Nicki Maher
Founder
Open Saturday Collaborative
Nicki Maher has made a name for herself through her can-do approach to business. Her reputation as a “people advocate” is apparent, as are her main beliefs are a in the power of human connection and the ability to form meaningful and lasting bonds in business.
Nicki’s management career started in the travel industry where she earned the title of “top business development manager” in Travel Agent Magazine while representing global brand, Royal Caribbean International. In 2010, she began a rewarding career with jewelry and lifestyle brand, ALEX AND ANI, at their vice president of sales, serving as the right hand to the founder, creative director and CEO. Under this title, Nicki was responsible for building the foundation for a soon-to-be exploding omni-channel business. Along with focus of sales strategy, Nicki led efforts around strategic partnerships, licensing and all corporate service responsibility efforts.
During her time at ALEX AND ANI, the company grew from $2.7 million in 2019 to more than $500 million in 2016. This growth was soon recognized by Forbes Inc. 500, Digiday and many other publications. Under the leadership of Nicki and her peers, the company grew from one retail location to more than 90, supported over 1,500 nonprofit organizations, and led more than 1,300 employee volunteer hours. The company also donated more than $48 million to charity through the award-winning CHARITY BY DESIGN division, which Nicki led and grew from its infancy. Nicki was promoted to senior vice president in 2015, just after returning from maternity leave with her firstborn, Leila Louise. Under her watch came company-wide partnerships, community relations, corporate social responsibility and employee engagement efforts. Just short of two years later, Nicki gave birth to her son, Chace Jeffrey, and was also promoted to senior vice president of Community and Culture. In this role, she continued the growth of community relations, employee relations and the evolution of the ALEX AND ANI employee brand. In August 2017, Nicki parted ways with ALEX AND ANI in order to pursue her newest passion: a more “balanced” version of motherhood.
Today, Nicki is the founder of Open Saturday Collaborative. After being sought out as a brand consultant, Nicki was consistently noticing the same trend with her clients: so much creation, so many ideas and so much grey area on how to actually make those ideas come to life. Instead of continuing as a solo act, Nicki took her strategic business knowledge and passion for entrepreneurship to focus on a three-tiered approach to consulting: strategic coaching, implementation, and engagement. As founder of Open Saturday, Nicki’s role is to connect brands to other thought leaders and doers in order to “get sh*t done.” She applies her sales, marketing, human psychology, and holistic approach to business knowledge and couples it with her successful athletics career to become both a coach and a servant leader for the CEOs and founders for which she represents. Through Open Saturday, Nicki advocates for and assists businesses in telling the unique story of their brand and creating a more sound operation. She oversees a small team of people who share in her vision for rocking it as family members, as friends and as professionals.
Nicki holds a Bachelor of Science in Family Studies-Counseling from the University of Connecticut and a Masters of Arts in Counseling- Psychology from Bridgewater State University. Nicki is a field hockey enthusiast, appearing on the NCAA National All-American field hockey team during her undergraduate program, and serving as one of the youngest head coaches in the NCAA during her graduate program. She also served as coach for the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth women’s field hockey team and was named Little East Coach of the Year in five out of nine seasons. On the field and in the boardroom, she practices a winning, “old school” solution-oriented approach.
Nicki’s work has been recognized by Forbes Magazine, the Engage for Good Conference, Girls on the Run International, ESPN Women, the Massachusetts Conference for Women, Tuesday’s Children International, the National Football League, and the National Basketball Association. She is a member of the Hasbro Children’s Advisory Council and the Women and Infants Foundation Board of Directors. She is the recipient of the Providence Business News “40 Under Forty” and 2014 “Woman to Watch” for creative services distinctions, as well as the 2015 March of Dimes’ Citizen of the Year and the 2016 Junior Achievement Profiles In Excellence Award.
She resides in Somerset, Massachusetts with her husband, Jeff, and two children, Leila and Chace. She survives on laughter (usually at herself), the “mom bun”, good coffee, denim and mindfulness.
