Executive Technology Leader | AI Trust & Governance | Consultant & Advisor | Global Keynote Speaker

Building AI
Organizations
People Can Trust.

From software development to enterprise Quality Engineering leadership, I have built high-performing global teams, transformed operating models, and established scalable automation and AI foundations. A process engineer at heart, I now help organizations govern, assess, and scale AI responsibly—turning emerging technology into trusted business outcomes.

Open to executive leadership, consulting, advisory, board, and global speaking opportunities.

Mary Pombares, executive leader in Quality Engineering and AI strategy

Mary Pombares

Executive Leader in Quality EngineeringAI Strategy & Governance AdvisorKeynote Speaker for Global Audiences

Experience from Fortune 500 Organizations

  • amazon music logo
  • HBO Latin America logo
  • NBCUniversal logo
  • Carnival Cruise Line logo

About Mary

Mary Pombares, executive leader in Quality Engineering and AI strategy

From Quality Engineering leadership to trusted AI transformation.

Mary Pombares is a Quality Engineering Executive and technology transformation leader with 18 years of experience driving quality initiatives at organizations including Amazon Music, HBO, and NBCUniversal. She is an emerging voice at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Quality Engineering, and Trust Engineering, championing a shift from asking whether technology works to whether it is reliable, responsible, and worthy of trust.

A servant leader and coach, Mary is passionate about developing talent and building cultures where quality is a shared responsibility. She holds certifications spanning AI, Agile leadership, and software quality, and regularly speaks on AI, leadership, and testing. Her insights have been featured in Profile magazine's “The Code Breakers: Women in Tech” campaign, and she has been recognized as an Influential Woman in Information Technology.

Born in Angola, West Africa, Mary moved to the United States at age 15 and is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. She brings a global, multicultural perspective shaped by resilience, opportunity, and community to every conversation about the future of technology.

View Leadership Experience
  • AI governance, risk assessment and responsible adoption
  • Enterprise automation foundations and quality modernization
  • High-performing global teams and leadership development
  • Keynote speaking for global audiences on AI and the future of work

Areas of Expertise

AI Strategy & Governance

Build responsible AI strategies, frameworks, and governance models.

AI Trust & Risk Management

Ensure reliability, safety, and ethics in AI systems at enterprise scale.

Quality Engineering Transformation

Modernize QA, test automation, and engineering processes with AI.

Digital Transformation

Drive innovation, operational excellence, and measurable business impact.

Executive Advisory

Partner with CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, and Boards to accelerate outcomes.

Keynote Speaker

Inspiring audiences worldwide on AI, trust, and the future of work.

Speaking & Engagements

View all

Upcoming Engagements

Past Engagements

Signature Topics

Invite Mary to Speak
  • The Future of AI Trust
  • From Prompt Engineering to Context Engineering
  • The New Role of Quality Engineering
  • Responsible AI at Enterprise Scale
  • Building AI Systems People Can Trust

RECOGNITION

Influential Women — Verified

Recognized as an Influential Woman in Tech

Honored by Influential Women as an Executive Leader in Quality Engineering and AI-Driven Testing — amplifying the achievements and influence of women who lead, innovate, and inspire.

ON STAGE, IN THE BOARDROOM & IN THE COMMUNITY

Innovate QA Summit — Guest Speaker
Innovate QA Summit — Guest Speaker
Women in Tech leadership panel
Women in Tech leadership panel
Georgia Tech STEM Camp — Inspiring Africa's Next Generation of Innovators
Georgia Tech STEM Camp — Inspiring Africa's Next Generation of Innovators
Atlanta Queens Ministry — Guest Speaker
Atlanta Queens Ministry — Guest Speaker

Podcast

On the Podcast

Conversations on AI trust, quality metrics and what it takes to lead engineering teams through change.

Innovate QA Podcast

AI Metrics for Testing with Context QA

Mary joins the Innovate QA Podcast to unpack how teams measure AI-assisted testing — the metrics that matter, the risks to watch, and how to turn results into business value.

Watch on YouTube

How to Test This Podcast

Episode #38 — As Executive Advisor

Mary joins host Mamadou N'diaye on the How to Test This Podcast as Executive Advisor, sharing how quality engineering transformation leadership shapes AI-assisted testing strategies and aligns executive teams around quality.

Watch on YouTube

40+

LinkedIn Recommendations

From former team members, peers, and leaders across Fortune 500 organizations.

Industry Voices

What leaders and teams say about Mary.

Selected recommendations from leaders, peers and team members at Amazon, HBO, NBCUniversal and Universal Parks & Resorts.

Forward-thinking, transparent, and articulate. As Director of Quality Engineering, Mary was instrumental in modernizing our approach to QA, specifically driving 'Shift Left' in order to reduce costs for the business while simultaneously improving the customer experience. She holds a high bar for quality and accountability, but she achieves it through mentorship, coaching, and transparency rather than micromanagement.

Eric Ruttenbur

Software Engineering Executive — Amazon, NBCUniversal, eBay

LinkedIn recommendation · Former colleague

Mary's passion and experience helped HBO as a company focus on what is needed specifically for HBO's many departments and initiatives. She was able to steer the project in a way that would benefit HBO, keeping in mind the strategy for the operational processes once the initial implementation had concluded. She is a very good leader and a true inspiration.

Tam Anderson, PMP

Program Manager, HBO

LinkedIn recommendation · Former colleague

Her strategic vision and ability to effectively communicate with all levels of the organization were instrumental in the successful adoption of agile practices within the QA department. Mary fostered a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement, which resulted in a highly motivated and engaged team that consistently delivered exceptional results.

Leilani Batty, PMP

Digital Strategy & Technology Leader, Universal Parks & Resorts

LinkedIn recommendation · Former colleague

She helped my team cut our testing time by more than 60% by automating the majority of the test cases. She also created the scrum improvement strategy to help boost the team's productivity and deliver a quality product. She is a huge asset to any team.

Rafi Ahmed

Engineering Lead, Digital Payments & Emerging Markets

LinkedIn recommendation · Former colleague

She was able to quickly ramp up the QE organization by nearly ten-fold in a few months by including and trusting her team to accomplish this great goal. She maintains a high standard for QA and delivery by constantly balancing getting things done and doing things well.

Jorge Rivas

Software Development Engineer in Test

LinkedIn recommendation · Former direct report

Mary's passion for process improvement is only surpassed by her concern for the well-being of her direct reports. Engaging and articulate, Mary looks for key challenges and goes after solving those hard problems while others look for low-hanging fruit. Mary is a powerhouse of energy.

Joseph Lupo

Senior Director of Identity Access Management

LinkedIn recommendation · Former colleague

View 40+ recommendations on LinkedIn

Insights

Proven results, measurable impact.

Quantified outcomes from enterprise transformations across healthcare, media, finance and travel.

90%+ automation adoption

Enterprise Quality Engineering Transformation

Led enterprise QE modernization across complex engineering environments, scaling automation adoption to 90%+ while introducing modern automation, API testing, quality standards and AI-assisted engineering practices.

84% → 98%

Release Quality & Engineering Excellence

Transformed quality governance and release-readiness practices, improving reported test pass rates from 84% to 98% through stronger automation, quality gates, metrics and engineering accountability.

40–60% faster

Delivery & Release Acceleration

Modernized testing and delivery practices to reduce release-cycle time by approximately 40–60%, enabling teams to deliver faster without sacrificing quality, reliability or risk controls.

$17M+ documented savings

Technology Cost & Value Transformation

Delivered significant business value through technology and vendor transformation, including approximately $15M in vendor-cost reduction and $2M in savings on a major media initiative.

Featured on TestingMind, TestGuild, InnovateQA, How to Test This, ContextQA, Corporate Women & Influential Women

Work With Mary

Let's build something people can trust.

Share a few details about your keynote, executive advisory need, or transformation program. Every message reaches Mary's team directly.

info@marypombares.com

Atlanta, GA — available worldwide