Marnie Masiello grew up in Westport, Connecticut, with a great deal of family nearby. The sense of closeness she experienced in her early life developed a lifelong deep appreciation for the bonds of family, friends, and colleagues.  She greatly values these relationships and does her very best to keep connected.  Some of her closest friendships span 50 years!

A few years into her career in operations, she decided to make a major shift in her life.  She took a chance and relocated from Connecticut to Pennsylvania and altered her career path. Marnie took a position that would develop her sales skills working for a business technology manufacturer in customer relationship management. This was an exciting time for her, embarking in a new industry.  Taking that risk and challenging herself to make a move for a new career paid off.  She built her multi-million-dollar client portfolio from the ground up. She went on to quickly become the top account manager, averaging nearly half of the company’s gross annual sales year over year.

Marnie managed and expanded client accounts in 8+ vertical markets and 13 different countries. It was always a pleasure visiting her international clients, as she would return with a wealth of knowledge on how to best meet their needs – even if they were on different continents. Each new opportunity gave her a new appreciation for different industries, organizations, and people.  Whether she was selling to retailers, software manufacturers, advertising agencies or public libraries, the goal was always the same: get to know the client, create a lasting relationship, and see where you could bring value to meet their needs. Marnie built a successful business, remaining at the same company for over 30 years.

Toward the end of her tenure in sales, boredom was setting. She hadn’t planned to stay at the same company for most of her career, and she longed a change. She wasn’t ready to retire, so it seemed like a good time to make another pivot. Marnie took a leap of faith to join Alpha 3, and has now entered the next chapter of her professional life.

In 2017, Marnie joined Alpha 3 Consulting as a senior partner.  Alpha 3 is a women owned professional services company with DBE certification.  The company provides high-quality professional and technical services in the utility, transportation, and rail markets. Our services include consulting, project management and controls, engineering and design, construction management, dispute resolution, procurement, and administrative support.

Marnie started out back to her roots in operations, taking the time to see how the business would function administratively and setting goals to attain the certifications necessary to perform as a S/W/DBE. Having worked in the same industry for decades, it was a bit overwhelming to completely change course and jump into something new.

In 2020, her responsibilities expanded to take the lead role in staff onboarding, client relationship management and to expand our footprint.  Her focus is to use her previous experience to partner with companies and expand relationships in the electric utility and transportation sectors. 

Being new to this industry, she was initially unsure how to reach her goal especially during a pandemic.  When COVID hit, her first thought was to attend as many webinars and online events as she could and soak up as much information as possible.  Her first exposure to an AACE member was in one of these webinars.  Listening to female leaders sharing their own experiences in their career development, allowed her to shrug off any apprehension she might be feeling and to keep moving forward with confidence.

Marnie is attracted to project controls by the organizational skills. These unique individuals possess with the hopes that some of these skills will rub off on her.

In the beginning she was intrigued by the business opportunity, and the line of work was secondary.  She was drawn to Alpha 3 because it allowed her to collaborate with three professionals and to build a women owned business from the ground up.

Once she dipped her toe into the actual work, the attraction to engineering, consulting, and project controls grew.  She found it all fascinating – especially after reviewing ASCE’s 2021 Infrastructure Report Card. 

She sees a wealth of opportunity for Alpha 3’s services to improve the country’s infrastructure and, in turn, directly affect people in a positive way. It is rewarding to think this line of work lends itself to employing local talent while simultaneously enhancing the communities in which we all live.

Marnie gets a lot of support from her business partners.  They have an excellent rapport, and complementary skills. They listen to and encourage each other, identifying the value each of us can bring to the client to achieve a successful project.  In her previous career, there was a reason she had a large, long-term client base with repeat business.  It’s because she listened to what they needed and provided it. Listening to the client and learning to ask questions in a new industry can be a bit overwhelming, but it’s starting to seep in.

She attended the AACE International Conference in Boston in 2021. This gave Marnie an understanding the exact nature of project controls. This was her first conference since COVID, and the 3-day event reinforced why face-to-face meetings are so important. The conference had a diverse group of presenters from consulting, engineering, construction, software & technology & legal – all coming together to engage one another, share ideas, and explain to new members why recommended practices are essential to project controls.

She was fortunate to meet one of the Women in Project Controls Committee members with 20 years’ experience in CPM management, as well as an enthusiastic project control specialist.  It was so inspiring to connect with a young woman that loved her job and the career path she had chosen.  I’m sure she will be volunteering on a committee in the future. AACE can help to raise a woman’s awareness in her industry and is a valuable networking tool to further her career.

In Boston, she learned she had already met three highly respected members of AACE through non AACE virtual events.   She attended presentations by members who volunteered their time, knowledge, and experience to these information sharing sessions. 

Their presentations reminded her of what it means to be a leader: to challenge yourself and share your best practices in an industry that demands excellence.  She always wants to learn from the smartest people in the room and the members of AACE, through shared collaboration, bring that to the organization. 

She is just learning about all that AACE International offers.  Becoming a member of AACE was her first step.  For those who seek training and to develop their technical acumen, the AACE website is filled with information on professional development and technical resources. The courses for certification include study guides and preparation tools. Since joining, she has been invited to regional section meetings in New Jersey.  AACE provides each member a way to network with individuals through their community and offers opportunities for professionals to share their knowledge via publications and webinars.

She recently watched a video on the website and took away even more information.  AACE International celebrated its 65^th year anniversary in 2021.   Membership is growing and AACE just issued in September 2021, its 100^th Recommended Practice. The AACE RPs have had over 455 people contributing to these best practices.  The cornerstone of the association is in the technological content and knowledge that the members bring.  With the new CEO and board members, AACE is no longer the best kept secret!

Throughout her career she has had various quotes around her workspace to remind her of the values that she admires.  One of her favorites is: “Ability is what you’re capable of doing.  Motivation determines what you do.  Attitude determines how well you do it.”—Lou Holtz.

Her willingness to take on new challenges has kept her moving and growing in various areas of her life.  When her ability is waning, her motivation or attitude can hold up and visa-versa. 

What she would like the readers to know is that whatever career, sport, idea you might have an interest in, there are a multitude of resources to propel you to achieve your goal.    Don’t give up before the miracle occurs.