Zimmermann’s travels have taken her to many foreign countries, including China and India, where she saw overwhelming poverty. Zimmermann got 50 South Bay Accent her start in the private, high-tech sector with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Canisius College in Buffalo. She rose from a senior software engineer at Acterna (now JDSU) to director of engineering, and then was appointed vice president of engineering. In 2005, she took over as executive officer and vice president at Catapult Communications (now Ixia). Less than two years later, she was named vice president of strategy and business development at Agilent Technologies. During her seven years with Agilent, Zimmermann ran a $200 million division in Edinburgh, Scotland, taking an unprofitable operation into sustained profitability within six months. Her management style, she says, is rooted in listening. “I really am a perspective junky. I never think my idea is the best idea, so I talk to everyone and get their ideas and perspectives; I learn from everyone around me.” A true team player with a long list of corporate triumphs, Zimmermann is quick to deflect attention and to give credit to co-workers. Her proudest moments, she explains, come from seeing the success of those she has influenced. “I have multiple employees from as far back as 10 years ago who still contact me to tell me about their accomplishments,” she says, “how much they learned from me and how they appreciated my leadership style and modeled their own style after mine.” While working at Agilent, Zimmermann had many opportunities to indulge her love of travel. In one year alone, she flew enough miles to circle the globe nine times. “I have a lot of travel delay stories,” she says, “and ending up in wrong countries not knowing anyone or the language but managing to figure it out.” Such resourcefulness, determination and adaptability helped power the Los Gatos resident through her business career and through several life experiences. To celebrate their 20th anniversary, she and husband Ralph cycled hundreds of miles in New Zealand. “We biked the whole South Island, from the north starting at Christschurch to the south at Queenstown,” she recalls. The terrain was “everything from mountain passes to flats, and the longest single day was 90 miles.” The weather? “One day we experienced sun, rain and snow.” Zimmermann’s travels have taken her to many foreign countries, including China and India, where she saw overwhelming poverty. Her experiences sparked a strong need to make a difference in people’s lives, Getting to know people from different countries and cultures fueled Zimmermann’s love for travel. In China, an artist offered a good luck token; at right, she enjoys her first trip to India. As a Silicon Valley business executive, she journeyed all over the globe. COURTESY OF ANNMARIE ZIMMERMANN (2)
South Bay Accent - Dec 2014/Jan 2015
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