2021
Audit Senior Manager
ASIAN
LEADERS Worth Watching
TM
INTERNATIONAL
AWARD
Annie Yuan Norviel
Education: BS, accounting, California State University San Marcos Company Name: Moss Adams LLP Industry: Finance and Accounting Company CEO: Chris Schmidt Company Headquarters Location: Seattle, Washington Number of Employees: 3,400 Your Location (if different from above): San Diego, California Words you live by: Persevere, positive, collaborative, appreciative, and inspiring Who is your personal hero? Melinda Gates What book are you reading? Smart Collaboration: How Professionals and Their Firms Succeed by Breaking Down Silos by Heidi K. Gardner What was your first job: Waiting tables in restaurants Favorite charity: Cancer Commons Interests: Hiking, road biking, interior design, gardening, travel, and binge watching Family: Husband, Vern, and son, Eric
A Winning Example of Perseverance I’ve been provided many opportunities throughout my career, but without perseverance, I may not have overcome the moments of challenge and feelings of discouragement in my personal and professional life. Born a daughter of a poor family in Beijing, China, I became the first in my family to immigrate to the United States. The new culture and language were initially very foreign to me, and I immediately needed to find work to provide income, but also support my integration and learning English. After waiting tables, I opened and managed my own small restaurant. Although I was proud of my progress, there were moments of feeling hopeless, waves of discouragement, and uncertainty. I knew I could do
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2021 Second Quarter
more, and my strong drive and perseverance, relationships with good friends, and learning from my failures are what allowed me to pursue my dream of furthering my education, and later, achieving my career goals. In addition to perseverance, resilience and establishing mentor relationships helped me succeed during my 13-year career in the accounting industry, as well as in my personal life. Mentors, and the coaching they offered, created visibility to possible opportunities and paths to success, including paths that didn’t look like those of others, but ones that aligned with my unique skills and background. Knowing what I gained through those connections, I want to pass that along to others
who are starting and growing in their careers. The culture at Moss Adams is centered around our people and clients, which provides me the opportunity to be a mentor by sharing my story, empathizing with others, and emphasizing the importance of staying motivated and persevering through the hardest of professional and personal challenges. I’ve learned that life is beautiful because each day is different and every person is unique. I believe mentoring with this mindset, along with perseverance, helps create successful, happy, and purposeful careers. I am proud when I look back at my accomplishments, but that feeling doesn’t compare to seeing my teams and those I work with realize that anything is possible.
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