Allyson Stewart-Allen

Allyson Stewart-Allen is an international marketing and corporate diplomacy expert who appeared for four years on Britain's Sky News television as the Muse of Marketing and continues as regular contributor to Al Jazeera, BBC television and radio, Bloomberg, CCTV News, CNBC, CNN, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, Monocle Radio, Sky News, The Wall Street Journal as well as several other media outlets.
Allyson, a Californian based in Europe for over 25 years and Dr. Peter Drucker’s MBA student, is an advisor to European and US Fortune 100 organizations growing their markets on either side of the Atlantic.
Career
Based in London, she is the founder of consulting firm International Marketing Partners, established there in 1991 following her work with PwC in Los Angeles and PA Consulting Group and Hay Management Consultants in the UK. While advising companies on market research, corporate diplomacy, working across boundaries, her specialism is in the field of trans-Atlantic business and how to successfully enter and grow profitably in an overseas market.
Her clients are typically household names including American Express, BAE Systems, Barclays Bank, BBC Worldwide, BP, Burberry, Cisco Systems, Converse, Dunkin' Donuts, HP, HSBC, IBM, KLM, Lufthansa, Mercer, NBC Universal, RBS, SAB Miller, Schroders, Sony Ericsson, UK Trade & Investment amongst others.
Allyson served as a member of the Senior Advisors Board of Business for Diplomatic Action, the organization formed to improve the image of US business abroad which disbanded in December 2010. She was one of only two member based outside the United States
Allyson is recognized in The Female FTSE Report 2014:100 Women to Watch list produced by Cranfield’s International Centre for Women Business Leaders
Muse of Marketing
Known for several years during her weekly Sky News television slot as the "Muse of Marketing,” (Twitter: [https://twitter.com/museofmarketing @museofmarketing]) Allyson suggests "My experience as the Muse of Marketing is especially apropos to what I endeavor to bring to the Marketing Academy Scholars, as muses have traditionally been the seen as the key to the good life - bringing prosperity, reflection and inspiration to those who sought their talents.”
Education and qualifications
Allyson is a graduate of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California as well as an MBA under the direct instruction of Dr. Peter Drucker at Claremont Graduate University.
Originally from Los Angeles, Allyson has been London-based since 1988 and speaks French and German.
International Marketing Partners
Allyson founded the consulting firm International Marketing Partners, in 1991 following her work with PwC in Los Angeles (1984 - 1987), PA Consulting Group (1988 - 1990) and Hay Management Consultants, then part of Saatchi & Saatchi (1990 - 1991), both in London, UK. While advising companies on market research, corporate diplomacy, working across boundaries, her specialism is in the field of trans-Atlantic business and how to successfully enter and grow profitably in an overseas market.
The global nature of work and the varied cultures for business partners, clients and colleagues, can make building long-lasting and profitable relationships difficult or can even short-circuit because of assumptions about business practices, expectations and mental models. With the performances of Toyota’s Akio Toyoda, BP’s Tony Hayward and Coca Cola’s Doug Ivester, it is clear these examples show how easy opportunities to build trust were missed. With Allyson Stewart-Allen's corporate diplomacy program, Working with the World, aimed at helping executives at all levels make an impact across boundaries, pitfalls can be avoided.
”Fluency in foreign cultures requires confidence, the ability to build relationships and the capacity to negotiate effectively. European and US business cultures have different expectations from bosses, colleagues and clients, so appreciating and operating comfortably in new or different settings makes the difference between business success and failure. Your ability to apply a global mindset in these situations determines whether you land a successful international deal or make an apologetic withdrawal.” — Stewart-Allen.
The Marketing Academy
International Marketing Partners has been a Faculty Partner for The Marketing Academy, which organization provides a unique forum for industry leaders, marketing gurus, academics, entrepreneurs and marketing practitioners to inspire, develop and coach an entire generation of future business leaders.
The Marketing Academy’s Faculty for its International Marketing curriculum is led by Allyson Stewart-Allen, internationally-known business guru, broadcaster and author expert in the fields of international marketing, US business and inter-cultural working. One of her programs for its scholars, “Brand Travel: The Essentials of localization” covers many aspects of ensuring companies check their assumptions when they expand into overseas markets.
“Managing the dilemma of globalizing and localizing brands is filled with ambiguity and risk, but with the right frameworks and knowledge, the chances are high that these scholars will get it right for their companies so they can realize the payback periods they’ve planned for while building sustainable international businesses outside their home markets.” — Stewart-Allen.
Growing beyond the home market is usually a risky undertaking unless there are clearly-understood strategies and objectives. Companies have several options for ensuring success, including: acquiring a local company already operating in the overseas market, growing your own organization and brands organically, sending your executives abroad temporarily to develop the business, or collaborating with a local partner.
Brand localization and measuring marketing impact
Allyson is the creator and author of the blog , tracking how companies and their brands try to look and act local when doing business around the world.
To help businesses better understand their brand perceptions, she created the BrandBarometer™ together with the Seattle-based GMI, which allows brand owners to understand what aspects of their activities resonate most and least with their international target markets.
Acknowledgements, Judge, Speaker
As well as being listed in the Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who Among Women, Allyson is a frequent keynote speaker on a variety of global marketing trends and developments at conferences around the world, including Wilton Park, Economist Conferences, American Chamber of Commerce Denmark, Institute of Directors Conferences, The Law Society, The British Luxury Council, British American Chamber of Commerce, Inspired Leaders Network, Marketing Society and American Marketing Association.
Allyson is a judge for The Stevies, the American Business Awards, the UK National Business Awards and the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Women in Marketing Awards and Marketing Excellence Awards.
Academic work
In addition to giving an annual lecture at St Peter's College, Oxford for the visiting Drucker School MBA students each July, she is a contributor to the first-ever class at USC's Center on Public Diplomacy on the subject of Corporate Diplomacy.
She was formally an award-winning executive education consultant with London Business School and is an Associate Fellow at Saïd Business School Oxford amongst other Executive Education institutions.
As well as being a frequent speaker at marketing and branding conferences in the US, Europe and Asia, she is an award-winning executive education consultant working as a Program Director for Said Business School Oxford, HEC, Aalto University, London Business School and other leadership development organizations.
Authored works
Allyson is author of the first book on the US business culture, Working With Americans — How to Build Profitable Business Relationships with Lanie Denslow, published by Pearson, 2002. The title was the first-ever business book to be invited to the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts and was favorably reviewed by Sky News, Marketing Magazine as well as several BBC television and radio programs.
Allyson is a contributing author to The FT Handbook of Management (Pearson, 2004), Win New Business: The Desktop Guide (Thorogood, 2002) and author of two editions of the booklet Marketing in the USA for the British government agency UK Trade & Investment.
She has a regular column in Market Leader magazine and is a regular speaker on marketing and branding in the US, Europe and Asia.
Publication overview
* [http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/Bookshop/detail.asp?item100000000016183&affidWAC Working With Americans: How to Build Profitable Business Relationships] (Denslow & Stewart-Allen, Pearson Education: 2002)
* FT Handbook of Management, "Doing business the American way", 4th Edition (Crainer & Dearlove, Pearson: 2004)
* , "Generating Leads" (Croft, Thorogood: 2002)
* Marketing In The USA, 3rd Edition (UKTI: 2012)
Awards
Allyson is the two-time winner of the European Foundation for Management Development's "Excellence in Practice Award", most recently in 2012 for her multi-year, multi-module corporate program for BAE Systems, Global Early Careers, on behalf of Saïd Business School Oxford.
In 2009 Allyson won the award for another multi-year, multi-module corporate program for Lufthansa, the General Management Programme commissioned by London Business School.

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