Overview:
Annie Mathew is the Founder of Pivot Project, an initiative focused on helping people navigate career transitions and opportunities in the AI era. With three decades of experience spanning technology, strategy, ecosystem building and transformation, including leadership roles at Microsoft and BlackBerry, Annie has witnessed how major technological shifts can create opportunities while simultaneously disrupting careers. She believes successful transformation requires more than technology and skills—it also depends on governance, confidence, visibility, networks and access to opportunities.
Industry:
Artificial Intelligence | Career Development | Workforce Transformation | Technology | Leadership | Employment & Recruitment
Professional Experience:
Annie has spent around three decades working across technology, strategy, ecosystem development and transformation. Her career included leadership positions at Microsoft and BlackBerry, exposing her to two significant technological shifts: the rise of mobile technology and, more recently, artificial intelligence. She was also involved in Code Without Barriers, an initiative that began with 40 women in Malaysia and New Zealand during COVID and eventually helped skill around 780,000 women across Asia. The experience taught her that training alone does not necessarily translate into employment or career progression.
Turning Point:
A major turning point came through Annie’s experience with Code Without Barriers. When participation approached 600,000 women, only around 6,000 had taken part in hackathons, with even fewer progressing into jobs. Annie identified seven important non-skill gaps: direction, opportunity, networks, bias, policy, visibility and confidence. Combined with her experience of AI-driven workplace disruption, this convinced her that a gap existed between people acquiring new skills and successfully converting those capabilities into meaningful career opportunities. Pivot Project emerged to address that gap.
What She Does Now:
Today, Annie leads Pivot Project, supporting women returning from career breaks, mid-career professionals, seniors and others navigating workplace change. Her approach combines reskilling with opportunities to demonstrate capabilities, build professional visibility, develop networks and regain confidence. She also advocates responsible AI adoption, emphasising human qualities such as judgement, curiosity, communication, empathy and problem framing alongside AI fluency. Her broader vision is for Singapore to become an AI-ready society where technological advancement, strong governance and workforce mobility work together to create more inclusive opportunities.
SGVisionaries Interview:
LinkedIn Profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/annpmathew
Website:
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