X
Ana Sofía Gómez’s Journey From Opportunity to Impact
In this edition of She Shines we feature Ana Sofía Gómez, whose journey, from systems engineer to global account leader and role model for other women at GEP, reminds us that professional growth is built on perseverance, self-awareness, and the courage to step out of your comfort zone.
Born in Villahermosa, Tabasco, but a Queretana at heart, Ana is a systems engineer and Senior Sourcing Manager. After eight years at Kellogg's and a stint at Caterpillar, she went on to lead the Google account as category lead and currently leads the Professional Services Category at Logitech account. Altogether, she has nearly 20 years of experience that speaks to her consistency, leadership abilities, and reinvention.
What started as a chance opportunity became the career she was meant to build.
Ana’s journey into procurement began unexpectedly. Having studied Systems Engineering, she had never envisioned a career in procurement. After graduation, she was encouraged to join Aquanima Santander and give procurement a chance, despite it being a field she had never previously considered. What began as an opportunity to explore a different career path soon revealed a profession that aligned with her skills and interests. Through her work at Aquanima Santander, she was introduced to the strategic impact of procurement and quickly developed a passion for the field. What started as an unexpected career move ultimately became a lifelong vocation, leading to a successful career spanning more than two decades.
She joined GEP when the team in Mexico was just five people, and witnessing the firm’s transformation has been one of her greatest sources of pride. For her, the key to success has been building teams that become family and earning clients' trust; on those two foundations, she says, everything else falls into place.
GEP, she says, has been a school in itself: the diversity of roles, categories, and industries has taken her across numerous accounts, maintained her enthusiasm for learning, and allowed her to grow in increasingly complex environments.
Meanwhile, leading Women@GEP Mexico was born from Ana’s genuine desire to keep learning and to give back. Her motivation: to build a community that supports women in overcoming impostor syndrome and gives them concrete tools to grow. Women@GEP, she says with humility, is a collective effort in which her role is simply to facilitate.
Challenges, lessons, and building leadership
The pandemic completely transformed work dynamics and forced Ana to rethink how to stay close to her teams through a screen. That period, she says, taught her as much about leadership as any other.
When she faces challenges, she leans on trust in her team and in the organization. Over the years, she has recognized that impostor syndrome is a common enemy and that accepting mistakes is part of the process. The answer lies in solving them, not in self-punishment. Her three years in a leadership role have taught her to navigate balancing her team’s expectations and management’s without losing sight of who she is or what she wants to build.
Mentors, role models, and the power of believing in people
Ana speaks with special affection about Rosalba Arzate, her mentor and great friend since she joined GEP, whom she laughingly describes as her “Edna Mode.” That relationship showed her the real impact a mentor can have on another woman’s career.
Now with a postgraduate degree in coaching, she deeply believes in people’s potential. More than giving orders, she aspires to be a facilitator: someone who helps her team find solutions, resources, and, above all, self-recognition.
Well-being, balance, and returning to yourself
Ana is honest about the cost an intense career can carry. There were stages when she neglected her mental and physical health and recognizing that was the first step toward change. Her non-negotiable routine today includes exercise, careful attention to nutrition, and a weekly session with her psychologist.
She likes to explain her philosophy with a running analogy: the secret is to go at your own pace, with consistency, trying to be a little better each day. To that idea she adds a phrase she inherited from her father and repeats as a mantra: “I’m better and better and better.” On a personal level, she takes pride in completing her MBA and especially enjoys being an aunt.
Her She Shines message
“Don’t lose confidence in yourself, keep persevering. These two qualities will help you go far. Everything comes in its own time.”
Ana Sofía’s story reminds us that leadership is not about having all the answers, but about believing in your own potential and in the potential of those around you. Follow our She Shines series to discover more stories of women at GEP making a difference.
