BOTH FEET FIRMLY ON THE GROUND
Annahita Esmailzadeh achieved a lot at a young age – and continues to work hard to this day. She never takes her success for granted.
BOTH FEET FIRMLY ON THE GROUND
Annahita Esmailzadeh achieved a lot at a young age – and continues to work hard to this day. She never takes her success for granted.
There is one particular moment that Annahita Esmailzadeh remembers
to this day. She was about ten years old when she and
her mother went to buy a dress for a wedding that the family had
been invited to. Her mother tried on a floor-length, dark blue velvet
gown that wasn’t too expensive. But tears welled up in her
eyes when she looked at herself in the mirror and knew that she
could not afford the dress. “My mother’s expression seared itself
into my memory, and even back then I thought: one day, I want
to be able to buy you everything you want,” explains Annahita
Esmailzadeh. And she will – now as a tech executive, bestselling
author and business influencer with a huge following.
There is one particular moment that Annahita Esmailzadeh remembers
to this day. She was about ten years old when she and
her mother went to buy a dress for a wedding that the family had
been invited to. Her mother tried on a floor-length, dark blue velvet
gown that wasn’t too expensive. But tears welled up in her
eyes when she looked at herself in the mirror and knew that she
could not afford the dress. “My mother’s expression seared itself
into my memory, and even back then I thought: one day, I want
to be able to buy you everything you want,” explains Annahita
Esmailzadeh. And she will – now as a tech executive, bestselling
author and business influencer with a huge following.
After taking her school-leaving exams, Esmailzadeh
googled: “Which university course should I choose to earn the
most money?” Business informatics was one of the options.
“When I was a child, I wanted to be a journalist or work in the
social sector,” says the 31-year-old. But when she researched the
earning potential, she decided to take a different route. However,
programming was completely alien to her. Esmailzadeh understood
barely anything in the first few lectures. Undeterred,
she studied hard, completed internships alongside her studies
and took jobs as a working student and waitress.
After taking her school-leaving exams, Esmailzadeh
googled: “Which university course should I choose to earn the
most money?” Business informatics was one of the options.
“When I was a child, I wanted to be a journalist or work in the
social sector,” says the 31-year-old. But when she researched the
earning potential, she decided to take a different route. However,
programming was completely alien to her. Esmailzadeh understood
barely anything in the first few lectures. Undeterred,
she studied hard, completed internships alongside her studies
and took jobs as a working student and waitress.
“There is no elevator to success.”
“There is no elevator to success.”
After gaining her master’s degree, she became an IT advisor
at SAP. In her late 20s, she was responsible for the innovation
department at SAP Labs in Munich as Head of Innovation.
Annahita Esmailzadeh is now an executive at Microsoft. On
her way up, she was repeatedly pigeonholed according to all the
usual stereotypes: young, pretty, determined, intelligent – many
people struggled to grasp that one person could be all of these
things. So she wrote a book about prejudices in the world of
work and how to overcome them. In “Of Quota Women and Old
White Men”, Esmailzadeh recounts her own experiences and
also draws attention to structural problems through studies
and scientific explanations. She dismantles every stereotype,
and wants people to recognise how much manpower is wasted
due to rifts and divisions. She regularly explains her theories
and insights as a keynote speaker at various events. Does it
sometimes bother her to be seen as a poster girl for dreams of
advancement? “No, it doesn’t bother me at all. I wish I’d had
someone like that to look up to when I was younger,” says
Annahita
Esmailzadeh.
Esmailzadeh grew up in Munich; her parents came from Iran in the 1980s. Her father was a taxi driver and her mother worked in a shop. Nothing will come of nothing, they taught their daughter. Esmailzadeh also learnt early on that her opinion counted. She recalls her parents saying: “We may be your parents, but if you can convince us rationally that we’re wrong about things, then we’ll give way to you.” Her mother was often summoned to the school because Annahita had once again been questioning things.
Esmailzadeh grew up in Munich; her parents came from Iran in the 1980s. Her father was a taxi driver and her mother worked in a shop. Nothing will come of nothing, they taught their daughter. Esmailzadeh also learnt early on that her opinion counted. She recalls her parents saying: “We may be your parents, but if you can convince us rationally that we’re wrong about things, then we’ll give way to you.” Her mother was often summoned to the school because Annahita had once again been questioning things.
HARD WORKER
Unlike many people of her age, Annahita Esmailzadeh has little need for more free time. Her parents instilled this work ethic in her.
HARD WORKER
Unlike many people of her age, Annahita Esmailzadeh has little need for more free time. Her parents instilled this work ethic in her.
And she still enjoys doing it 20 years later. Her posts on
the business platform LinkedIn are read, discussed, shared and
liked by around 200,000 people. For a long time, Esmailzadeh herself just read posts; but then, in anger, she wrote about a colleague
who always interrupted her and monopolised discussions
for hours. The post went viral. Since then, she has
been one of the best-known business influencers, writing articles
on difficult topics like glass ceilings, diversity and equality.
She stands by her life motto of “nothing will come of nothing”,
but shows empathy for other points of view as well. She gives
presentations on intersectionality, i.e. the interaction between
different repressive mechanisms, and cites studies to support
her statements. If you ask Annahita how she manages to do all
this, she says pragmatically: “I do my full-time job as normal,
and then I do my part-time job in the evening, at the weekend
and when I’m on holiday.” Also, she adds, she is very resilient
and rarely gets stressed.
Statements like that could come across as off-putting from anybody else and be met with an irritated eye roll. But if anyone can put work and performance in a positive light, it’s Annahita Esmailzadeh. And she says of herself, not entirely without irony: “I probably have more of a boomer work ethic.” She then starts talking about individual performance, and about working at a level that can be maintained for decades. She is angry about the treatment of people doing care work. With so much wisdom and clarity of vision, she does sound like someone older than her years. There is no bitterness about the obstacles she herself has had to overcome.
Statements like that could come across as off-putting from anybody else and be met with an irritated eye roll. But if anyone can put work and performance in a positive light, it’s Annahita Esmailzadeh. And she says of herself, not entirely without irony: “I probably have more of a boomer work ethic.” She then starts talking about individual performance, and about working at a level that can be maintained for decades. She is angry about the treatment of people doing care work. With so much wisdom and clarity of vision, she does sound like someone older than her years. There is no bitterness about the obstacles she herself has had to overcome.
And she still enjoys doing it 20 years later. Her posts on
the business platform LinkedIn are read, discussed, shared and
liked by around 200,000 people. For a long time, Esmailzadeh herself just read posts; but then, in anger, she wrote about
a colleague
who always interrupted her and monopolised discussions
for hours. The post went viral. Since then, she has
been one of the best-known business influencers, writing articles
on difficult topics like glass ceilings, diversity and equality.
She stands by her life motto of “nothing will come of nothing”,
but shows empathy for other points of view as well. She gives
presentations on intersectionality, i.e. the interaction between
different repressive mechanisms, and cites studies to support
her statements. If you ask Annahita how she manages to do all
this, she says pragmatically: “I do my full-time job as normal,
and then I do my part-time job in the evening, at the weekend
and when I’m on holiday.” Also, she adds, she is very resilient
and rarely gets stressed.
Statements like that could come across as off-putting from anybody else and be met with an irritated eye roll. But if anyone can put work and performance in a positive light, it’s Annahita Esmailzadeh. And she says of herself, not entirely without irony: “I probably have more of a boomer work ethic.” She then starts talking about individual performance, and about working at a level that can be maintained for decades. She is angry about the treatment of people doing care work. With so much wisdom and clarity of vision, she does sound like someone older than her years. There is no bitterness about the obstacles she herself has had to overcome.
Statements like that could come across as off-putting from anybody else and be met with an irritated eye roll. But if anyone can put work and performance in a positive light, it’s Annahita Esmailzadeh. And she says of herself, not entirely without irony: “I probably have more of a boomer work ethic.” She then starts talking about individual performance, and about working at a level that can be maintained for decades. She is angry about the treatment of people doing care work. With so much wisdom and clarity of vision, she does sound like someone older than her years. There is no bitterness about the obstacles she herself has had to overcome.
FIRST-CLASS
Her empathetic view is one thing she has in common with Michelle Obama; her bestseller sticker is another. Her book “Of Quota Women and Old White Men: Ending Prejudice in the Workplace” really struck a chord.
FIRST-CLASS
Her empathetic view is one thing she has in common with Michelle Obama; her bestseller sticker is another. Her book “Of Quota Women and Old White Men: Ending Prejudice in the Workplace” really struck a chord.
Does she really never wish for a three-day weekend?
For some relaxing blank space in her diary? “I rarely feel the
need for more free time,” says Annahita Esmailzadeh. If she
enjoys
something, she can work for 12 hours on it without feeling
tired, she says. She likes to spend quality time with her
friends – they might drive to the mountains or visit a restaurant. Esmailzadeh
goes to yoga and books massages when
she wants to recharge her batteries – but equally, she’ll write
a LinkedIn post, prepare a presentation or think about new topics.
“What I really don’t like is dead time,” she says. Like watching
television series one after the other, for example. For her,
free time also means being able to stand on stage or being invited
onto a breakfast show. Free time to use the privileges she has
worked for: to reach a huge number of people. For Annahita
Esmailzadeh, that is something that cannot be taken for granted.
Because it wasn’t too long ago that she was staring helplessly
at all the different knives and forks in front of her at a business
lunch. “And for a long time, I didn’t know what a golf
handicap was,” she says, laughing. But it doesn’t really bother
her. Instead, she continues to work to ensure that there are
more people like her who are shaking up old thought patterns
and stereotypes.
Does she really never wish for a three-day weekend?
For some relaxing blank space in her diary? “I rarely feel the
need for more free time,” says Annahita Esmailzadeh. If she
enjoys
something, she can work for 12 hours on it without feeling
tired, she says. She likes to spend quality time with her
friends – they might drive to the mountains or visit a restaurant. Esmailzadeh
goes to yoga and books massages when
she wants to recharge her batteries – but equally, she’ll write
a LinkedIn post, prepare a presentation or think about new topics.
“What I really don’t like is dead time,” she says. Like watching
television series one after the other, for example. For her,
free time also means being able to stand on stage or being invited
onto a breakfast show. Free time to use the privileges she has
worked for: to reach a huge number of people. For Annahita
Esmailzadeh, that is something that cannot be taken for granted.
Because it wasn’t too long ago that she was staring helplessly
at all the different knives and forks in front of her at a business
lunch. “And for a long time, I didn’t know what a golf
handicap was,” she says, laughing. But it doesn’t really bother
her. Instead, she continues to work to ensure that there are
more people like her who are shaking up old thought patterns
and stereotypes.
“What I really don’t like is dead time.”
“What I really don’t like is dead time.”
CREDITS
Photography: Sima Dehgani, Production: Vanessa Zeeh, Styling: Diana Dean, Hair & Make-up: Liset Garza/NinaKlein Artist Management, Photo assistance: Aristidis Schnelzer
Photography: Sima Dehgani, Production: Vanessa Zeeh, Styling: Diana Dean, Hair & Make-up: Liset Garza/NinaKlein Artist Management, Photo assistance: Aristidis Schnelzer
