and talent strategy for
several businesses and regions including Latin America, US, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Maria Elisa moved to the US in 2019 to be the Head of HR for Janssen North America, the largest
business for Johnson & Johnson. During her tenure in this role, she advanced critical talent, DEI and
organizational capabilities during a time of high uncertainty due to Covid and social injustice issues in
the US.
Before moving to the US, Maria Elisa was the Head of HR for Latin America (LATAM). She served as chair
of the Regional HR Leadership Team and worked with the sectors and global functions to deliver on
business and talent strategies. In this role, she was tasked with leading the transformation of the new
HR delivery model that combined executing on both Sector and Enterprise talent strategies. Prior to this role, Maria Elisa served as HR Head of Janssen Pharmaceuticals for LATAM, where she was responsible for leading the development and implementation of talent and organizational strategies to drive short and long-term business growth. Before that, she also held roles as HR Director for Medical Devices in the Andean Region and Head of Talent Acquisition for LATAM, where she successfully piloted an integrated cross-sector approach to Talent Management.
Before joining Johnson & Johnson, Maria Elisa held HR positions at Colgate Palmolive in New York City
and Citibank in Colombia. She holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from Columbia
University in New York and a BA degree from Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia. She is also a
certified Executive Coach.
Maria Elisa is an active champion of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She is currently part of the BOD for
the Hispanic Alliance for Career Advancement (HACE) and a founding member of Women in Connection
in Colombia a non-for-profit organization to advance gender equity in Colombia. She has been a public
advocate of gender equity policies such as J&J’s paternity leave. Maria Elisa was included in the 2019 list
of the most influential leaders in Colombia by “Revista Dinero”, a well-known business magazine in
Colombia.
Maria Elisa Martinez has held several roles of increasing responsibility during her 16-year career at
Johnson & Johnson. In these roles, she has overseen the Organizational, HR and talent strategy for
several businesses and regions including Latin America, US, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Maria Elisa moved to the US in 2019 to be the Head of HR for Janssen North America, the largest
business for Johnson & Johnson. During her tenure in this role, she advanced critical talent, DEI and
organizational capabilities during a time of high uncertainty due to Covid and social injustice issues in
the US.
Before moving to the US, Maria Elisa was the Head of HR for Latin America (LATAM). She served as chair
of the Regional HR Leadership Team and worked with the sectors and global functions to deliver on
business and talent strategies. In this role, she was tasked with leading the transformation of the new
HR delivery model that combined executing on both Sector and Enterprise talent strategies. Prior to this role, Maria Elisa served as HR Head of Janssen Pharmaceuticals for LATAM, where she was responsible for leading the development and implementation of talent and organizational strategies to drive short and long-term business growth. Before that, she also held roles as HR Director for Medical Devices in the Andean Region and Head of Talent Acquisition for LATAM, where she successfully piloted an integrated cross-sector approach to Talent Management.
Before joining Johnson & Johnson, Maria Elisa held HR positions at Colgate Palmolive in New York City
and Citibank in Colombia. She holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from Columbia
University in New York and a BA degree from Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia. She is also a
certified Executive Coach.
Maria Elisa is an active champion of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She is currently part of the BOD for
the Hispanic Alliance for Career Advancement (HACE) and a founding member of Women in Connection
in Colombia a non-for-profit organization to advance gender equity in Colombia. She has been a public
advocate of gender equity policies such as J&J’s paternity leave. Maria Elisa was included in the 2019 list
of the most influential leaders in Colombia by “Revista Dinero”, a well-known business magazine in
Colombia.