2025 Most Influential Women: Andrea Battaglia

Andrea Battaglia doesn’t remember a carefree childhood. She remembers a cancer diagnosis at age 6 and the adults who spoke as though she wouldn’t survive.

She refused to cooperate.

“Even as a child, I made a decision: I wasn’t going to be defined by fear or statistics,” says Battaglia, chief excellence officer at Abacus. “I started organizing everything I could control. I looked for joy in the small things. I learned to listen to people’s words and use my own carefully. I started becoming who I am today — someone who brings strength into the room, clarity to hard conversations and a belief that growth is always possible. That mindset has fueled every chapter of my career.”

That career started in the retail world, where Battaglia was the youngest Bath & Body Works store manager on the East Coast. Before joining Abacus in 2020, Battaglia held several positions within student affairs at Drury University and was its director of annual giving and alumni relations.

At Abacus, Battaglia leads the department of excellence, which aligns human resources, training, communication, marketing and career coaching across the firm.

“This cohesion has enabled us to maintain a high-performing workforce, even during times of growth,” she says. “By ensuring that all departments are aligned and working toward the same goals, I’ve created an environment where staff are supported in their development and feel a strong sense of purpose and belonging.”

Career development is a focus area for Battaglia, particularly in an industry facing a talent shortage. To that end, she has built systems to help employees grow.

“Our mentoring program, career coaching and Path-to-Partner framework provide staff with clear, actionable steps for professional success,” she says. “This structured approach contributed to over 98% of our 150-person staff achieving their work goals last year.”

Through Abacus’ strategic planning services, Battaglia leads organizations through the uncertainty of growth and transition, and she’s launching a niche-building service line to help emerging leaders within Abacas turn ideas into scalable business areas.

Battaglia invests in her community through many venues, including Leadership Springfield, the Missouri State University Marketing Advisory Board and the Faith in Business Series.

The mindset she developed as that scared 6-year-old girl continues to drive her.

“What I’m most proud of isn’t just what I’ve built. It’s who I’ve helped others become,” Battaglia says. “I’ve poured everything I know into helping people rise, not just once, but again and again. I don’t just want to go fast. I want to go far. And I want to take people with me.”