This is how Ann Hiatt lives her life. Ann Hiatt is founder and CEO of her leadership strategist and consultant firm. Her previous experience includes 15 years as Executive Business Partner for Jeff Bezos, Founder and previous CEO of Amazon, and Executive Business Partner and Chief of Staff to Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google.

She started with Amazon at age 22, right after graduating from University of Washington with a Bachelors in International Studies. At that time, Amazon was not yet the corporate powerhouse that we see it as today but it was growing, influenced by the bright minds that were the foundation of the company. Ann described loving being surrounded by these bright minds, something she still enjoys today. She felt inspired and amazed to know that she was, and still is, surrounded by some of the greatest minds in the world. 

But, at the same time, she didn’t always feel like she had the authority and experience to be there. Instead of stewing in that feeling, she did something about it. She noticed that every morning, Jeff Bezos would walk into work with three different newspapers tucked under his arm, so as soon as he finished his reading, she would read them too. She gave herself assignments to do after her day’s work was done, teaching herself the topics she didn’t understand. She earned her place among these great minds and built up her confidence.

Two years ago, she went into business for herself as a private consultant. Ann Hiatt could easily be working for any corporation she wanted but she decided to pursue her own path. She realized that she wanted to inspire others to accomplish their goals, to lend support and be a voice for an underrepresented group of entrepreneurs, and to choose clients that try to have a positive impact on the world.

Outside of her consultancy, she is teaching a course called “The Secrets to Success in Silicon Valley” where she walks her students through her own successes and also brings in different guest speakers to advise them as well! Find more information about her course here!

If you take a look at Ann Hiatt’s website, you will see that she has a bucket list. On this bucket list, she includes coming a best-selling author (check out her new book here!) and giving a TED Talk that becomes a Netflix Special. So we asked her,”what’s next?”. She said her next big thing on her bucket list is to take a vacation, which I’m sure we can all relate to!;) Looking forward to seeing the big steps Ann will take next!

To find more stories from people like Ann Hiatt, check out Katrina Logie’s podcast, ‘See you tomorrow’, with Harbour.Space University or check out her website to stay up-to-date on upcoming events!