Marta Hayden, the first woman to serve as president and chair of MPI and a fierce advocate for the meeting industry, has died. She was 75.
Hayden, a well-respected and well-known meeting professional from her days working throughout California, was also a dear friend to many.
“She was the friend’s friend, such a loyal and great friend and the most incredible advocate for our industry ever,” said Carol Chorbajian, managing director at CCME Destination Services, who had known Hayden since 1979 when they worked for the Monterey, Calif., convention center. “You were always learning from her. She was unmatched. There’s nobody better than Marta.
“I would have a question, something that’s annoying me, and I’d just pick up the phone and call her. Now I can’t do that anymore. In the face of everything, it’s the worst thing that could happen.”
Chorbajian said Hayden was found dead in her home Wednesday night. She had missed an appointment the day before and friends and relatives became concerned. She also was known to post regularly on her Facebook account, usually noting a “national” day of some type, but had not posted since Sunday.
A neighbor who is in law enforcement entered the home and found Hayden.
Chorbajian said that Hayden lost her only brother in early July, when he also died suddenly.
The news of Hayden’s death sent shockwaves throughout the meeting industry. She was well known from her days working in industry roles in Long Beach, Monterey and Sonoma, as well as her engagement with MPI. She is a lifetime member from the Northern California Chapter and had been a member for 42 years. She was chair of the International Board of Directors in 1987-88, honored as the International Supplier of the Year in 1986 and received the President’s Award in 1996.
“With Marta’s passing, our industry has lost a tremendous leader and tireless champion who was passionate about promoting her beloved Sonoma County, advancing women leaders in our industry and engaging with our MPI community,” said Paul Van Deventer, MPI president and CEO. “After I joined MPI, Marta was one of the first leaders to reach out to welcome me to the industry and to offer her support; and she always remained available as a valued and selfless resource and a personal mentor. She will be dearly missed. May she rest in peace.”
Kathleen M. Ratcliffe, president of Explore St Louis, says that as a young woman in the meeting industry, it was wonderful for her to see that a woman could be in a leadership role.
“When I first joined MPI and attended international conferences, Marta was in senior volunteer leadership, eventually becoming chair,” she said. “But I didn’t know her. I only observed her arrivals and departures at the hotels accompanied by a bellman with a cart loaded with hat boxes. She brought a hat for every outfit!”
Ratcliffe said as she advanced into volunteer roles and got to know Hayden, she was always impressed with how gracious Hayden was to everyone around her, never appearing to take her leadership role for granted.
“She was the event photographer for all of us, as she insisted on group photos at every meeting of past chairs and every board dinner,” Ratcliffe recalled. “The photographic chronicles that I have of my experience within MPI are mostly provided by her. Marta was a lovely and unique person and I, among countless others in our industry, will miss her greatly.”
Hayden’s engagement with MPI had continued recently, as she had already begun planning for the World Education Congress next year in San Francisco and had been working with the MPI Foundation on plans for a Doug Heath Endowment Scholarship effort. Heath, MPI’s first president and CEO, died late last year.
“Marta had such incredible zest for living, just such a kind and thoughtful person. It’s so shocking she could leave us so quickly.”
“This is such sad news,” said Kevin Kirby, executive director of the MPI Foundation. “Marta and I had become friends as a result of both of us being past international board chairs. That evolved because of my role with the MPI Foundation and her passion towards helping to create legacy scholarships. This is a classic example of how MPI brings together industry partners who become friends.
“Marta broke plenty of barriers in her career and in leading MPI in its early days. She was direct, but always very kind in her delivery. To say I’ll miss her is an understatement.”
Marty Balogh, retired associate executive director for meetings and travel at the American Bar Association, saw Hayden in May when she took her first post-COVID trip. The two, along with Balogh's husband Carl Stimson, had dinner after Hayden went to the Monet exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago and talked about an upcoming trip she had planned to New York with her niece.
“She brought one of her favorite wines to dinner and we had the most lovely evening,” he said. “She had such incredible zest for living, just such a kind and thoughtful person. It’s so shocking she could leave us so quickly.
“The last time I saw her was when I helped her get a cab on Michigan Avenue. You just never know when it will be the last time you see someone you care about so much. She loved to travel for business, she loved meetings. This is just so hard to believe about someone who was as full of life as she was.”
David Kliman, CMM, president of the Kliman Group, said Hayden was instrumental during his early MPI career.
“Marta was a pioneer in the hospitality industry and was a massive influence and mentor to me in my MPI and industry leadership roles,” he said. “Marta was a consummate world traveler—as a young University of Hawai’i college student, she completed a world study tour on board a converted ocean liner, and that helped shaped her world view of always being curious and interested in travel and cultural exchanges.”
Kliman said Hayden loved her retirement years living in Sonoma County and enjoyed being a consummate wine country ambassador. She continued her lifelong learning through classes at Sonoma State University and was a frequent domestic and international traveler.
“A true Francophile, she loved exploring the wine regions of France, which I believe was her last international trip before the COVID-19 lockdown,” Kliman said.
He added that he, his husband Lars Yockel and Hayden “enjoyed a great bottle of champagne on our Sonoma patio just before we moved to Tucson last year and we kept in close touch through the pandemic. She is sorely missed. Rest in peace.”
Another close industry associate and friend was MaryAnne Bobrow, CAE, CMP, CMM, of Bobrow Associates Inc., who lived near Hayden.
“Every time we saw each other it was like we’d seen each other the day before,” Bobrow said. “If it wasn’t wine, it was tea. We’d send each other our favs and hoped the other liked our choice.
“I remember all she did for the industry but more importantly, until COVID struck, Marta would take off for Europe all by herself and send back photos daily of everywhere she went and, of course, at ‘wine and cheese’ time. She so loved those trips and could not wait to get back to them once Europe opened again.”
Other industry leaders had remembrances of Hayden.
“I was so sad to learn of the loss of our good friend Marta Hayden,” said Michael Dominguez, president and CEO of ALHI. “Marta loved our industry, loved seeing our community and was loved by so many.”
“I was so shocked to hear the news. So very sad,” said Claire Smith, vice president of sales and marketing at the Vancouver Convention Center. “I was not close to Marta, but greatly admired and looked up to her. She was a role model of professionalism and success in our industry for countless women. She had such an elegance and warmth about her that attracted people to her like a magnet. Marta will be greatly missed.”
Fiona Pelham, who served as chair of MPI’s IBOD in 2016, said Hayden was always welcoming, inclusive and encouraging.
John Ehlenfeldt, CDME, CMP, executive vice president of Visit Huntington Beach - Surf City USA, said his memories of Hayden are inspirational and impactful.
“When I won the MPI Tomorrow’s Leader award in 2003, Marta was the first person to congratulate me as I left the stage and to encourage my continued development with MPI volunteering and industry development,” he said. “When I worked for the Monterey County CVB in 2012, Marta was the interim president and CEO. She embraced my SITE SoCal chapter president role that year by sponsoring all my efforts and heavy lifts that come with a leadership volunteer role. This support was not just financial but included deep-dive strategic thoughts that fostered innovative thought and solutions to challenges within our industry. She pioneered elements of diversity, equity and inclusion in everything she did years ahead of our current movements in this area.
“Always a mentor to all, she continued her efforts well into her retirement. Marta was instrumental in the development of my leadership skills. She will definitely be missed, and her impact will not be forgotten.”
Kevin Iwamoto, GLP, GTP, chief strategy officer for BIZLY Inc., says Hayden was a dear friend.
“My heart is broken. Marta and I were both UH TIM School graduates though we graduated in different years,” he said. “We always got together at MPI and industry events and sat together at the special tables set aside for RISE Award winners. When I won the award in 2016, she sent me a very expensive bottle of wine from her exquisite personal wine collection.
“We were very close and recently planned to get together for dinner and wine in Sonoma now that it’s more open for dining out. I’m still processing my shock and loss of such a dear friend.”
Patrick Delaney, managing partner at SoolNua, says Hayden was gentle, sophisticated and generous.
“I knew Marta well from the early days and served with her on the SITE board,” he said. “She always displayed that special smile, especially when I would tease her about all the luggage and outfits she would need for every event. She was always so loyal to her friends and would remind me to look for the good in people we both knew and especially when it was not so evident. No snacks for Marta, only a proper meal where she extolled the virtues of wine and her Napa Valley favorites. May she rest in peace.”
Jonathan Howe, founding partner and president of Howe & Hutton, Ltd., and former attorney for MPI, says Hayden was a very unique, amazing individual and a delight to be around.
“We worked very closely during her presidency, which was one in which there was a high degree of difficulty,” he said. “Marta in no small part kept MPI together and prevented a disaster. Along with all who knew her, we will miss her, her smile and her friendship.”
Terri Breining, CMP, CMM, CED, president of the Breining Group Inc. and recipient of the MPI Industry Leader Award, says Hayden was a strong, smart woman who was also always gracious and kind.
“She was delighted to see other women following in her footsteps in MPI leadership, and we’re grateful for her service and example,” she said.
Hayden was also well known for her love of wine and sense of humor. Chorbajian recalled that Hayden would joke with people, including her own mother, that her brother was adopted. She was notorious for sending cards filled with confetti.
“She had an incredible sense of humor and wit about her,” Chorbajian said. “She was just the best and most loyal friend anyone could ever have. God bless her. She was always supportive, especially to women in the industry. She was just so supportive of all of us. There’s nobody in the industry like Marta.”
