Marian Rhodes, Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources & Diversity Officer, Arizona Diamondbacks

Marian Rhodes’ path to the big leagues is as unconventional as they come. After finishing her degree in accounting at Florida A&M University, she soon became an auditor that would open the door to working with the St. Louis Cardinals and, eventually, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

As an auditor with Anheuser-Busch, she had plenty of adventures, most notably, her experience at Busch Gardens, during which she had the opportunity to take an inventory of animals. But it wasn’t until she got to the Cardinals that she discovered her passion for helping others achieve their own career goals and ambitions. Paying it forward and giving back is something that Rhodes feels a strong responsibility to do.

While working within public affairs with the Cardinals, Rhodes oversaw the organization’s employment and workforce diversity initiatives, along the way learning how to connect with people and motivate others to work for a common goal. Once she got to Arizona, a portion of her goal was to replicate what she had done in St. Louis, only on a larger scale. Through hard work and time, Rhodes implemented and created the foundation of building a culture within the workplace that’s responsible for things such as training and employee development, an employee-of-the-month program and a President’s Council. “We empower people. If you think it’ll work and it’s going to be successful, we give people the ability to try,” says Rhodes, who was born in Rochester, NY.

Since 2007—when Rhodes joined the staff—the Diamondbacks have been voted as one of the “Best Places to Work” by Phoenix Business Journal, and Rhodes has played a huge part in that. She understands that in order to be a successful organization, it must invest and develop their employees.
—D.P.