Intensity, focus come naturally to former fighter

TOUGH? ‘HECK YEAH’: A decade removed from capturing a national kickboxing title, Annette Niemczyk has no trouble mustering the intensity needed to satisfy clients or interact with colleagues, including Damian Constantino, at Envision Technology Advisors. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
TOUGH? ‘HECK YEAH’: A decade removed from capturing a national kickboxing title, Annette Niemczyk has no trouble mustering the intensity needed to satisfy clients or interact with colleagues, including Damian Constantino, at Envision Technology Advisors. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Annette Niemczyk is not your average former kickboxer.
While she did win the 2004 United States Kickboxing Association welterweight championship, today she applies her focused attack to IT management and support solutions at Envision Technology Advisors LLC.
It is a role that she has thrived in, ever since she started at the company in 2003. Envision CEO Todd Knapp said recently that the growth of Niemczyk’s skill set has been notable.
“For over a decade now, I’ve had the great privilege of watching Annette’s talents develop from the intern role that she took when she joined Envision to the very talented and confident senior engineer that she’s become today,” Knapp said.
Promoted to the position of engineer in 2004, Niemczyk was named senior engineer in 2005. Being given a lot of responsibility so early in her career was just what Niemczyk was looking for.
“It was overwhelming initially, but I think I handled it with a quick adjustment,” Niemczyk said.
Niemczyk said that two things conspired to make the role of senior engineer particularly challenging: deadline pressure and the high standards that Envision demands.
“Time is definitely a factor, but not the only factor,” she said. “We strive to be the best, so making sure that our solutions are absolutely the best is the biggest pressure [which will] keep the clients absolutely satisfied.”
Her IT consulting work requires a combination of on-site, face-to-face work as well as time spent working remotely.
“My work varies based on project, but once I get engaged in a project, there’s a lot of remote work,” she said. “At the onset, we meet face to face on-site, and if there’s a major catastrophe or something that needs a lot of attention I go onsite, so it’s probably 50-50.”
She said that she has been able to draw on strengths she gained training and fighting as a kickboxer – such as staying focused. Her response to a question about whether she is tough: “Heck, yeah.”
Niemczyk also said that she was pleasantly surprised to be named as a Woman to Watch as part of the recent class of PBN Business Women honorees.
“I was extremely happy with the nomination, and I was very surprised to win the award and also honored and happy as well,” Niemczyk said.
The first in her family to get a degree in computer science and go into the information technology field, Niemczyk said that her services are in great demand during holidays and weekends.
“My family time does sometimes get monopolized with technical questions,” she said.
Sean Trifero, Envision’s director of engineering, said that Niemczyk’s underlying toughness shows.
“Her ability to understand client concerns and find solutions to those concerns is uncanny,” Trifero said. “She is able to stay calm and focused in the midst of disaster, which is a product of years of dedication and experience.”
Niemczyk said a part of her misses kickboxing.
“It was hard to give up,” she said, “but you can’t get hit in the head a lot when you want to have a good career.”

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