From Humble Beginnings to a Global Platform
Anne’s leadership story begins long before the
boardrooms. She’s the proud daughter of
Taiwanese immigrants who came to the United
States in the 1960s. Her parents’ journey was
rooted in hope, education, and a belief in the
American dream. Her father, an electrical
engineer, spent 30 years in the
telecommunications industry before pivoting to
become a high school math teacher—an example
of both technical excellence and deep service.
Culture Is Not a Side
Project—It’s the Strategy
For Anne, the defining element of great
leadership isn’t charisma or even strategy—it’s
culture. In fact, she calls culture the only
sustainable competitive advantage in business.
On the She CEO podcast with Dr. Julie
Ducharme, she elaborated: culture is not the
slogans you print on the wall. It’s not a one-off
HR initiative. Culture is what happens behind
closed doors. It’s how decisions are made under
pressure. It’s the norms, values, behaviors, and
practices that shape the day-to-day decisions,
actions, and experiences of your people.
Anne emphasized that culture must be owned
by leaders—not outsourced to human resources.
True culture-building means aligning your
actions, systems, and policies with your stated
values. If you say you value trust and
empowerment, but require multiple approval
layers for small decisions or micromanage your
team’s every move, the disconnect becomes the
culture.
She also highlighted two foundational pillars
that uphold high-performing cultures: trust and
communication. Without trust, speed and
collaboration break down. Without
communication, alignment and purpose begin to
erode. For Anne, leaders must continuously
model the behaviors they want to see, and they
must build environments where people feel
safe, valued, and heard.
Inspired by that legacy, Anne pursued her own
education with determination, earning degrees
in electrical engineering and an MBA. But it
wasn’t long into her early career that she
realized she didn’t want to remain solely in
technical roles. Instead, she was drawn to the
intersection of people and technology—a space
that would become her calling. AT&T offered
that unique opportunity, and in 1990, she began
what would become a 32-year career filled with
dynamic roles, constant learning, and expansive
leadership.
Over the decades, Anne held 17 different roles
and reported to 26 different bosses. That
breadth of experience—across operations, sales,
technology, and strategy—shaped her
perspective, sharpened her leadership, and gave
her a firsthand look at what works and what
doesn’t inside large-scale organizations.
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