After 10 Years Leading Glantz, Anne Weber Retires

After a decade with Glantz, our COO and Client Happiness Officer, Anne Weber, is retiring from marketing. It is difficult for us to come up with just the right thing to say about Anne, as she has been insurmountable in the drive of our business, our culture, and our core values. It goes without saying that we will miss her dearly.

Before she goes, we thought we’d ask 10 questions for her 10 years.

1. What originally interested you in the world of design?
   It’s in my blood. My mom is an interior designer and my dad is a retired businessman. The blend of those drove me into marketing. When after almost two decades working in agencies began to wear on me, I welcomed the shift into design. The world was becoming more and more digital and I wanted to pivot that way.
    
2. Why did you join Glantz Design?
   To tell you the truth, I didn’t mean to. I knew Keith from our Evanston neighborhood and he asked me one day, “How do I go about finding an account person? I think we might be ready for one.” I intended to just help him define the role and put some operational pieces in place in a 90-day contract. We clicked. Ten years later, and I’m still here. 
   
   
   
   
3. Why did you choose now to retire?
   As a tennis player and fan, I’d like to say it was Serena, Roger, or Ash who gave me the courage. I wouldn’t pretend to rival their careers, but for me in my role, this feels like the right time. I’m 50 and feel I have ten good years to try something totally new. I want to force myself to grow in new ways. At Glantz, we have a core value called “Don’t be a dinosaur.” I’m going to embrace this in a new way—I just don’t know what that is yet. Stay tuned. 
   
4. In your ten years with Glantz, what has changed the most?
   Just about everything. And that’s probably why I lasted ten years. I do love change. We quadrupled in size and sales over that time. We added so much more depth to our offering and formalized so many new ways of working. It’s ironic that this year I’m becoming an empty nester, with my youngest off to college. In many ways, I feel I also raised a “work baby” and it’s ready to fly as well.
    
5. What surprised you the most in your time at Glantz?
   How gratifying it is to create things people want to interact with–identity systems, websites, and content. Prior to Glantz, I worked at a number of agencies and on the corporate side. There were many years where my “output” was a strategy deck. While intellectually stimulating, I had no idea how much more fun it could be to make tangible things.
   
6. What will you miss the most when you retire?
   It goes without saying that I will miss everyone on our team. Each and every Glantzer is a gem, with whom I’ve loved working. The integrity of this team is unlike any other I’ve ever experienced. Working somewhere where there are no politics and no end to a desire to do what’s right has been so refreshing and is what kept me happy for 10 years. 
   
   
   
   
7. What work are you most proud of?
   In my time at Glantz, I probably worked on more than 500 different clients and helped create more than 300 websites. Those are some crazy numbers. But the project that I’m most proud of is our work for Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. The brand identity, user research, and web redesign were only made possible because we worked with some of the kindest, smartest, and hardest-working client partners. 
   
   
   
   
8. What’s your best memory at Glantz?
   I loved our holiday party pre-Covid where we gave out our first BANDS awards and then held a Skeeball tournament. It was great fun.
   
   
   
   
9. What advice do you have for those filling your gap?
   A few things:
   1. Keep things in perspective. We are truly lucky to be able to do this work for a living.
   2. Refresh your reserves on the weekends. Working in a creative industry demands a lot of us. Soak up the culture, sleep, eat well, exercise, and take care of yourself.
   3. Be a student of the craft. Many times our job is to connect the dots or bring disparate ideas together. Be observant of how others do this in our industry and outside of it.
   4. Fight the good fight but remember, what we do is not life or death—no one has ever died from a design emergency.
   
   
   
   
10. What are you most looking forward to?
    The weekend I graduated from college, I immediately drove to Minneapolis and started my job that Monday. I’ve never had an open-ended break. It’s both scary and exciting. I tend to jump head-long into things, but this time I will force myself not to jump too quickly. I’m looking forward to letting my curiosity and passion lead the way to what’s next.