When Andrea Brimmer started her career in 1987, there were virtually no women in the C-suite at Fortune 100 companies. By 2008, when Brimmer became the chief marketing and public relations officer at Ally, the number of women on executive committees and boards in major financial services firms had reached 13%. Seventeen years later, that number has risen to almost 30%.
Brimmer helped Ally Financial become the first official banking partner of the National Women’s Soccer League in 2021. In addition to a league-wide sponsorship, she helped move the NWSL Championship game to primetime on CBS, driving record-breaking growth in viewership year-over-year.
“It’s amazing to watch the transformation of the championship,” she tells Bustle ahead of the 2025 NWSL Championship game. “Five years ago, it was a noon game, and it was almost like nobody knew that the championship was happening. Fast forward to now, you see the energy all over town. To see where we’re at and how far it’s come is so incredibly gratifying.”
It’s a good day for women’s sports, but it’s not a great day yet
A driving force behind Ally House, a NWSL Championship weekend pop-up featuring keynote speakers from soccer legends, Brimmer says fostering a community among women’s soccer fans is an important aspect of helping the league continue to grow. She’s also the marketer responsible for Ally’s 50/50 commitment to equal marketing spend in both men’s and women’s sports.
“I always say it’s a good day for women’s sports, but it’s not a great day yet,” says Brimmer, who was on the soccer team at Michigan State University. “It will be a great day when you start to see the players getting paid what they should be getting paid, when you start to see more coverage, when you start to see more professional women’s leagues starting to come into fruition. We’re just getting started.”
Below, Brimmer discusses her career as a powerhouse in the financial industry, her hopes for inspiring other career-focused women, and more.
How did playing collegiate soccer help you in your professional career?
Collegiate soccer taught me so many skills. Obviously, organization and time management. Playing D1 soccer at Michigan State meant having a pretty robust schedule. Trying to balance that and schoolwork, while maintaining a grade point average, gave me really strong foundational skills that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. But I think the biggest thing is it just taught me to have this unbreakable will that no matter what comes at you, no matter how many twists and turns, no matter how many hurdles, you can push through — and you will push through. I think that’s the athlete mentality, and I really credit that with my professional success.
Don’t have imposter syndrome. You belong at the table, so take your seat.
Do you have any advice for other women who want to pursue a career in traditionally male-dominated fields?
I’ve always been in traditionally male-dominated fields. I worked for 20 years in automotive advertising, and then I pivoted to financial services, which has always been disproportionately male. I would say a couple of things. No. 1, don’t have imposter syndrome. You belong at the table, so take your seat. No. 2, have a voice and use it. You will bring a different perspective, and that’s an important perspective because when you think about the wealth transfer to women in this country in the next five years, it’s over $20 trillion. We are the power center, and that perspective needs to be heard in business. And No. 3, show up as your whole self. Don’t mute yourself. Just be your real self.
What is one piece of financial advice you wish you had known sooner?
I definitely wish that I had known sooner to really understand and take care of my own finances. Personally, I’ve been married twice. In my first marriage, I gave all the duties of managing money and our credit to my husband. And then, when we got divorced, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t even know where our money was, quite frankly. My mom always told me to have my own money and take care of my own business. That would’ve been a big piece of advice that I wish I had listened to.
How do you get ready for a busy day?
I’m a big believer that physical fitness equals mental fitness, so a busy day for me is always getting up and going for a run or getting a good workout in and just decompressing, clearing my head, and not thinking about anything other than just centering myself.
How do you deal with stress?
I am not a big stress person, given how big my job is. I really don’t get stressed, and I kind of don’t believe in stress. I think you create your own stress. And I think where I get balance and perspective is there are a lot of people that have much harder things in front of them than I do, so I don’t get stressed about things like “I’ve got a busy day,” or “I’ve got a big presentation,” or “I’ve got to get on stage and do something.” To me, it’s just part of the joy of what my job has brought to me. And so I kind of embrace it and roll with it.
What’s your favorite thing about your job?
The variety of things that I get to do in a day or in a week. This week is a great example. I started the week in D.C., where we had a leadership offsite. It was a very different vibe than getting on a plane and flying here and being in the Ally House and being around legends like Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, Tobin Heath, and Christen Press, and watching an NWSL game. I just love the variety of what my job brings me.
What is your best career advice?
Do what you love. You’re at work a lot. You’re around people all day long. You’re putting a lot of effort and a lot of your personal brand into something. And if you don’t love what you do, it’s really hard. It’s not only just a drag on your soul, but I also think you don’t show up with your best self.
How do you unwind after a long week at work?
I travel a lot, so I love being home — being with my family, my husband, my dog — and just being able to reconnect and ground myself, hang out with my parents, walk my dog, maybe have a couple glasses of wine, hang out with my husband and just be in sweats, no makeup, just chill and be the real version of me.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
