Mary Fambrini of The Woodlands, Texas, has over two decades of career experience worked for companies in both Texas and California. She earned a BS and BA from the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Mary Fambrini also completed a certification program at the Stanford University Executive Institute, offered through the Department of Management Science and Engineering.
One of her career focuses has been channel sales and partner development. Currently working at Accenture, Ms. Fambrini drives partnerships with AWS, Microsoft, Google, and Splunk as a partner ecosystem channel manager. In her previous position at Microsoft, she built partnerships with HP to boost sales. She also created a sales campaign with partners at Oracle, which improved sales across seven major markets.
Ms. Fambrini also excels in ecosystem development and management, focusing on building, recruiting, managing, and growing channel partner networks and build global alliances to drive revenue and market expansion for employers or clients. She created and led go-to-market plans for building new channel models at BDS Consulting and has managed global alliances and partnerships at various firms. In 2014, CRN’s Women of the Channel Power 100 recognized her for leading alliance programs at HP that drove revenue and partner visibility.
Outside work, Mary Fambrini enjoys skiing, traveling, hiking. She is also affiliated with the American Red Cross and Stem for Girls.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My typical day is work, exercise, reading, playing with my pets, and sleeping.
How do you bring ideas to life?
By writing down a plan and executing on that plan.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Technology excites me. All kinds of technology: AI, space, cures for diseases, the universe, etc.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Getting up at the same time.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Save more money. Find more love.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
We are living in the best of times.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Exercise and spend time with the ones that you love.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I go for a very long walk.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
My customers always come first. No matter what the situation, or how difficult, or if we will lose money, do right by your customer and they will always come back to you. The best thing you can do for your customer is to consistently provide excellent customer service, which includes being responsive, helpful, and empathetic. This means actively listening to their needs and demonstrating genuine care.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
The failure of my career was I did not become a nurse or a doctor. The lesson I took away from that is now I sell the technology and machines that doctors buy and use to help heal patients.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Microsoft Teams. No matter where you are in the world, you can meet with anyone at any time. Microsoft Teams is a collaboration platform that brings together chat, video meetings, file sharing, and application integration into a single workspace. It’s designed for both local and remote teams, offering features like instant messaging, voice and video calls, and the ability to share and collaborate on files. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world as long as you have Microsoft Teams.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
David Goggins podcast on Spotify.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I really enjoyed Oppenheimer. I watched it three times in a row.
Key learnings
- Make exercise and loved ones a priority.
- Routines and daily exercise—like long walks—support productivity, focus, and stress management, not just overall well-being.
- A customer-first mindset is key to advancing your career and growing your business.
- Excellent customer service is rooted in consistency, responsiveness, and empathy.