Annette is the Senior Partner & Managing Director for Sonrise International LLC, a management consulting firm established in Chicago, Illinois. The company’s primary goal is to leverage change to bring best-in-class IT Programme Management and Change Management services to businesses, while providing innovative strategies to compete and thrive in the digital age. Annette founded the firm over 20 years ago and has provided services for her U.S. Clients in Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Zurich and Australia, NZ.
She has served Fortune 500 Corporations, Professional Associations, Public Schools in the United States, Government Agencies and Universities. In addition to her work as management consultant, she has served as Curriculum Development Leader and Adjunct Professor at Illinois State University, Benedictine University and Oklahoma University.
Top achievements
1) She received the “2015-2016 Director of the Year Award” from the Project Management Institute (PMI) Chicagoland Chapter winning the highly competitive Trophy against six (6) Certified Project Management Professionals (PMP).
2) Annette was nominated in the category for “Business Excellence” by the Women’s Business Development Centre (WBDC) representing WBENC’s midwestern region of the United States, to receive the YWCA’s Women of Distinction Award in 2023 for her leadership organizing and conducting Townhalls that led the way for racial healing and reconciliation between Police Officers and the Black community in response to the death of Mr. George Floyd.
3) She served as “Thought Leader” & “Analyst” on the diverse cabinet selection of U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton, where she provided analysis alongside academicians and other panellist on “CBS Good Morning” with Harry Smith and Paul Zahn.
What attracted you to the MBA programme at Kent Business School and why?
Having a global mindset, I was very impressed with my findings that University of Kent is a strong global university ranking consistently in the top 1-4% worldwide. And the Kent Business School ranked in the top 100% globally for Marketing & Supply Chain management. Although I received offers at all five universities that I applied for, I found Kent’s University interviewing process and actions following my interview to be exceptional among other offers, which sealed my decision to study at KBS.
What are your motivations for undertaking an MBA
I have always wanted to get my MBA; however, while running a small business I could never find the time to do so, nor the ability to justify the funding. My business took a huge hit during COVID which took 4 years to begin to recover. Yet, at the beginning of a new growth and expansion phase, the new administration’s anti-DEI legislation negatively impacts small businesses with a direct policy impact against women and Black and Brown owned businesses. Therefore, the current US political and economic climate provided me with the perfect opportunity to take a one-year sabbatical to pursue my MBA.
What are your future aspirations?
With the growing changing technological environments, the MBA will equip me with greater skills, knowledge, and techniques to better serve my clients. AI and technology are transforming the Healthcare and Life sciences sectors in which I serve, so this transformation not only impacts the US but the world. So, the one-year academic sabbatical also allows me time to focus on ways in which I can position myself to learn and expand my business in the UK, EU, and Africa’s global marketplaces.
What is your best advice for those wanting to progress in business?
Follow your dreams, not your doubts. When you think you cannot take another step, allow yourself to rest. Then get up, keep following your dream and never give up.
“Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.”
“No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.