OL Reign Legend: Amy Paulose – President of Ames International

The Legends Campaign, a partnership between OL Reign and Starbucks, honors women for their extraordinary contributions to our community in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Prior to the July 10th match against Portland Thorns FC, OL Reign recognized Amy Paulose, President of Ames International for her outstanding work.

AMES International was founded in 1987 by Paulose’s father George, an immigrant from the state of Kerala in India. The business initially began in his garage, but grew to be an international business, processing and distributing nuts, cookie, chocolates and more in many countries.

“I have had an extremely supportive family that has had the faith in me from a very young age that I would be in a position to lead the family company. Ames is family owned and started by my mother and father back in 1987. At a pretty young age, I got involved in the business, be it through summers and actually working in the factory and roasting nuts or packing chocolate or administratively, typing letters and filing. I guess you could say I was kind of learning to do it all,” said Paulose.

Through her young adult years, Paulose had a knack for being involved in the family business, particularly when it came to things like presentation and graphic design, motivated by a passion to make things look good and well represent the products her family worked hard to make.

“I got involved and interested in business early on, so I went to Annie Wright for high school, in Tacoma. I had an opportunity to be educated in an environment that at that particular time, was an all-women’s environment. I had a lot of strong female role models that molded and shaped me in a variety of different ways from thinking critically, to presentation skills, to just great interpersonal skills and developing relationships.”

After high school, Paulose went to the University of Puget Sound, where she pursed a degree in business and continued to develop and refine the skills she needed to one day take over her family’s company.

“I continued to have a very strong interest in business, both on the global front in terms of doing business overseas, meeting with people and learning about consumer behavior and what not. At that time, it was the mid to late 90’s. The late 90’s was kind of the time to get involved in the dot-com era, and PR and different things of that sort, so I had a great opportunity to work on some different projects related to that. I had a little stint in PR and really just kind of used those opportunities to continue to refine my skills,” shared Paulose.

As the family business continued to grow, Paulose continued to get even more involved, taking on a variety of different roles, including sales, marketing and product development. Her father, who headed up the business, finally decided that he wanted to spend time focusing on different projects, so Paulose began to take over the day-to-day operations of the business

“In 2017, I was quietly enrolled as the president of the company and have continued to build the team and make strides in different areas her with our products. A path that is very much determined at a young age, but one that I would say, I always had an interest in and accepted,” said Paulose.

Since taking over, Paulose has worked tirelessly to grow the company internationally, while focusing on the brand’s commitment to integrity, relationships and attention to high quality standards. With an emphasis on social responsibility, Paulose has also worked to ensure that Ames incorporates sustainable practices into their business and prioritizes the well-being of employees globally. Paulose is a lifelong Puget Sound resident and is incredibly invested in the community, often working with students and faculty on the UW-Tacoma campus, as well as serving on the board of the Annie Wright school.

Throughout my whole process, one of the things I am most proud of is that we still have family members who are involved the business. Not only my mom and dad and my sister Emily, but I have a first cousin who is in charge of all of operations on one side here,” said Paulose.

“Keeping those family members in the business and engaged as a part of what we are doing is great. Along the same lines, retaining our employees who have been with us for such a long time is something I am proud of. We have many employees who have been here for ten years or more. Being able to create an environment, where they feel valued and safe and proud of coming to work every day is really rewarding.”

When asked what advice she would give to young women pursuing their dream, Paulose suggested that they remain open to opportunities and willing to take risks.

“Never say no to an opportunity that fits within what you believe. You have to be able to have the confidence to take the risk. You’ll be surprised just how far having confidence in yourself will take you. Be open to saying yes and try things. Just do it. I hate to be cliché, but sometimes you need to stop overanalyzing it and just if it feels right then go for it.”

She continued, “I am extremely open and welcoming of young women who want to get into the world of consumer products, who have questions or look for internship opportunities or just want to ask about starting their own business. I would encourage any fans that have questions about what it takes to run a business or develop a new product to get in touch. I certainly would love to make myself available and would encourage them to reach out to me!”

Reflecting on her experience being honored as an OL Reign Legend, Paulose was incredibly humble and really enjoyed the experience.

“It was amazing. First of all, I admire the team so much and their efforts on so many different fronts. Seeing their progress in moving the sport forward and then being recognized in a community that really has really not been well recognized over the years was amazing. To be even a little bit associated with an organization that values women and shows these attributes that they bring to the playing field is really great. I feel quite fortunate to be recognized and associated with a team that has such great values and a true team mentality,” concluded Paulose.