Employee Spotlight: Angela Hughes

This month’s Acceleration Partners (AP) Employee Spotlight is shining brightly on Director of Training and Knowledge, Angela Hughes!

Angela has been with AP for over nine years and has made her mark on the company by creating state-of-the-art training programs that have engaged AP employees around the globe.

However, when she’s not hard at work developing innovative training initiatives or taking care of her two children, you can find Angela at barre class, enjoying live music, planning her next vacation or attempting to channel her inner HGTV.

What was your professional background before you arrived at AP?

Before coming to AP, I worked in the Marketing Departments of both Showtime and Lifetime Networks.While I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working in the cable and entertainment industry, I was excited for the opportunity to transition into a digital marketing role and I feel so fortunate to have stumbled into affiliate marketing and Acceleration Partners.

And we are so glad you stumbled on over. Why did you choose to work at AP?

Before I started at AP, I was commuting two hours door to door to New York City. I needed to make a change in order to be the mom I wanted to be. I remember when I interviewed with AP’s Founder and CEO, Robert Glazer all those years ago he said to me, “I want to build a company that people want to work for.” I can honestly say he has done just that.Acceleration Partners has allowed me to spend time with my kids while continuing to grow in my career. While I work traditional business hours, I have so much more time in the mornings and evenings to spend with my family, plus the flexibility to be able to attend school events, volunteer, etc. I feel so blessed every day to work for a company that values its people.

As Director of Training and Knowledge, what’s your favorite part of the job?

The people! Being able to interact with every employee at Acceleration Partners is such a privilege. And to see the genuine impact that quality training has on the team’s success is so rewarding.

You’ve rolled out numerous tools that enhance the affiliate training for AP’s Client Services team. What improvement do you think was most impactful to the team?

Last year we rolled out two pieces of technology including a knowledge warehouse and a learning management system (LMS). It’s safe to say I cannot imagine AP without either of them.For a company of our size, new hires are often blown away by the resources they have available to them. They know that if there’s something they don’t know, there is a very good chance they can turn to one of these resources and find what they are looking for.

What are some of the major challenges of your role?

One of the biggest challenges is ensuring that our training and resources work from a global perspective. Our global team is growing at an incredible rate so it’s critical that we are building the right training infrastructure and content to support everyone regardless of their region.

When you aren’t leading training for the affiliate team at AP, how do you like to spend your time outside of work?

This question always makes me feel so boring! I have an 8-year-old and a 5-year-old so a lot of my time outside of work is devoted to them, whether I am cheering from the baseball or soccer fields or I’m off to a dance competition or swim class. It keeps me busy, but I wouldn’t change it for the world!I always find time for my weekly barre classes though – that’s my “me time” and I look forward to it so much. We are also big music lovers in our house too, from regular dance parties in the kitchen to attending concerts when we can. Just last year we brought our kids to their first concert too!

Kitchen dance parties and concerts with your kids? Hardly boring if you ask me. What was the concert?

Billy Currington! It was awesome and the kids loved it. They are really hoping to see Imagine Dragons next.

Lastly, if you could have a super power, what would it be?

Time travel or the ability to slow time down! I can’t believe my husband and I have been married for 10 years, have two kids who are already 8 and 5 years old, and that I have a milestone birthday coming in less than two years.

It all goes by way too fast. Until I have that superpower, I’ll just do everything I can to be present, enjoy each moment, and be grateful for every stage of my life.

You can learn more about Acceleration Partners and our incredible team members on our Company page.

Author: Tess Waresmith