Think back to when you were 4 years old. What was your answer to the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” What would you have thought you would be doing at age 40?

Looking back at your career, you’ve probably held jobs you didn’t even know existed at the age of 4. You may have held titles the 4-year-old you wouldn’t have been able to pronounce. Children would probably never dream up the title of senior investment management consultant or responsible managing employee for civil and structural engineering. They probably wouldn’t expect that their goal would be to increase sales by 35% or think of the effect they could have on the economy by creating 50 jobs. Although… they may predict that they’ll make a million dollars annually within the first few years of business — or maybe a million ba-zillion is more like it?

These are all true statements of the individuals we have chosen as Guam Business Magazine’s 40 business professionals under the age of 40 who are making strides in the community. They are the “people to watch” in the next five years as they pursue their next ambitions, act on their dream business plans, advance up the corporate ladder and break through the glass ceiling. They are the movers and the shakers of today.

What our 40 Under 40 group shows is that dreams are certainly achievable by the time you’re 40. By the time you’re 40, you have had the experience of working for multiple people and have been influenced and mentored to be able to adopt your own management style. You’ll have the tools to make an impact on the community in a way that aligns with your personal strengths and interests. Should you want to take your business to an international level, as several on our list have, you will have developed the connections and competency to do so.

Outside of his or her career, every person chosen on our list also contributes to the community in some fashion — whether through volunteer work, serving on the board of a community organization or being an active member or committee chair of a group that not only helps them grow and network professionally, but also contributes to a worthwhile cause.

No matter what your age or what point you’re at in your career, I hope you’ll find our group of 40 as inspirational as I do. They prove there is no time like the present to become what you want to be when you grow up — and then some.

Jackie Hanson

Managing Editor