Utah Business has selected 10 women with enduring careers and exceptional impact, who we’ve named our “Most Influential Women.” Through their innovative efforts and inspiring examples, these women have significantly improved their workplaces, industries and Utah as a whole.
MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN: Mary Kariotis
CEO & President | Merrimak Capital Company
When Mary Kariotis talks about her work ethic, it isn’t a theoretical concept; it’s a habit she developed from a young age. Mary began working at age 11, scrubbing the bathroom ceilings of her neighbors, selling door to door and eventually waiting tables, long before she ever set foot in a boardroom. By the time she graduated from college, she had already spent a decade learning the fundamental value of a job well done.
“I’ve been working since I was 11 years old, so it’s probably what I know how to do best,” Mary says. “With that being said, I’m highly tenacious, and I have an extremely strong work ethic, but I’m also not afraid to change course and abandon whatever investment was made, even if it was significant, if it’s not what’s going to bring true success. I’m extremely customer-centric and as a result, so is our entire company.”
That became the defining characteristic of her leadership when she assumed the role of CEO at Merrimak Capital Company in 2008. At the time, she felt she wasn’t officially qualified for the seat, describing herself as a “completely organic CEO” who had to learn that aspect of the job in real time and lead by instinct. The results of that instinct are staggering: In 2010, the portfolio she managed stood at approximately $5 million. Today, it has surged to well over a billion dollars, with a goal to exceed $1.5 billion by the end of the year.
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Merrimak is the largest authentically diverse equipment lessor that is certified by WBENC. Merrimak is an industry leader. The company owns its portfolio with no outside investments and manages the full equipment lifecycle for global corporations across North America, a customer base Mary built from scratch through relentless persistence.
“I flew red-eye flights every week and built that customer base one relationship at a time,” Mary says. “It was a tremendous struggle, and staying in compliance with our banking covenants was a constant challenge, but we did it.”
Until these past couple of years, she remained the sole or lead person responsible for bringing on more than 100 Fortune 500 and like-sized organizations. It is a feat she notes is “highly unusual in our industry,” proving that a fully independent platform could compete with, and win against, larger independent lessors that were fully established, publicly traded giants and massive banks.
When Mary received seven-figure capital offers for a portion of the company when they didn’t even have a million dollars in the bank, she repeatedly declined.
“The key advice I would offer to other aspiring leaders is to stay as independent as possible,” she says. “It’s very hard to do because every company needs money for growth. But if you can figure out a way to grow your company without outside investment, then you’re able to be sovereign, and you’re not answering to your investor. Instead, you’re answering to your customer.”
While the business growth is impressive, the accomplishment that moves Mary most deeply is one that has nothing to do with balance sheets. In 2020, while tallying charitable giving from the previous decade, years when resources were tight, the company realized it had donated more than $1 million. “I was stunned,” she says. “Because there were years in that stretch when we did not have one million dollars in our own bank account.”
From her early days of manual labor to navigating high-stakes international finance, Mary has proven that being an “organic” leader, one who grows through grit, instinct and a refusal to give up control, is the surest path to the top.
Today, Merrimak has become a true family legacy. Her son, Jack, joined the company in 2021 as a leader in infrastructure and AI implementation while supporting her account development efforts, allowing Mary to focus on the company’s aggressive goal to double in size over the next five years.
Mary says, “Ultimately, Merrimak has become about far more than a business or a bottom line. It is about legacy.”