A Small Town Girl From Lewiston, Maine

By Olivia Dandrow

Determination is a common theme for Annie Ouellette, who was born in the small town of Lewiston, Maine.

“I did everything in college. I was president of my sorority. I was an athlete and participated in basketball and swimming,” Ouellette said. 

She attended Florida International University in Miami. Two of her brothers received full scholarships to play sports in college, which motivated her to also get the most out of the college experience. She majored in business and minored in marketing and consumer affairs.

Ouellette was also intrigued by fashion. After college, she landed her dream job in retail sales as an account manager for Lancome. She said she hated it but was determined to make it work, until a former boyfriend told her of another opportunity: a field sales opening at FedEx. He suggested she apply.

She interviewed three times and was rejected three times.

She wrote them a letter stating if they hired her and gave her one year, she’d be one of their top three sales reps. They hired her.

She quickly realized commercial sales is very different from retail sales, but she didn’t give up. She became their number one salesperson.

Now, almost 33 years later, she is a Worldwide Account Manager managing an all-male team. Since Covid, she and the members of her department continue to work remotely.

One of the things she missed during Covid was the face-to-face interaction with her clients. Her travels now are limited to the U.S., but she has traveled internationally in the past to Paris, Rome, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, and Canada being her favorite.

“That is my favorite thing, being face-to-face with a client. It is so much fun,” Ouellette said.

Twelve years ago, the vice president for “healthcare vertical” cherry picked his team including Ouellette, to support their perishable shipping division.

“I work with amazing people every day, very smart people,” said Ouellette.

Her role is more like that of a consultant, she said, engaging with their solutions teams to help their customers meet their objectives by finding solutions to solve their business needs, so they can also grow their business.

“The one thing that I really love about my job is the people that I’ve met. I work with incredible people, including my clients. It makes a difference when you work collaboratively. You’re never successful just on your own,” said Ouellette.

“It takes a lot of work to engage with offshore colleagues that support a company. We have to coordinate conference calls for global needs, keep everyone informed, bring in appropriate resources, and work together,” said Ouellette.

“We just had a huge win, and it wasn’t achieved just by me. It was truly a team effort,” Ouelette said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun.”

Fred Smith was the founder of FedEx, formerly Federal Express Corporation, a transport company based in Memphis, Tennessee. He only recently stepped down as president after more than 50 years.

“I think it’s a great story, because he got a C- on his thesis which was written about starting this overnight delivery company. And, it’s now a 100 billion dollar company. He changed the world,” said Ouelette.

“I am an overachiever, and I love being successful. But I also love seeing other people be successful. That motivates me. My bosses have always told me that they don’t need to put any pressure on me because I put enough on myself. I am always open to constructive feedback no matter how long I’ve been on the job, so I can continue to improve and grow,” said Ouellette.

Determined to help others be successful, Ouellette is grooming another person to take her job when she retires.

Working in a male-dominated environment, Ouellette continues to rely on the leadership of her long-time mentor Lee Alcott, who is now retired.

“It has been incredibly helpful to have someone like Lee. She has been the one that I learned the most from,” Ouellette said.

The product of a devout Catholic upbringing in Lewiston, Maine, Ouellette said she and her six siblings had great role models. She said her mother, Helen, who died in January, was the most influential. Helen Ouelette, who worked as an administrative assistant for several years, as a proprietor of a children’s shop, and a store manager, was the first up in the morning and the last one to bed at night, she said.

“I have a wonderful family, and so I have strong family values,” said Ouellette.