Allison Cerra

Chief Marketing Officer at Alkami, Expert at the Intersection of Marketing, Sociology & Technology

Allison Cerra

Chief Marketing Officer at Alkami, Expert at the Intersection of Marketing, Sociology & Technology

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Biography

With a lifelong career invested at the intersection of marketing and technology, Allison Cerra is a leading expert in how technology is influencing the way we work, live and play. With more than 20 years of experience leading marketing organizations for some of the world’s largest technology companies, Cerra brings a practical approach to demystifying the confluence of significant technology trends – including mobility, cloud, big data, security and collaboration – and signaling where these forces could lead cultures in the future.

Cerra recently co-authored The Second Economy: The Race for Trust, Treasure and Time in the Cybersecurity World, which explores the incentives – whether for profit, principle or province – that motivate adversaries to target organizations and how companies can develop an effective cybersecurity posture in response. She also co-authored Transforming Business: Big Data, Mobility and Globalization, which discusses how today’s networked world and its proliferation of mobile devices is driving eye-opening cultural change in the workplace and shaping the attitudes of the future workforce. In Identity Shift: Where Identity Meets Technology in the Networked-Community Age, she examines how our Internet proficiency is blurring the boundaries between our virtual and real-life personas, resulting in a startling shift in our behaviors – as parents, professionals, consumers and gamers – and the way we interact with the companies that serve us. And, in The Shift: The Evolving Market, Players and Business Models in a 2.0 World, Cerra identifies a $100 billion market opportunity when communications networks are used as application development platforms.

She was named as an Ad Age “Woman to Watch” in 2017 and has been featured on the Dallas Business Journal’s “Women in Technology” and “Women in Business” lists. She was honored by the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of the American Marketing Association as CMO of the Year in 2011.

Allison Cerra obtained her BS in marketing and management at the University of South Florida and her master's degrees in business administration and telecommunications from Southern Methodist University.

In her engaging presentations, Cerra shares with enterprise decision makers how an increasingly mobile workforce and the rise of BYOD (bring your own device) is altering the IT landscape and the workforce culture at large as employees and tech consumers become one and the same. Whether your interest lies in sociology, psychology, marketing, or technology, Cerra examines the impact of living in an age where personal technology rivals that found in the workplace, and an age in which virtually all our personal information and interactions can be available with the touch of a screen. Throughout these explorations, she offers practical prescriptions for addressing the market opportunities that result.

Speaker Videos

Transforming Business

On Mobility

Technology and Big Data

How Users Perceive Themselves and Companies in a Networked Age

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Speech Topics

Transforming Business: Big Data, Mobility & Globalization

The consumerization of IT in the enterprise represents one of the most fundamental shifts in how businesses procure and apply technology since the advent of PCs in the 1980s. In this talk, Allison Cerra reveals the opportunities and risks when technology collides with culture. She frames how the expectations of tomorrow’s knowledge worker will further alter the complexion of the enterprise and that of its critical business functions, including IT, HR, finance and marketing.

The Shift: Where Education Meets Technology in the Networked-Community Age

In this session, Allison Cerra not only examines how Millennials, as a generation, are most influenced by the technology surrounding them but also points out key differences that Millennials of various life stages (college students vs. young professionals, for instance) experience when shaping their own identities. Given that most educators are not digital natives themselves, this presentation explains why certain behavioral patterns among Millennials are commonplace and demonstrates how swiftly technology is changing the landscape.

This session is designed for educators and explains why technology is a major cultural cornerstone among Millennials and how this generation is poised to change tomorrow’s workforce.

Marketing You

Every individual has an opportunity to be a brand. Yet, few individuals possess the know-how of how to invent, or reinvent, themselves into a brand that will enable them to attract positive attention from their workplace or marketplace. In this session, Cerra covers the most significant tenets of marketing and apply them to illustrate how you can break through the proverbial clutter of candidates when selling yourself. She will rely upon her more than 20 years of experience in the discipline and share insights from her own career journey. In the end, you will walk away with a practical prescription that will enable you to more effectively deliver your unique selling proposition to your company or the marketplace.

The New Battlefield: Why Cybersecurity is Everyone’s Job

No organization wants to find itself tomorrow’s headline or punchline for falling victim to the latest breach. Cyberthreats are the biggest existential threat to our digital world. Companies lose money in damages and far more in reputation and trust. The weakest link in a company’s defenses – its own employees – can be transformed into its greatest defense if everyone understands his/her position on this new battlefield. In this talk, Cerra demystifies the world of cybersecurity – one predicated on warfare principles as old as time itself. She offers practical prescription for major departments, including Marketing, HR and IT, to ready their cybersecurity action plans and enlist every employee to take up arms in a battle where few realize they even play a role.

Testimonials

"We hired Allison for six events that we had planned across the country. From the first time we spoke to her she let us know that she wanted us to be pleased with her presentation and wanted to know what she could do to make sure we were completely satisfied. She was great to work with. Allison hones her presentation to resonate with each group and our employees, clients and prospects really enjoyed her. She presents with a lot of enthusiasm and really engages the audience. I would totally recommend Allison. One of our clients who runs another large organization saw Allison’s presentation and plans to hire her for one of his events as well."

- Project Administrator, National Technology & Management Consulting

"Thank you very much for being a presenter at the Dallas Smarter Commerce Thought Leadership Dinner! Sales leaders commented that your presentation was right on and you were also able to help provide additional support and confirmation with the IBM presentation. Thank you again and I look forward to working with you in the future!"

- Software Business Unit Marketing Manager, IBM

"Allison Cerra was the perfect fit for our conference. She was dynamic and really engaged with the audience on IT catalysts that are shaping organizations today—mobility, cloud, big data, and collaboration. Our conference attendees are exceptionally well-versed in mobility and IT trends and they were unequivocally impressed with Allison’s take on how technology roles are changing and how relationships, business models, and boundaries have to adapt to those changes. Allison’s keynote session received a perfect 5 out of 5 rating from our attendees!"

- Tangoe

"Allison's engaging personality, knowledge, and presence were a real hit when she spoke to the SMB of Dallas. As the person responsible for engaging speakers at SMB; Allison made me look real fantastic! I received excellent feedback from the attendees. I'd love to have her back!"

- Encryptics