admin While globalisation offers companies a unique opportunity to tap into the vast potential of an interconnected world, expanding horizons and reaching grassroots can still be a daunting affair for most. From tapping into local talent pools, leveraging local customer insights, global innovation, regional compliances, to product market fit, international infrastructure and engineering if done right, well funded globalisation strategies establish strategic alliances, cut costs, and spread innovation across millions, and bring shareholder value.
At the same time, globalisation is far from being monolithic. Whether it be adherence to local regulatory frameworks or positioning a product/service in local terms and marketing it in terms of local preferences – globalisation needs to be tailored to meet the large expansion goals of companies as well as the proposed market of expansion. This is where leading industry expert Anna N. Schlegel shines, and has focused her work and innovation on in the past 3 decades. As leading globalisation expert, Anna has spearheaded global expansion, company revival, and digital transformation strategies for several Fortune 500 companies, pioneering record-breaking approaches for the last 30 years. When we talked to Anna we heard her passion for having founded and leading Women in Localization, and a Globalization Innovation Lab both for 15 years! At NetApp Anna left with more than 70+ globalisation frameworks marked as trade secrets, prior art or even a patent. Her frameworks have revolutionised the industry, they have been copied, emulated, displayed on dozens and dozens of panels. She is that, a top globalisation and growth leader, not just for her companies, but for the industry, and for this we celebrate her.
As organisations, it’s important that we first determine our core values before our goals. Getting a sense of who we are and how we function precedes everything else – Anna N. Schlegel
In these three decades, Anna has helped scale revenue for companies she has worked with. For instance, her expert insights helped Japan’s NetApp move to the no. 1 data storage position from its erstwhile no. 12 ranking. Over the years, Anna has propelled global market growth, entering new markets, creating joint ventures in China, and OEM partnerships in Asia and Europe. She has set up highly secure Test labs in India and China. Anna’s extensive experience in the field offers her a unique Truly Global insider position into the strategies companies adopt to expand successfully into diverse markets with varied cultures. Her unique approach is built on an orchestration of understanding the team, the product, the customer, leveraging the upfront investment of the enterprise and then curating a cohesive strategy for global expansion – one that promotes and coincides with the company’s larger growth objectives. Anna talks a lot about her team, and how lucky she has been to be surrounded by great professionals and that alone she would not be where she is. Which speaks volumes of the type of leader she is. She is very much a humanist that has delivered so much innovation in 3 decades, and has spent hundreds if not thousands of hours in mentoring and sponsorship to drive global growth for companies and career growth for her teams, and nonprofits.
Her teams speak about being some of the best prepared to take companies globally, and both Anna and her teams have been recognized since 2014 by dozens of publications, forums and organisations around the globe.
Becoming One of the First Globalizers
Anna’s global worldview has always opened doors of success for her, but she also bravely created her own path. Anna came to San Francisco as a fresh post-graduate Linguistics, Philosophy, and German Studies in 1992 as a 23 year old. As a young, inquisitive, and energetic professional, Anna quickly materialised her ideas into reality by establishing her first startup in the city back in 1992. Embarking on her dream of becoming a global product expert, Anna started helping local Silicon Valley companies and, in that process, also gained invaluable insights in the fields of product and enterprise globalisation. Her years leading her start-up helped her network and work closely with strategy teams, product groups, marketing departments, and engineering verticals. This helped her start the next chapter of a long and successful innings in Fortune 500 companies.
Anna sold the start-up upon receiving an offer from Cisco Systems to head their first localisation efforts in 1996 – a time when globalisation was still in its nascency. She remembers her time there as a learning goldmine and a chief milestone on her road to success. Later on, Anna went to lead globalisation, international strategy, digital transformation, global infrastructure, global engineering, and PLCs at top companies like Xerox, VeriSign, VMware, NetApp, and now Procore. Apart from these companies, Anna’s consultancy skills have also helped stalwarts like Google, Yahoo, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, Universitat de Barcelona, and dozens of others.
Her skills and insight into the tech field is considered invaluable. To this end, Anna has been approached by several top institutions like GALA Global, ATA, European Union, Catalan Government, The Think Global Forum to share her wisdom, or be in their boards. As a woman of many talents, eager to disseminate her knowledge, Anna has also penned the book ‘Truly Global: The Theory and Practice of Bringing Your Company to International Markets’. The book focuses on the roadblocks firms face and the effective global expansion strategies they can adopt to overcome these roadblocks. Launched in 2021, the second edition contains more detailed excerpts from Anna’s own journey, offering practical guidance to companies. Top forums like Forbes, Fortune, the European Union, and Gala-Global have published Anna’s work, showcasing her expertise to a global readership pool. Today, Anna sits on three global boards and presides over the catalan International EconomicCircle Study on Women. She is also a Catalan DIPLOCAT member and was recently awarded the ‘Creu de Sant Jordi’ or the medal of honour by the Catalan Government, the highest recognition a citizen can receive.
Making Efforts That Count
Growing up, Anna witnessed the joy of giving back first hand through her father. Imbibing the same spirit, Anna makes more than a conscious effort to give back to the community. Starting with her first board membership of the Northern California Translators Association, Anna has actively involved herself in working for the community since the age of 10.
Anna helped restructure NetApp’s Women in Technology (WIT) association and still continues to helm the role of its Global Executive Sponsor inside Procore. Similarly, she co-founded the STEM Mentors Silicon Valley to introduce underrepresented kids in the Bay Area to STEM education, helping them attain their potential. Women in Localization is yet another association that’s close to Anna’s heart. She co-founded this association 13 years ago to help build a globalisation community for women in liberalisation. Today, the association has roots in over 30 global chapters with a growing number of 9,000 members working worldwide.
Defining Success
Much like other efficient business leaders, Anna’s idea of success is not boxed into the traditional dollars-and-cents definition. Rather, for her, success is more about the work they’ve performed and the life lived. Anna asserts, ‘On any given day, if we can innovate, ideate, and move in a positive direction on behalf of the customer, I count it as a successful day. But equally important is that my team is happy’ She measures success in terms of her work days and family time.
To achieve higher global revenues, we need to start at the top, instituting clarity and alignment. For that, agreement between sales, product, and finance teams is necessary. It’s like a tag team, where every team member must function in tandem with others – Anna N. Schlegel
Apart from work, Anna derives her sense of success from her family life. Any day dinner is prioritised for a quality meal with her family. Similarly, watching her kids studying at college, ensuring the health and well-being of her family brings her immense sense of pride and happiness.
Overcoming Stereotypes and Setbacks
The tech industry is notorious for its skewed gender ratio. While today this gap has started bridging, during the 1990s, the ‘bro culture’ of the industry was a menace to any capable and skilled woman trying to forge a path in the industry. Anna’s story was no different. As she worked to mark her niche in the industry, she found and continues to find gender stereotypes working against her consistently. Apart from being shunned from office camaraderie like golf games, hunting trips, no need to come, being mansplained etc. Anna also had to deal with racial prejudices being identified as a Hispanic woman, or being adorable or endearing, being asked to speak, or not to speak, she now at age 55 takes it all with a grain of salt but continues to guard how women in her teams have a seat at the table. Moreover, as a working mother, Anna had to excel at work and look after her 4 kids -including a special needs kid.
However, Anna never let these obstacles block her journey. With her relentless optimism and patience, Anna was able to tackle each obstacle with ease. Annihilating challenges is pretty set in her DNA from what we can see. She talks about being nervous or anxious at times but she works through it nevertheless. We do see a highly daring, optimistic, caring leader. Hailing from a strong family with 4 grandparents who all survived wars and emerged as successful entrepreneurs, Anna herself learnt the value of resilience and strength by being a life-long marathon runner and volleyball captain. This helped ingrain the value of looking at no obstacle as permanent. For Anna, every roadblock, no matter its size, is transient in face of her zeal and resilience.
Accolades Celebrating the Wisdom of a Genius
Anna’s long list of accolades makes her one of the most celebrated leaders in the globalisation field. With an AI patent, multiple GM and VP posts for top tech firms, 8 years of serving as the chair of WIT associations, and multiple non-profits, Anna’s contribution to the field was facilitated with several awards.
After receiving NetApp’s Employee of the Year Award just 2 years into the job, she also received a top STEM award in the US. Anna was also honoured with the Silicon Woman of the Year Award in 2018. However, among her varied accolades of which there have been many, Anna counts being given the highest honour by the Catalan Government in 2021 and named the Most Influential Women in Tech by the Analytics Insight magazine as her most treasured accolades. Other than awards, Anna is regularly featured on magazine covers, panels, and interviews. Anna’s brilliance is often quoted to celebrate her genius and inspire others. She told us that she gets from 5-15 requests a day for collaborations and she had to hire a personal comms person to block it all so she can focus!
Guiding the Women Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow
With over 30 years of experience on her ledger, Anna advises aspiring women entrepreneurs on the core values of excellence and success. Drawing from her own trajectory, Anna asserts the importance of a positive outlook and mindset. She advises young women to treat missed or failed opportunities as a sign that something better lies ahead. ‘You can never give up simply due to a rejection or set-back,’ propounds Anna. Feeling passionate about the industry aspirants wish to enter and finding the right mentor can also go a long way.
At the same time, she emphasises on the importance of learning in an individual’s life. ‘Our growth ends the day learning ends. So, to keep growing and flourishing, you will need to keep the inquisitive student inside you alive. Ask the right questions, seek assistance, and find out more. Only by knowing everything about your work environment will you figure out if it’s the right fit for you. At the end of the day, you need to build a network, change roles often, understand what works best for you, and compartmentalise your life. You need to give your body and soul the rest they need to enter the arena, ready to tackle barriers and so very many points of views’ asserts Anna.
Chasing the Next Globalisation Challenge
The next big challenge in Anna’s life is now helping Procore Technologies reach optimised globalisation scales. Anna joined the company in May 2021 with an aim to help the construction firm expand its sphere of influence at a truly global scale. As the Vice-President of Global, International Product, International Markets, Global Infrastructure, Customer Education, Training, and Globalisation Teams, Anna guarantees tangible results. With her seasoned approach and invaluable experience, Anna has quickly discovered the main untapped market for the brand and is formulating a plan to soon capitalise on this market. Pioneering global growth for the company, Anna has a foolproof plan drafted for the company to enter local markets, expand their global footprints, and meticulously curate local-friendly experiences and goods. With this vision in place, Anna aims to pace-up the globalisation for the brand, positively impacting its revenue.
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