Bet on Yourself with Former Amazon and Google Exec Ann Hiatt

What I Wish I Knew with Mike Irwin & Simon Daw

Ann Hiatt’s first job was with a startup. At age 16. “Leaning into doing hard things,” she joined Amazon out of college and became Executive Business Partner to Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos. In the early years, Amazon’s focus on securing customers rather than profit was considered risky. Also risky: the helicopter that Ann arranged for Bezos. Listen to hear that story.

While pursuing a PhD at UC Berkeley, she was recruited to Google and worked alongside Marissa Mayer on new technology. Ann then became Executive Business Partner and Chief of Staff to Google CEO Erik Schmidt. Ann's 15 years in leadership of the two tech giants has given her a unique perspective on the enormous role and responsibility of transformative business models.

Ann now consults with executives and companies across the globe to reverse engineer their moonshot goals and get results. Ann is a sought-after international speaker, angel investor and sits on several boards in the UK. Ann has recently relocated from Silicon Valley to Europe and brings with her a unique perspective on what it takes to succeed in business today. Ann is also the author of Bet On Yourself which will be published by HarperCollins in 2021.

In this episode of What I Wish I Knew with Mike Irwin & Simon Daw, Ann talks about what she learned about innovation and leadership from her days at Amazon and Google and how to apply innovation at scale.

What I Wish I Knew with Mike Irwin & Simon Daw...

Life and career rarely go to plan. Breakthroughs happen on the ragged edge when things aren't quite going as expected. What I Wish I Knew podcast hosts Mike Irwin and Simon Daw explore lessons learned by leading athletes, creators, entrepreneurs, leaders, and difference makers. They all have three things in common: none are perfect, all are humble, and they've learned a few things along the way. In What I Wish I Knew, they share their lessons with you. Find us on Apple Podcast, Googe Podcast, Spotify, and your favorite streaming service.

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