Az Big Media will be profiling one of the Most Influential Women in Arizona for 2026 each day leading up to the celebratory dinner on August 20, 2025. Today, meet Annette Anderson, president of Arizona Escrow & Financial Corporation.
From a field of more than 2,200 women under consideration, the Most Influential Women in Arizona were selected by the editorial board of Az Business magazine and a panel of 12 former Most Influential Women. The Most Influential Women in Arizona Business for 2026 will be honored at a celebratory dinner on Aug. 20, 2026, at Chateau Luxe in Phoenix. The Spotlight Award Sponsor for the Most Influential Women of 2026 is CORE Construction, the Special Gift Sponsor is Tarbell’s, the VIP Sponsor is GCON, the VIP Reception Sponsor is Cullum Homes, the Cover Photo Shoot Sponsor is Greenberg Traurig, the Beverage Sponsor is Arizona Escrow & Financial, the Valet Sponsor in Stevens-Leinweber, the Floral Sponsor is PCL Construction, the Dessert Sponsor is SottoPelle and Tutera Medical, the 360 Photo Booth Sponsor is Clayco, the Step-and -Repeat Sponsor is Morris Hall, the Digital Sponsor is Desert Diamond Casinos, the Floral Provider is PJs Flowers and the Production Sponsor is Merestone.
WOMEN IN BUSINESS: The Most Influential Women in Arizona for 2026
WOMEN IN REAL ESTATE: The Most Influential Women in Commercial Real Estate for 2026
Annette Anderson, president, Arizona Escrow & Financial Corporation
Background: Anderson’s career with Arizona Escrow & Financial Corporation began in 1991 as the receptionist, quickly rising through the ranks to become an escrow officer specializing in business and commercial real estate transactions. After expanding her expertise in Southern California’s residential real estate market and construction industry from 2000-2009, Anderson returned to Arizona and opened a successful restaurant in 2013 with her husband in Gilbert. Anderson was asked return to AEF in 2020. In 2022, she was promoted to vice president of escrow operations and in 2023, she was appointed president of the company.
Advice to younger self: “Don’t change who you are just to make others comfortable. Your responsibility is to be authentic, even when it feels difficult or unpopular. The right people will appreciate you as you are, not as a version of you that’s been edited for their approval. It’s not your job to manage everyone else’s comfort, that belongs to them.”
Surprising fact: “I was born in Arizona but raised in Tennessee, so I grew up with a strong Southern accent. When I moved back to Arizona my junior year of high school, I actually retrained myself to speak without it after getting teased. Most people would never guess it now, but every once in a while, that Southern charm sneaks back in. I guess you can take the girl out of the South, but you can’t take the South out of the girl!”
