With demonstrated success leading Fortune 500 global product management, digital transformation, and international market strategy, Anna N Schlegel succeeds in firms that are experiencing significant global expansion, company revival, digital transformation, and engineering innovation. She has vast knowledge earned through postings in the United States and abroad.

Today, Anna is Vice President/Co-GM International at Procore Technologies, where she oversees the global expansion of the construction industry’s top software platform and ecosystem.

The Journey

Anna was born between the Catalan and French borders, and she believes that spending summers on the Mediterranean shore with many European visitors began her “Truly Global” DNA. She tutored and babysat before entering the realm of software, products and linguistics. Her foray into globalizing technology began when she joined a software business located in Barcelona during her undergraduate studies. She realized that in order for a product to sell outside of a country, it must be effectively positioned in the same way that a native would use it. She began as a technical translator, later opening her own localization firm and delving into code re-engineering. At this point, she has led globalization, global infrastructure, digital transformation, and PLCs at companies like Cisco, Xerox, VeriSign, VMware, NetApp and Procore Technologies, and she has done a fair amount of consulting with Google, Yahoo, and even companies like Levis Strauss.

Writing TRULY GLOBAL

Anna authored “Truly Global: The Theory and Practice of Bringing Your Company to International Markets”, in its second edition, and she believes that the long title explains it all. In the book she describes what globalizers do after leading and driving globalization at several large organizations, and serving as CEO and General Manager for a couple of globalization firms. She opines, “I had and still have not seen another book that explains the craft of globalization from inside a corporation, what a company has to go through to win globally. It’s quite an orchestration, and it’s not widely known. People understand what a CMO does, or a CFO does, but our world, as an industry, seems to be rather misunderstood, or misplaced.” It’s been released twice and sold in many countries; many universities use it. It’s been a great surprise!

Joining the Technology and Engineering Sector

“I have to say that my dad was an industrial engineer, and I followed him to his work quite often. It fascinated me”- Anna N Schlegel

Anna founded her first company to globalize products when she was 24 years old in San Francisco. That is where genuinely complicated technology began in 1992. The company had minimal expectations for how Silicon Graphics, for example, would fare in Germany. She went to work on those issues. Then she got caught in teaching Google to speak Catalan using what was then known as “crowdsourcing.” She became captivated, and she learnt more and more with each assignment and new companies she was serving. Anna had not started as an engineer, and that is why she had to go back to school for, as all the difficulties pointed to the code line as the language foundation. Anna loved team building coming from a strong volleyball background; after joining Cisco, she was matched for a year with a female mentor who worked at AAA, and her journey into global team management began.

The Hat of the Vice President

Procore Technologies has the mission to connect everyone in the world of construction on a global platform. The company was founded in 2002 and the team is here to make sure that one platform can have all people, systems, and data working together in the world of construction. The company’s goal is to make the construction industry easier, safer, and more productive with the use of technology.

Anna’s role as VP of Global by Design takes different forms. She leads 8 different groups, from Global Infrastructure, to Product Flexibility, International Product Management, the Globalization team, International markets, the Technical Publications, and Customer Education and Certification teams. She doesn’t think she left anyone behind. She states, “It is really a great team of super clever and hard working humans, a very fast paced environment, and an industry where high tech has not been necessarily deployed. So we are constantly talking to customers globally to understand our top priorities and shape the future of our construction platform.”

Anna had been a Vicepresident at NetApp where she worked for 12 years, and GM at 2 previous companies.

A Contented Individual

Anna is a Catalan, an American, and a family-oriented person with strong Mediterranean values and American methodologies, which is a great combo. She was born in Olot, Catalunya, and she cherishes the town as Ambassador, which she enjoys visiting and giving back to. In terms of Catalunya, she does everything she can to maintain its customs and language. She is a government diplomat, a Minister of Finance consultant, and a tech ambassador for the city of Barcelona.

Anna is a mom of college-aged children who all left the home, but visit often, so it’s all about new changes and being empty nesters. For her self-care she shares: “If I can run, I run every day, especially when I am not jet lagged. If I can swim in the Mediterranean, I jump in every day. If I can hike in California, I will do that, too. If I can meet with my volleyball ex-teammates, I will do that as well.” She would have loved to be just an athlete! She continues, “At the same time, I’m quite content watching a movie or reading and doing nothing to rest or catch up on overseas travel.” She also enjoys dancing and has a large number of family, childhood, and work-related pals. Anna comes from a beautiful community and family, and that transpires as we talk to her.

Inside the office, Anna spends a lot of time mentoring, brainstorming, setting direction, taking perspectives, talking with co-workers and customers, and even finding time to have lunch. She travels a lot, especially now that the company is expanding globally. She emphasizes that it is all about the team first, aligning with the company’s direction, and having good values as a human.

Recognition for Excellence as a Professional

The first time Anna got an award was in 2014 for being the employee of the year at NetApp. That was a very big surprise, and she had no idea why she was getting it, as she was just doing her job. 2 years later, a coworker nominated her for a STEM award in the United States; then came Silicon Woman of the Year in 2018, and then people started requesting her to appear on magazine covers non-stop, which became a new thing and sort of odd until Anna dag deep into the % of females that had started companies, started nonprofits to support women or had patents like her. “I think it was because of the number of non-profits I have, the fact that I was a GM or VP in a few high-tech companies, have an artificial intelligence patent, or that I was Chair of Women in Tech for 8 years’ ‘ she says. Then she understood the amount of personal investment in the world of technology and supporting thousands of females through her non-profits or at work. Only her or her family or close friends see this dedication.

Anna feels better now with the awards if they will encourage other people to show up as role models or she can share some knowledge. The biggest distinction she has received was recently from the Catalan government (Saint George Cross), the highest acknowledgment a Catalan citizen can receive, and in the States she was named most influential woman in technology by Analytics Insight, CIO Look, or Silicon Valley Woman in Technology in 2018. Anna has received a lot of attention, and she uses this platform to encourage other females, and show that as a leader she has developed and globalized a lot of technology into the world. This has resulted in many interviews, panels, TV, radio, publications, articles, requests for investment, coaching, and mentorship since 2014. Anna thinks often about the teams she has worked with to get my patent, the industry innovation, being an immigrant, and coming with your typical suitcase making 7 dollars an hour, the courage, the non-profits have been a long road, but I am so happy about it, and so is my family. I would have never thought it would be like this, but it is!

Advising Emerging Leaders

Anna’s advice for all emerging leaders is to keep learning and taking risks, even if it is scary. She says that being stale or set in your past learning does not grow you. Be open to feedback, so many managers do not ask for feedback. She adds, “How you write, how you speak, how you manage virtually, what is design thinking, how to put a 3 year strategy together. Network, a lot. Change roles often. Be brave to take on a new team. It is OK to have to learn. It is the accumulation of learning, changing roles, jobs, having incredible leaders around you, learning from the ones who have not been effective. Be reflective, analyze where you are and where you want to be. You need to plan it and work with your manager to see it through. You need to know when you advocate for your team, or for yourself. Hire people who are better than you. Who will teach you, and then actually listen to them!”

Equally important is to learn how to compartmentalize, she advises relaxing, taking care of yourself, and creating limits because business is always demanding and expects more from you. She says you are the tree that needs to develop strongly, and you care for or affect a lot of people. A lot of people depend on you, especially if you have kids and a partner. Therefore, you must be careful. When should you advocate for yourself and when should you leave the wrong environment?

A Vision for Upcoming Years

Truly Global will keep going as Anna is already thinking about the 3rd revision. Procore Technologies will become a more global design company. As for herself, she wishes for more travel to learn new cultures and reflect back what is happening in society. Tight family is everything for Anna, friends, to contribute to society, and to leave this world a better place. She says, “I would sign right now on a line to keep my life going as it is.”

“Take care of yourself first, like they tell us on airplanes. As a leader, you need to show up with a lot of strength, and that means, you are well rested and balanced.”  – Anna Navarro Schlegel

“Truly Global Leadership is a progression of what is not apparent to the eye. The hours at airports, calls at night, listening to global customers, really early mornings, the slowing down to understand another culture, the ability to represent a customer or a colleague from another country. Those things are not apparent and don’t come easy, you learn them, you have to put yourself through them.”  – Anna Navarro Schlegel

“As a female leader in tech who has a family, sometimes you will feel that you are not good enough, or can’t give enough, or there is not enough to go around. Call a friend who will put things in perspective. Don’t suffer in silence. Create your super tight group who you can call and say, today… and they will place you right back to your center”   – Anna Navarro Schlegel

Website: trulyglobalbusiness.com