Scot Johnson interned at AIM between the first and second years of his Vanderbilt MBA program and accepted a full-time position in 1994. When Amy Vetter returned to Houston from Austin in 2000, their paths crossed - first in the elevator. Amy and Scot share how AIM shaped their personal lives working at a company that was family to both of them.

Amy: My first role back in Houston was supporting the Investments department as an HR generalist while Kay Pierce was on maternity leave. The first time I remember us speaking to each other was when we were riding up on the same elevator one morning. Scot and Brian Thorp were talking about football. Since they were talking about UT (University of Texas) football, I had an opinion that I shared. It probably didn’t hurt that Scot and I had the same opinion.

Scot: Great minds think alike! It didn’t hurt that she had UT football season tickets and her parents live on a golf course either. We got to chatting regularly at the office and I asked her out on a date pretty soon after that first elevator conversation. She’ll probably say it took me too long to ask, but fortunately I did! I apparently took too long to propose also. Again, fortunately I did!

She’ll probably say it took me too long to ask, but fortunately I did! I apparently took too long to propose also. Again, fortunately I did!

Scot Johnson

Amy: Yep…too long on both counts. (But she is smiling and displaying the engagement ring Scot presented when he finally proposed.)

Amy: My fondest memory of AIM is how much of a family it felt like. We didn’t feel like we worked for a company. We felt like we worked for Ted and Gary and Bob, and we wanted to do them proud. They led by example in every way. There was a right way to do things. How we did things mattered as much as results. “People are the product” wasn’t a slogan. That’s really the principle that drove how AIM operated. We felt like Ted, Gary, and Bob were engaged with what we were doing and with us, and that helped breed the family feeling and the intense sense of loyalty towards them. Another case of leading by example that made working for AIM so enjoyable was the idea that doing serious business like taking good care of the assets people trusted us with didn’t mean we couldn’t laugh and have fun while we were doing that business. 

We felt like Ted, Gary, and Bob were engaged with what we were doing and with us, and that helped breed the family feeling and the intense sense of loyalty towards them.

Amy Johnson

Scot: There are so many stories I could share, but two stories stand out to me. Gary’s daughter Ashley and my sister Stephanie are the same age. Every time Stephanie’s school sports teams played against Ashley’s teams, Gary was there. As busy as he was running the investments department and dealing with AIM’s growing business, he made time to be at Ashley’s games. That was a great lesson and example to me regarding perspective and priorities. The other story is about Bob. I was wearing some sort of AIM gear at the grocery store. The young lady at the cash register asked if I worked at AIM. “Yes, I do,” I replied. She asked if I knew Mr. Robert Graham. “Yes, I do,” I again replied. She then related that her mother had worked as the Graham’s housekeeper for many years and shared some stories about why her mother felt so lucky to work for the Grahams. I replied, “That sounds exactly like the Robert Graham I know. I’m lucky to work for him, too.” Like we said earlier, Ted, Gary, and Bob led by example.

Amy’s last position with AIM/Invesco in 2004 was as a human resources partner supporting marketing before moving into her next role as an at-home mom to Adele (11), Abby (11), and Scotty (4). She is currently a realtor with Greenwood King Properties.

Scot’s last position with AIM/Invesco in 2013 was Senior Client Portfolio Manager before accepting an exit package in lieu of relocating to Atlanta. He lists his current occupation as “trophy husband/at-home dad”, though he is selectively looking for the right opportunity as the next stop on his career path – be it something investments-oriented or “something totally different, but challenging and interesting”.