Her Story
About Annmarie
I began my professional journey as a chemical engineer at a German-American company, where the formula to move up required working in multiple functions and divisions. I had incredible mentors who recognized my leadership abilities and asked what I wanted to do. When I said I wanted profit and loss responsibility, they encouraged me to get exposure in other areas beyond process engineering. I did a stint in organizational effectiveness, then received calls from both the head of sales and the head of HR about potential roles. When I told the HR head I didn't know anything about HR, he said 'if you can learn chemical engineering, I can teach you everything you need to know about HR.' That boss became a great mentor who gave me tough feedback and helped me grow into a better leader and coach. I've been working at the director level since 2007 and eventually became VP of HR for BMW, where they sent me to Germany to learn the culture from their headquarters. In September of last year, I launched ACH Catalyst, my coaching and consulting business, named for my chemical engineering roots where a catalyst speeds up reactions. I'm trained through the Co-Active Training Institute, the world's largest and oldest coaching program accredited by the International Coaching Federation. My approach is based on the principle that everyone is naturally creative, resourceful, and whole. I don't give people answers - I ask questions to help them see different perspectives, understand their values, and figure out what's important to them. I work with business clients and private clients ranging from their 20s to their 70s, helping them navigate career decisions, develop leadership capabilities, or plan meaningful retirements. I help them explore whether they're living life on purpose or just going through the motions, using neuroscience principles and visualization techniques to help them change and grow.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Annmarie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think having some really great coaches and mentors who pushed me and helped me to think beyond where I am now, but to challenge me to do more, to do better. They also cared enough to give me the tough feedback. When you get challenging feedback, you have to thank them for it, walk away, think about it, see what you can change, and then you'll look back at it and understand. It takes a village. I also have a coach myself - I meet with him monthly, and he helps me figure out how do I do better, how do I build on what I've gotten, how do I improve. Just like any athlete or Olympian, everybody's got coaches.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I really do think certification helps. Not only does it give you the credibility, but it makes sure that you've got a solid foundation and that you're not just winging it, but you're using a model that has been proven to work. Ask tough questions. Ask for feedback. What could you do better? What's holding you back? When you make a mistake, that's great - just own up to it and fail fast. What's the difference between an athlete and an Olympian? How fast you recover. Learn from your mistake, get back up, and do it again. Create an environment of psychological safety where people are comfortable saying 'oops, I messed up.' Let's all learn from my mistake so we don't do it again, and let's get to the root cause so we put something in place so it doesn't happen again.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity and honesty are big ones for me. I really try to emphasize open, honest, direct conversations, tactfully. Open, honest communication is essential. My family is really important to me, and friends. Although I'm not great at this, balance is important, but it's hard - it's something that you have to continuously work at. Responsibility and accountability are also big ones. Like, if you make a mistake, that's great, just own up to it and fail fast. I believe in creating psychological safety and an environment where people are comfortable admitting mistakes so we can all learn from them and get to the root cause to prevent them from happening again. That solution-oriented mentality and leader mindset is important to me.
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