"When that industry changed and I became an investor, I suddenly stepped back and I was able to look at myself, more like a chairman of the board would look at me as an employee, and say, 'Am I the best person for this job?' I don't think I actually was. And I don't think that company, based on the industry it was in and the passions that I have and the things that I do well, it was just not the best place. So I removed myself and I replaced myself as CEO. And by the time I did it, it was really easy to do." -- Alison Provost
When it's clear you are the problem, how do you develop and change?
Alison has deep experience in the broadcast and media industries having begun her career as a news producer for NBC. She later moved from television to radio production and after 17 years in the industry, she founded a consulting firm designed to help broadcasters create new revenue streams from non-traditional sources.
That company became one of the largest and best-known consulting firms in the radio industry, and she sold it to industry leader AM/FM in early 1998. In late 2000, during AM/FM’s merger with Clear Channel Communications, Alison engineered a lift-out to bring the company back to private ownership. She renamed it PowerPact and focused the company on disciplines that could deliver measurable promotion results for Fortune 500 clients. In 2008, PowerPact holdings announced the launch of TouchStorm, a digital media company and pioneer in online editorial video. TouchStorm’s clients include household names such as Sony and Betty Crocker.
Alison is active in Marketing Agencies Association Worldwide, a group of global agency CEOs, and in the Virginia Council of CEOs. She has been a featured speaker at numerous industry conferences and writes a regular column for MediaPost’s Video Insider. Alison is a committed advocate and fundraiser for breast cancer charities. In 2006, she wrote the memoirs of PowerPact client Soraya, a Grammy-winning Latin pop star who lost her life to the disease at 37. All proceeds from the book, Soraya: A Life of Music, a Legacy of Hope, go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.
Alison earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.
