Ellen Ryan Mardiks is the Chairman of Golin, a global public relations agency that works to create change that matters for a suite of world-class clients.

Mardiks is the fourth chairman in the agency’s nearly 70-year history, and the first woman to hold the position. Over more than four decades, she has worked to build Golin into the leading agency it is today, where teams are proud to work and driven by the power of collaboration, breakthrough ideas, and exceptional craft. Her specialty is leveraging earned-first campaigns to make legacy brands sticky and relevant to consumers.  

Mardiks’ perspective and counsel have shaped Golin’s work for some of the world’s greatest companies and brands, including Walmart, McDonald’s, Purina, Ferrero, and Nintendo. 

Golin has achieved unprecedented success of late, including four US Agency of the Year honors in the last five years, five nods as Global Agency of the Year since 2019, and seven designations as a Best Place to Work since 2021.  In 2024, Golin made history as the first PR agency to win the PR Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Festival, adding a second Grand Prix the same year.  

Mardiks was named PR Week’s Global PR Agency Professional in 2021. She is proud to have been inducted into PR Week’s Women of Distinction and to be named one of Campaign’s Inspiring Women. She was named an All-Star by Inside PR magazine, the predecessor to PRovoke. Mardiks has spoken at conferences worldwide focusing on leadership and innovation, and has twice chaired the Women in Leadership Economic Forum in Dubai.

Mardiks serves on the boards of Bridges from School to Work, an organization that helps young people with disabilities find meaningful jobs after high school, and the University of Southern California’s Center for Public Relations. She is an active member of Page and Chief, and previously served as chair of the PR Council and co-chair of the Advisory Board of the University of Georgia’s AdPR program at Grady College. Mardiks is an alumna of Georgetown University.  

Passionate about exceptional client service, smart insights, breakthrough creative, and the smiling faces of her three grandsons, Mardiks lives outside of Chicago with her husband.  When she’s not sharing her ideas with clients and colleagues, she might be found in a kayak or fireside in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.