Our Leadership
Allison J. Taylor
Allison J. Taylor is a Silicon Valley marketing consultant, corporate leader, and obsessively curious entrepreneur, mindfully helping technology leaders and their teams grow and succeed. Allison has brought over 20 software solutions and services to market for corporate, mid-size and start-up technology companies, representing over $3 billion in revenue across 35 countries. She founded her first company in Israel at age 24, and currently serves as Founder and CEO of Thought Marketing LLC, a global technology marketing firm in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Her fresh viewpoints and collaborative style have helped strategically guide corporate clients to 45% YOY growth in new business ventures, deliver two successful acquisitions for technology start-ups, inspire dozens of young colleagues to find their authentic career/life success, and help spark university scholars to communicate key research.
With over a decade of experience in the high-tech industry, including start-up and global Fortune 500 executive leadership positions, Allison provides a balanced blend of corporate marketing, product marketing, business planning and communications expertise. With a notorious positive attitude and a specialization in security (a rare combination), she has earned leadership roles at McAfee, Check Point, and Nokia, growing her competencies from information technology (IT) security to industrial operations protection (OT) and increasingly, SAAS/cloud security services.
Allison’s corporate experience includes the management and successful acquisition of product marketing for Nokia‘s network security division (now part of Check Point Software Ltd.), a $300M business including firewalls, IPS, and UTM security appliances. At Israeli security leader Check Point, she developed and implemented global standards for Analyst Relations (AR) and Public Relations (PR) while leading an in-house team and over 20 PR agencies as Director of Corporate Communications.
During her six years at Sun Microsystems (now Oracle), Allison devised and implemented large-scale strategic initiatives, including a 500-member Product Marketing Excellence program and corporate positioning and messaging frameworks, while contributing direction and content to Scott McNealy and Jonathan Schwartz executive keynotes.
Additional security marketing experience includes product marketing at Network Associates (now McAfee/Intel) for the popular VirusScan, PGP, and Gauntlet lines, and AR/PR leadership at Israeli Java security software company Finjan (now M86 Security).
A former Middle East journalist, Allison speaks three languages and holds multiple academic and professional degrees, including a Master’s of Science in Communications with a thesis on innovation diffusion theory, a B.A. in Spanish and Journalism from the University of Richmond, and an A.A. in Advertising and Communications from SUNY/FIT in Manhattan, NYC. Most recently, she refreshed her digital marketing techniques through Google’s Squared certification and LinkedIn Sophisticated Marketeer training.
Profits from her current company, Thought Marketing LLC, support charities working to end domestic violence, provide clean water, alleviate hunger, and kindly help those in need.
Fun Facts:
A few favorite charities:
- YWCA Silicon Valley
- GiveLocally.net
- Los Altos Education Foundation (LAEF)
Favorite places:
- New York City, West & East Village
- Madrid, Plaza del 2 de Mayo
- Pacific Grove, California
- Manly Beach, Australia
- St. Tropez, France