From Science Labs to AI Leadership

When Annette Johnston (MEM ‘13) first arrived at healthcare technology company Abbott Laboratories in 1992, she never imagined her career would lead her to the forefront of AI in project management.

Yet today, that is exactly where she finds herself.

Johnston is president of AAJ Project Consulting, an education, coaching, and consulting company she launched in 2023. Her goal is to help train project managers to thrive in pharmaceutical operations, and doing that effectively in 2025 requires a firm understanding of AI, she said.

This pivot to AI is the latest evolution in Johnston’s dynamic career. With more than 40 years in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, her responsibilities have varied tremendously, from designing chemical plants to launching critical medical testing kits.

Johnston spent more than 28 years at Abbott, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical products and services. She said her proudest achievements span the length of her career there, starting with her very first project.

“They were building a new pilot plant to make the first kilogram of new active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs),” she said. “That plant is still operational all these years later.”

Later in her tenure, Johnston found satisfaction in more specialized work. During her midcareer, she used laboratory notebook data from that original plant to develop a process for a pilot plant to make the first kilo of API for clients.

Johnston’s experience grew to include continuous improvement projects and product launch projects.

“I’m very proud of the product launches,” she said. “We worked with several large teams to launch over 200 in vitro testing kits on a very tight timeline.”

This wealth of experience now informs Johnston's consulting work at AAJ Project Consulting, where she helps organizations navigate complex project management challenges.

Her approach emphasizes the critical importance of relationships in project success.

"In this new era of AI, it is possible to rely on technology to manage agendas, risk registers, issue logs, and timelines, so that project managers can spend more of their work time maintaining the relationships that make successful projects possible," she said.

Johnston helps project managers who may not have much experience by sharing how to build strong relationships with sponsors as well as teams executing projects.

Beyond her time at Abbott and now with AAJ, Johnston has volunteered with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers for more than 40 years. She spent three years on the organization's National Board of Directors. That time on the Board coincided with her time in Northwestern's Master of Engineering Management (MEM) program, allowing her to apply the relationship-building skills she learned in class on a national level.

Johnston credits her time in the MEM program with broadening her perspective and giving her the tools to find success in all of her professional and volunteer roles. The program taught her the importance of listening to varied perspectives in any meeting room, regardless of how clear the facts being discussed seem to her.

That is particularly relevant to her today as she considers the present and future of AI in project management. As technology continues to evolve, she hasn’t lost sight of the human element that's helped her succeed throughout her career.

“You have to listen, you really do," Johnston said. “It is more important to listen to what people’s perspective is as opposed to promoting what I think I know in my mind."