Episode #88: Maria Murphy - Carmel Christkindlmarkt

Maria Murphy is CEO and Market Master of the award-winning Carmel Christkindlmarkt. Maria has served in this role since the Market’s opening in 2017, and she has been instrumental in bringing the Market to its current success.

After graduating high school a year early, Maria spent a year in Germany as recipient of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange scholarship supported by Senator Richard Lugar. While there, she stayed near Dresden and Hamburg, learning to speak the language and developing a wide network of contacts that she still keeps in touch with today. Maria considers Germany to be her second home.

Prior to her work at the Market, Maria spent 10 years in the banking industry. After attending a networking event and hearing Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard talk about his desire to bring a Christkindlmarkt to Carmel, Maria joined a special committee charged with bringing his vision to life. As a result of her work there, she was offered the “best job in Carmel” - to serve at the helm of the Christkindlmarkt as the Market Master and CEO.

Under Maria’s direction, the Market has been selected twice as the Best Holiday Market by USA Today’s 10Best competition, winning the title in 2019, 2021 & 2022. In 2022, the Market welcomed more than 400,000 visitors, and total Market sales eclipsed $5.8 million – an almost 25% increase from the previous year. In future years, Maria hopes to increase programming geared at children and families, as well as recruit a steady stream of various German artists to do presentations for guests.

Maria maintains memberships in several networking groups, including the OneZone Chamber of Commerce, the board for the Indiana German Heritage Society, the Indiana-Germany Business Council, and the Hamilton County Tourism BEST (Business of Entertainment, Sport and Tourism) Task Force, as well as a sitting on the BEST Task Force Steering Committee.

She was honored to be a part of the 2022 James T. Morris Global Leadership Series cohort and is grateful for the many connections she made as a result of her participation.

Maria is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve all of central Indiana and the Midwest as CEO and Market Master of the Carmel Christkindlmarkt.