European born and raised, I consider myself a self-made senior executive with a non-traditional education. I acquired my business experience through a three-year apprenticeship in a private family owned business; expanded my understanding and application of technology by spending seven years in an IT organization, and developed my leadership skills through numerous executive training programs and positions of increasing responsibility.

The two people who had the greatest influence in shaping my youth were my father and my third grade teacher. As an immigrant to the United States I spoke no English and Miss Anderson took the extra time required to get me to grade level within a few short months. As the daughter of a professional horse trainer specializing in dressage and jumping, I spent my youth training and showing European horses at exhibitions, horse shows, and colleges throughout the Midwest. My father taught me the dedication, discipline and stamina necessary to work in total harmony with 1200 lbs. of horse!

In my professional life I developed an expressed passion for building, transforming and leading state of the art contact centers that deliver great customer experiences. I’ve had the good fortune to work at some of the best-known brands across multiple industry sectors. There are many people who influenced my career but a few notable leaders shaped my future: Earl Wantland, former president of Tektronix, who inspired a corporate culture of quality, lifelong learning and respect for all employees; Jim Bostic, former CEO and Nancy Evensen, former SVP of Marketing at NordicTrack, who set very high standards for me to build my first cutting edge call center and deliver an exceptional customer experience; Doug Stewart, former EVP of Sanwa Bank, who hired me out of retail, and showcased the fact that sometimes it is better to hire from outside the industry; and Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO of the decade, whose resuscitation of the company in the late 90’s was an inspiration and taught me that all obstacles can be overcome.

In my work I act as primary advocate, coach, and role model for those people who deal with customers in a variety of sales and service functions. In pursuing my career I have acquired a working knowledge of all business functions across multiple industry sectors, which allows me to integrate strategy, information, and technology without using a cookie cutter approach. The resulting successes are quickly evident with people strongly committed to the customer; an organization that acts as a strategic differentiator; high quality customer experiences, and performance that positively impact the bottom line.

In my personal life I have been married for 30 years to my husband Scott and we have a handsome teenage son who is currently in college. And yes, our extended family includes four dogs, which keep our lives joyful with their crazy antics and unconditional love!