Keep Your Eye on the Horizon: Kathy Eberwein on Building a Global Legacy Without Losing Yourself
When Kathy Eberwein tells her story, it sounds almost impossible. A mechanical engineer by training, she walked job sites as the only woman among 1,100 construction workers. She built multimillion dollar energy projects, then left it all behind to stay home with her kids. She sold Mary Kay. She became a recruiter. And one day, newly divorced with four children to care for, she decided to start a business.
That business is now Global Edge Group, one of the only woman-owned recruitment agencies serving the global energy industry. It operates in over 18 countries with more than 1,000 people working across its staffing and consulting divisions. Kathy also runs two other companies: Medical Edge Recruitment and Global Edge Managed Solutions. And she’s the founder of a nonprofit called the Doyenne Initiative, which empowers women worldwide through education and leadership training.
But none of it happened overnight. And none of it was easy.
On the Badass Women in Business podcast, Kathy joined us to share the unfiltered version of her story. What unfolded was a raw and inspiring conversation about resilience, personal relationships, servant leadership, and staying grounded in your values, especially when the world tells you to be someone else.
From Power Plants to People Work
Kathy’s career began in the trenches. Quite literally. As a newly minted mechanical engineer, she was assigned to a power plant construction project where the trailers still had pinups on the walls and most workers assumed she was either a secretary or safety officer. No one expected the young woman in a hard hat to be the owner’s engineer.
But Kathy did the work. She walked the site every day, rain or shine. She proved herself in an environment built to exclude her. And she learned how to lead from the inside out.
Her pivot into recruiting came unexpectedly. After stepping away from engineering to raise her children, Kathy found herself drawn to the world of technical placement. A recruiter noticed her people skills and engineering background and invited her to try her hand in the business. She never looked back.
“I loved it immediately,” she said. “It was still technical, still fast-paced, but I got to work with people. It just clicked.”
Over the next decade, she built and led U.S. operations for two of the largest global energy staffing firms. But after helping those companies scale and watching them sell, she realized it was time to go out on her own.
And she did. On the day after her divorce.
The Risk That Changed Everything
Most entrepreneurs have a moment when they decide to leap. For Kathy, it came not just in the form of a career pivot, but a full life transformation. As a newly single mother of four, she launched Global Edge in 2008. She knew the risks. She also knew what she wanted to build.
Less than a year into the business, she made a bold move. She took Global Edge international, opening an office in Singapore. It wasn’t part of the original plan, but the opportunity was there and she took it.
“It was a huge risk,” she said. “But it paid off. It gave us credibility early. It showed our clients we were serious.”
That decision marked the first of many strategic bets Kathy would place on relationships, not just revenue. For her, the core of any business is built on trust, integrity, and a genuine care for people. Whether working with executives, contractors, or team members, she believes that prioritizing human connection is what creates long term impact.
Scaling with Soul
Today, Global Edge operates across nearly every continent. But Kathy has kept the company’s structure intentionally flat. She wants to stay close to the work and close to her people. Her leadership style is rooted in transparency, consistency, and what she calls servant leadership, a mindset that values collaboration over control and growth over ego.
She invests heavily in her executive team, bringing them together from around the world for regular leadership summits. She works with an executive coach. And she fosters a culture that is deeply values-driven.
Their five core values—excellence, integrity, social responsibility, outside-the-box thinking, and fun—aren’t just listed on the website. They’re embedded in every decision. Her team even has a Vision and Values committee that comes up with ways to give back to the community, from supporting nursing homes and school drives to providing laptops for students in underserved countries.
“Culture isn’t about slogans,” Kathy said. “It’s about the small choices you make every day. The way you show up. The things you say yes to. And the things you’re willing to walk away from.”
Creating a Global Movement
In 2019, Kathy launched the Doyenne Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to helping women around the world gain the education and leadership training they need to transform their communities. The idea was born during a business summit in Africa, where she listened to leaders talk about economic development and local empowerment.
She realized what was missing. Women were being handed opportunities based on quotas, not qualifications. Kathy wanted to change that. She wanted women to take their seats at the table because they had earned them.
The Doyenne Initiative started by sending women engineers from Mozambique to the University of Maryland to earn their master’s degrees. These women graduated in the middle of a global pandemic, in a language that wasn’t their first, while representing less than one percent of their country’s engineering workforce.
Today, the initiative is expanding into IT, healthcare, and finance. The goal is not just empowerment but transformation, equipping women to shape the future of their families, businesses, and countries.
“It’s a generational investment,” Kathy said. “And it’s the most meaningful thing I’ve ever done.”
The Truth About Success
When asked what success means, Kathy doesn’t talk about revenue. She doesn’t point to awards. She talks about becoming who you really are.
For years, she listened to advice about how she should show up. Most of it came from men. Be tougher. Be more like them. Stop being so hands-on.
But the turning point, she said, came when she stopped trying to fit into someone else’s mold and started embracing her own leadership style. One that is rooted in care, intuition, courage, and unshakable clarity.
“Real success came when I stopped pretending,” she said. “When I owned who I was. That’s what I tell young women now. Be who you are. Own it fully. That’s where your power is.”
Why You Need to Hear This Episode
Kathy’s story is not just a story of business success. It is a story about what it means to lead with integrity in a world that often rewards shortcuts. It is about building global impact while staying grounded in who you are. It is about knowing when to say yes to risk and when to say no to what does not align.
If you are a founder, a leader, or someone in transition, this episode is for you. If you are building a business or a movement or a family, this episode is for you. If you have ever struggled to find your voice or hold your ground in an industry that doesn’t see you, this episode is for you.
Because Kathy’s story reminds us that the real work is not just building the business. It is staying true to yourself while you do it.
And that kind of leadership is the kind that lasts.
Listen now to the full episode with Kathy Eberwein on the Badass Women in Business podcast.
Global Edge Group
Website: https://www.globaledgegroup.com
LinkedIn (Company): The Global Edge Consultants
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tgeconsultants
Instagram: @theglobaledge
Doyenne Initiative
Website: https://www.doyenneinitiative.org/about
LinkedIn (Kathy): https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathyeberwein