A relentless pursuit

Visualizing the future you want is key to success said electrical engineering alumna Ana Amicarella ’87. With more than 30 years of U.S. and international experience in the energy sector, she is the chief executive officer of EthosEnergy, a provider of rotating equipment services and systems to the power, oil and gas industries. It’s the type of position she envisioned for herself quite early in her career.

“I was in my early twenties when I decided I wanted to be a CEO,” she said, recalling her time as a field engineer with General Electric (GE). “I looked at the senior people doing my job—these amazing technical experts—and thought, ‘I don’t want to do that.’”

Amicarella quickly set out to diversify her skillset—gaining experience in sales, commercial and operations. By age 26, she was managing a team of 11 engineers and knew she was on the right track. She’s been managing businesses since 2002, first for GE and later for Aggreko, a world-leading provider of mobile modular power, temperature control and energy services.

“The businesses have just gotten bigger and more complex, but this is what I love to do,” said Amicarella, who joined EthosEnergy in 2019. “I like the process of improving businesses while I am developing talent and extraordinary leaders and improving the company’s culture—the more strategic aspects energize me and motivate me to do better.” That motivation to succeed can be traced back to her impressive sports background. Amicarella competed in the 1984 Olympics in synchronized swimming, representing her home country of Venezuela, and ended her 15-year swimming career in 1987 as the top NCAA athlete in the sport.

“The basic lessons that have helped me in my career are hard work, teamwork and discipline,” she explained. “Plus, a focus on goals and the relentless pursuit of those goals.”

During her time as a Buckeye scholar-athlete, a normal weekday involved three-hour practices starting at 5 a.m., followed by classes, another three-hour training session in the afternoon, and then homework and studying. The demanding schedule helped prepare her to tackle the challenges of building her career and raising a family simultaneously.

“There are a lot of demands on our time, but you put things into compartments and focus on the priorities that are at hand,” she said. “You learn to prioritize and turn off the noise. I think you get that from sports.”

Her athletic pursuits brought her to The Ohio State University, as it had the top collegiate program for synchronized swimming at the time. Because she had a natural affinity for math, physics and chemistry, engineering seemed like a clear choice of study. And while she might not use the technical skills she learned as a Buckeye engineer, there are lessons she continues to utilize in her role as CEO.

“In engineering, you learn how to solve problems. That innate ability to take something complex, break it down and make it simple is something you learn in engineering school and something I apply every day,” she said. “Simplify, focus, execute!”

The ability to solve problems is particularly valuable as her industry faces what is called the “energy transition,” which refers to the global energy sector’s shift from fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption—including oil, natural gas and coal—to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, and batteries to lower emissions.

“There’s an enormous need for decarbonization in the world,” said Amicarella. “But there are two issues that are actually pushing out the decarbonization agenda.” One driving force is the huge power demand growth in the developed world due to cloud technologies and artificial intelligence. Second is energy security, particularly in Europe which is being largely driven by geopolitical conflicts in Ukraine and Israel.

“Having power at your house trumps the need for it to be cleaner. We very much want to participate in the energy transition with services that lower carbon emissions, and we have products and services that target that. But it's not the ‘what’ and it’s not the ‘how’. We know all of that. It’s the ‘when’ that is in question. The ‘when’ keeps being pushed out because of energy security and power demand growth.”

Ever the positive thinker, Amicarella views challenges as opportunities—a trait that has served her well throughout her personal and professional life. She remembers a time earlier in her career when she needed to take a leave of absence from her role to support her three-year-old son, who required some intensive speech therapy.

“One of the GE executives said to me, ‘Ana, if you leave, you’ll never be able to be an executive again at this company.’ I took it as a challenge, so I left. I took a two-year hiatus and I came right back into an executive role,” she said. “Nobody can take your experience and education away from you. I look for opportunities to exceed expectations at every turn.”

Amicarella’s numerous recognitions include being honored by Houston Business Journal as one of the 2024 Most Admired CEOs (2024), an honoree as Oil and Gas Investor and Hart Energy’s 2024 Influential Women in Energy (2024), a finalist for the Power & Energy Female Executive of the Year Award (2022), Power Magazine’s Energy Executive of the Year winner (2021) and the College of Engineering’s Distinguished Alumni Award for Career Achievement (2019). She also serves as an independent director on the boards of Forward Air Corporation, a $1.6 billion transportation and logistics business, and Warrior Met Coal, a $1.7 billion mining business. But her greatest achievement, she said, are her children.

“I wanted to raise independent thinkers, people who essentially left the coop to fly on their own and have them be great human beings that contribute to society,” she said. “I couldn't have asked for more successful children, each of them in their own way. Their achievements in comparison overshadow anything I've ever done.”

When she’s not working, the self-described “exercise nut” enjoys staying active with Pilates, Peloton, yoga, meditation, pickle ball, golf and, of course, swimming.

“I want to influence people in a positive way,” said Amicarella. “Eat well, exercise, sleep. Don't drink very much. Prioritize your life. Deliver on your goals and objectives. Help people who are not as lucky as you are, pull them up, give them opportunities. That’s how I try to live and I try to influence people to do the same.”

by Meggie Biss, College of Engineering Communications | [email protected]