Meet Marty

Marty Petty is the President and CEO of The MPETTY Group, a boutique firm that she founded after leading as EVP and Publisher of the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Petersburg Times) for nearly a decade. 

Hover or tap on each photo to learn the story behind the image.

Marty found her home in St. Pete when she began her tenure as Publisher and Executive Vice President of then St. Petersburg Times.
Passion and profession can sometimes overlap—Marty is an avid fan of Rays baseball, and had the opportunity to experience a "day in the life" of a Rays player during a sponsor event while serving as publisher of the St. Petersburg Times. A native of St. Louis, the Cardinals are of course, her National League team!
Strong leaders know how to have fun—like dressing up to be the frontwoman for a "Petty & The Heartbreakers" number as the United Way campaign chair. They performed at all the major companies in Hartford to drive fundraising.
Her husband Mark moved to the country's former leprosy hospital and collaborated on an 18-month photojournalism documentary. This experience made clear the importance of leading with humanity and emotional intelligence in difficult situations.
When she announced the appointment of the new Editor & VP at the Hartford Courant, the New York Times erroneously referred to her as Mr. Petty—bringing to light the uncomfortable reality of how few women were Publishers at the time.
During her tenure as Publisher and CEO for The Hartford Courant, the staff won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Reporting. This toast with the Executive Editor, lead story editor and story reporters was the traditional champagne celebration in the newsroom.
A New York Times copyeditor just assumed Marty Petty was a man due to so few women publishers at the time. The New York Times issued this formal correction that declared "Marty Petty is a woman."
While at the Kansas City Star and Kansas City Times, Marty's contributions to a significant local story helped the staff win the Pulitzer Prize in Local Spot Reporting. This would become the first of many awards over the course of Marty's career.
An accomplished speaker and expert in leadership topics, Marty frequently participates in panel discussions and speaks on a range of topics. She's seen here on a panel with guests from the Virgin Islands at the USF Health Center For Advanced Medical Learning And Simulation.
Marty's 17-year tenure at The Hartford Courant included the celebration of the paper's Sestercentennial (250th) anniversary. The Hartford Courant remains the oldest, continuously published newspaper in the United States.
During her tenure as Publisher and CEO for The Hartford Courant, the staff won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Reporting. If leading a Pulitzer-winning team of journalists isn't a cause to jump up on the bar and celebrate, what is?
Marty has worked with a number of professional associations and leadership groups, including The Florida Press Association and Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. Her involvement means she gets to do pretty cool things—like introduce Senator John McCain at a speaking engagement.
Read more here.
Marty has achieved numerous awards and acknowledgements for her work in publishing, leadership, diversity and her charitable efforts—and over the course of her career, she always made sure her teams knew these belonged to them, too.
Marty and Senator Joseph Lieberman became very good friends when he became the Connecticut Attorney General. Marty introduced him when he received a leadership award at a Washington, DC dinner in 1999. Their friendship was later a conversation starter between Marty and Senator John McCain. Read more here.

Want to learn more about Marty?

View Full Bio
Let's get coffee.
back to top