Anne Robson is to GPSEG what fine wine is to good cheese – the perfect complement.
That’s because Robson is Executive Vice-President at Kelleher Associates, a premier career management and executive coaching firm. Her work dovetails closely with the mission of GPSEG – Networking for Life.
“Connecting just comes naturally,” she said. “Relationship management is what gives me energy.”
Robson spends her days working to build brand awareness for Kelleher Associates by networking, meeting with executives in transition, as well as senior corporate heads of human resources. A GPSEG member since 2005, Robson is an unabashed supporter of the “Networking for Life” mantra, estimating that 80 percent of all senior- level executive positions are filled via networking. In today’s job market, job boards account for fewer than 10 percent of senior level opportunities, retained executive search opportunities account for around 10 percent, with “serendipity” responsible for the balance.
At Kelleher, Robson provides clients with transition support, career management services, executive coaching and business coaching. Her client base is representative of the diversity of businesses in the Delaware Valley.
Despite the difficult economy, Robson has noticed a couple of favorable trends. In 2009 and early 2010, it was taking senior executive clients seven to eight months to land a job from the time they began working with Kelleher. Today, that range is more typically 5 ½ to 6 1/2 months. And given the ongoing executive churn in the Delaware Valley, opportunities are more regularly becoming available.
So, what exactly does Robson encourage clients to do to make themselves more marketable?
Being articulate about what you’d like to do next with your career is important, she notes. So is thoroughly researching target companies – companies that might be your next employer. And – you guessed it – networking, whether it’s meeting new people, writing articles for trade publications, public speaking or any other way to draw attention to the candidate’s skill set.
A native of Rochester, N.Y., Robson wasn’t always networking.
Her career started in Rochester at the Eastman Kodak Co., where her father also worked. She met her husband, Bill, there and the company also employed her father-in-law. Her tenure involved the launch of the company’s instant cameras, as well as a three-year stint living in London. Back in Rochester, she served as executive director of Kodak’s Healthcare Business Consulting Group, where she designed and led the company’s first healthcare consulting practice.
After that, her career took her to Ernst & Young as Director of Americas Marketing and, more recently, to McKesson Health Solutions, where she served as Director of Business Development and Strategic Alliances.
When she’s not working at Kelleher or for GPSEG – where she serves on the board of directors and co-chairs the Power Breakfast – Robson’s likely to be involved in other kinds of networking, particularly with women’s organizations. She’s active on the membership committee of the Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), Professional Women’s Roundtable, the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and is a member of PHRPS.
While firmly entrenched as a Malvern resident, the mother of three still returns to her New York roots, enjoying a vacation home on the Finger Lakes near Rochester. There she engages in classic summer activities such as boating, swimming, walking and reading. “It’s my Tara,” she said.
Still, the trips to Rochester are only detours from her true calling of helping people to achieve their career objectives.
“I love meeting people, understanding what they want to do next and helping them to achieve it – it’s stimulating, creative and interesting. It’s just a pleasure to work with them.”