Our team is proud to share that Ascent Strategic Communications founder and CEO Anna Stallmann has been recognized by the Charlotte Business Journal (CBJ) as a Most Admired CEO. An honor that reflects her professional achievement and intentional approach to leadership, culture, and the work we do every day. In her interview with CBJ Anna shares how she built a business from ground up and is growing the team by leading with clarity and the decision to focus on fewer, more strategic clients, rather than focus on volume.
Rebranding from Anna Stallmann Communications to Ascent Strategic Communications was a pivotal moment for the team and the brand. The brand’s values, and Anna’s, are deeply rooted in elevating others, our team, agency partners and clients.
Anna shares with CBJ that clarity starts by leading a team “above the line.” A leadership philosophy that means accountability over blame, curiosity over defensiveness, and solutions over excuses. Through meaningful work and building a strong culture, Anna and her team also play a role in Charlotte’s growth story.
For Anna, the recognition is meaningful. But what it points to matters more.
An Interview with CBJ
The Charlotte Business Journal published a Q&A series featuring the 2026 Most Admired CEOs. Anna’s responses are below.
Describe briefly what your company or organization does:
Ascent Strategic Communications is a strategy-led communications firm that helps companies show up clearly, credibly, and with impact. We work across industries like healthcare, transportation, hospitality, business services, and non-profits, partnering with leadership teams to position their brand messaging for highest impact, and then activate it across earned media, content development, and brand storytelling. To summarize it even simpler, our focus is simply to cut through the noise and drive results that actually matter.
Describe your leadership style or guiding philosophy and how you put that into action within your organization:
I believe leadership is about clarity and ownership. My role is to set direction, create the conditions for great work, and trust my team to deliver. We talk a lot about being “above the line” which means accountability, curiosity, and solutions over blame. I try to model that every day. We also operate with a high degree of flexibility because many of us are building careers while raising families. That only works if expectations are clear and people feel trusted to own their work.
Describe a difficult decision or major change you’ve made as the leader of your company over the past year, how you handled that and how it impacted the business:
Over the past year, I made a deliberate shift to focus on fewer, more strategic clients. It meant saying no to opportunities that were good, but not right for where we are going. That is never easy, especially as a founder. But it allowed us to deepen our impact, strengthen our positioning, and build a more sustainable business model. The result has been stronger partnerships, better work, and a team that is more energized because they can focus on delivering even higher impact per client.
Describe your top accomplishment of the past year:
Building a business that continues to grow while maintaining the kind of culture we set out to create from day one. We have been recognized for our growth, but what matters most to me is that we are doing meaningful work with clients we believe in and creating an environment where our team can do their best work.
What is the top priority for Charlotte to ensure a strong business environment?
Charlotte’s strength has always been its combination of ambition and community. The priority now is continuing to invest in both. That means supporting entrepreneurs and growing companies while also protecting the collaborative, relationship-driven culture that makes people want to build here. Talent retention and thoughtful growth will define the next chapter.
What was your first job, and what is one lesson you carried forward from that?
My first job was in retail at a kids boutique. It taught me how to read people’s needs quickly, the importance of customer service and keeping a positive attitude, and showing up with a strong work ethic every day. I learned just because “I can” doesn’t mean I should. For example, I was a 16-year old trained to pierce customers’ ears. In hindsight, those customers deserved a more experienced person to pierce their ear. I am now obsessed with raising the standard in everything we touch at Ascent, which often includes referring work to our agency partners who can deliver better results on their specialized craft.
Who inspires you, and why?
I am most inspired by my team that never gives up on their own growth and desire to deliver excellence through client experience. Rebranding from Anna Stallmann Communications to Ascent Strategic Communications last year was a recognition of the incredible talent I’m surrounded by daily.
What is something you do for fun?
With kids out of the toddler and little kid phase and more soundly situated in elementary school, I’m starting to discover my own hobbies. In the last year that has included tennis, golf and even dabbling into the ever so popular mahjong. Our family also loves to travel and we have an exciting Europe trip planned for this summer.
What is one of the best books you’ve read recently, and why?
“Multipliers” by Liz Wiseman. It reinforced the idea that great leaders create environments where others can do their best work. That mindset has shaped how I think about building and scaling our team.
What is your best advice for future leaders?
Get clear on what you stand for early and build from there. It is easy to get pulled in different directions, especially in the early stages. Clarity makes decision-making faster and more confident. Also, do not underestimate the importance of how you treat people along the way. Reputation is built in the small moments.
Join Ascent in Celebrating Strategic Leadership
Anna’s leadership through meaningful work, strong culture, and playing a role in Charlotte’s growth story is building a strong foundation for the firm and the team’s future. Ascent isn’t just a place of work but a place where a team can achieve challenging goals and stretch their skills to deliver results.
Congratulations to the team and to Anna for her award-winning leadership throughout Ascent’s first five years! Interested in learning more? See examples of the team’s results. When you’re ready, reach out or join our conversations on LinkedIn or Instagram.