Marta Tellado

President and CEO of Consumer Reports (CR)

Marta L. Tellado is president and CEO of Consumer Reports (CR), an independent nonprofit that works side-by-side with consumers to create a fair and just marketplace. She is a mission-driven leader with a passion for innovation, public service, philanthropy, and helping organizations maximize their ability to improve the world.

Since joining CR in 2014, Tellado has transformed one of America’s most trusted brands and iconic social enterprises, uniting its rigorous research, consumer insights, award-winning journalism, and advocacy expertise to drive social impact. With a talent for innovation and a passion for public service, Tellado has guided CR to tackle the next frontier of consumer protections: digital rights. That focus has included everything from helping consumers prevent cyber breaches to fighting for people’s control of their own data.

Under her leadership, CR has also modernized to improve consumer products and services with renewed ways of testing connected products for privacy and security by standing up the CR Digital Lab, as well as launching CR’s Data Intelligence effort bringing consumer insights to manufacturers and regulators to influence product design and safety. In recent years, CR has consistently been recognized with leading industry awards for its journalism, editorial design, and video content, such as the Society of Professional Journalism Award, numerous Webby Awards (including the Webby People’s Voice Award for best non-profit website), and even an Emmy nomination. In 2018, Folio Magazine named Marta one of the year’s ‘Top Women in Media,’ and City and State named her one of the Top 100 most influential Latinos in 2020 and 2021.

Marta’s forthcoming book, “Buyer Aware: Harnessing Our Consumer Power for a Safe, Fair, and Transparent Marketplace,” which chronicles the scale of challenges consumers face today, especially in the digital space, and what we must do to ensure consumer rights in the modern economy, will be released in September 2022.

Marta came to CR following 25 years of experience in public service, philanthropy, and mission-driven nonprofit management. At the Ford Foundation, she was vice president for global communications and an officer of the board. She led strategic communications and advocacy on a range of issues in the U.S. and around the world, including economic fairness, free and fair access to an open internet, and civil rights. Prior to that, she served as executive director of the domestic policy group at the Aspen Institute, organizing the first bipartisan domestic public policy forum, and as vice president of the Partnership for Public Service, where she launched the “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government” and the “Service to America” awards.

She began her career in the consumer advocacy movement working alongside Ralph Nader and spent many years in public service as a senior advisor to Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey—the state where she was raised following her family’s journey from her birthplace of Havana, Cuba.

Marta attended Fairleigh Dickinson University and holds a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University, where she serves on the board of trustees. She is also on the boards of International Consumer Research & Testing, Consumers International, and The Washington Center.

IF SHE CAN SEE IT, SHE CAN BE IT®