Amy Hudson

“Companies need to listen to their customers and understand as much as possible about them. Identifying and effectively communicating how your products or services can help customers achieve their goals is critical.”

What do you do professionally?

For nearly 20 years, I have worked with B2B companies and clients to build to Exit or transform their companies.  I founded my own practice recently, HAANWorks, where I work with CEOs to build best-in-class GTM and Customer growth organizations, through their journey from early stage to Exit. 

Tell me about your path to get where you are today. How did you get into this type of work?

After receiving my undergrad degree from Cornell, I joined Accenture to learn and cut my teeth in Technology and work with clients on transformations.  After four years of working with Fortune 100 companies, I wanted to pivot and focus on smaller, innovative, agile companies, so I went to Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business thinking I’d move into Venture Capital.

While I was there, I started my own company building hair care products for multi-racial people (I am biracial) for a class project.  This is when I caught “the bug” and knew that I didn’t want to be an investor, I wanted to build companies. Since Tuck, I have held multiple leadership roles at innovative, high growth companies, from early stage (<$15m ARR) to Exit. I have broad senior leadership experience, both functionally and culturally, and have built customer-facing, GTM teams, including Sales, Account Management, Customer Success, and Services.  I have deep experience working with clients and have built strategic relationships with large logos, and also built teams and codified processes to do that at scale.   

What is your professional superpower? 

I have sharp leadership instincts. This applies not only to talent and leading teams, but also the to knowing when to push your team forward or to pick your head up and pause to adjust or strategize.  This is a daily challenge, particularly at high-growth companies, and having those instincts is what separates a good leader from an excellent leader.  

How has that superpower contributed to your professional success? 

I’ve found that when I join or consult with a company, my responsibility almost always grows quickly.  The ability to sort through the noise, prioritize ruthlessly, focus myself and the team, and drive forward based what we’ve prioritized is hard but critical work.  Then waking up the next day and doing it again 🙂

If I were to ask your employees or clients what it’s like to work with you, what would they say?

I believe they would say that I am a focused and driven leader who strikes a positive tone and creates an environment where my team feels like they can thrive and be their best selves.

What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?

Earlier in my career, I inherited a 10-person global team which was more experienced than me in many ways. I was the first and only woman on the team, and introduced as their leader. 

At the beginning, there was a lot of skepticism and questions, such as “Why her and not me?” and “How is she going to lead us if she’s never done this exact work before?” and “Why should I trust and follow her?” I worked hard to demonstrate that their experience represented the heart and soul of the team and that my job wasn’t to tell them how to do their jobs, but rather to set a vision and remove obstacles for them to do the valuable work they were doing every day.

After three years, a successful exit, growing the team to 25 people, and increasing diversity to 30%, including 25% women in leadership positions, I chose to leave the company to try something new. I still remember the conversations when I shared the news of my departure with some of those original team members.  One person told me that he hoped his daughter would grow up to be like me. Another team member teared up and wondered who was going to fight for them and advocate for their value in the organization. It was the hardest yet most fulfilling experience in my career.

Describe the business impact you’ve driven for your clients and organizations. 

From Sales, to Services, to Account Management, to Customer Success, I’ve spent my entire career on the revenue side of businesses. My greatest contribution is not only landing great customers, but ensuring we retain them and expand our relationship by being very focused on value, follow through, and authenticity. Fundamentally, companies need to listen to their customers and understand as much as possible about them. Identifying and effectively communicating how your products or services can help customers achieve their goals is critical.

What person or organization do you most admire professionally and why?

My mom. She hung up a shingle for her own practice when she had three kids under the age of eight.  She hustled, built a business, merged as a Partner with another practice, was acquired and stayed on as a Senior Partner with a larger firm, and retired early. While not the exact leader I am or always strive to be, she has a focus and tenacity that can’t be denied. She also is able to think very big about future strategy and talent within organizations, which has always impressed me.

What tips do you have for organizations to best set their people (employees) up for success?

In my early days at Accenture, they had a very simple grid for new employees to populate. It asked us to prioritize the reasons “why I come to work” every day, including options such as financial benefits, ambition, intellectual stimulation, work/life balance, and so forth. This simple grid allowed managers to clearly understand what motivated their people and what was important to them. I still use a similar approach with my teams.

Is there anything we didn’t ask that you wish we would have? Or anything else you’d like to add?

I felt an immediate connection when I heard about Trove.  I’ve only had a brief HR stint at Bridgewater Associates, which has one of the most interesting cultures in the world.  That experience taught me that anyone in a senior leadership position also has HR responsibilities, particularly at early stage and high growth companies. Teams and talent are everything when it comes to disruptive innovation and building a company to support it. Your people and the innovation they deliver are the reason clients will pick your solution over the incumbents.

Contact Amy

LinkedIn Email: hudson (dot) amyl (at) gmail (dot) com
Email contact (at) hellotrove (dot) io or contact us for an introduction.