References for Alan Wallace

Media

I've worked with Alan Wallace on products from several clients of his, most memorably Panda. Panda had no presence or mindshare in the US before Alan's excellent work bringing it to the attention of the US trade press. I spend all day bombarded by requests from PR and "managing" them, but I welcome Alan's calls and e-mails. I always get value out of them. - Larry Seltzer

I have worked with and around Alan for more than two decades. He is one of the most strategic and entrepreneurial PR and marketing communications professionals that I have ever known. I have been impressed that Alan gets results beyond what I'd have imagined possible. He has an excellent contact list of friends in media and industry. When I need PR advice, I call Alan. - David Coursey

Alan Wallace is a terrific writer, storyteller and top-drawer publicist. As a long time, journalist, I've worked with many, many PR people over the years in various capacities. Alan was among the finest. So, fine, in fact, that I ended up hiring him at aNewDomain Media for a long stint. He is quite brilliant and did an extraordinary job with the early planning of BreakingModern, the content marketing site aNewDomain did for HTC. Hire him! Call me or contact me at gina@ginasmith.com with any questions! Sincerely, Gina Smith ginasmith.com aNewDomain.net - Gina Smith PhD

Alan is the real deal. A professional PR person who knows how to work well with journalists every step of the way. - Ericka Chickowski

I had the extreme pleasure of working with Alan Wallace on at least two occasions. First, Alan served as a guest expert and pioneer in the field of Music & Technology for the Emmy winning TechTV music series "AudioFile", a passion project for Microsoft founder, Paul Allen, where Alan highlighted innovations as they pertained to the music industry. In fact, I credit Alan's work with Live365.com with helping to move the needle as the music industry moved into the digital age. I had a second occasion to work with Alan indirectly when he hired me to produce a series of interviews with iCANN President and CEO, Paul Twomey. Alan conceived the idea for the interviews in order to highlight some of the groundbreaking initiatives his client was introducing. I would welcome the opportunity to work with Alan again and recognize him as a change-maker. - Kris Kosach

Supervisors & Team Members

Alan worked with me for 5 years as my corporate communications director at Afilias, handling everything from industry monitoring to releases to special press events. His deep experience and calm professionalism helped us avoid several potential difficulties. His experience in the security space was especially helpful, and his contact list is seemingly inexhaustible. Importantly, Alan would take on every job, no matter how small or large; we had a one person PR team and Alan took care of everything. He is even a great photographer! Alan is a dedicated professional who is great to work with and committed to "doing it right." I highly recommend him. - Roland LaPlante

When Alan Wallace and I were in the Trustworthy Computing group at Microsoft, I led the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) engineering team and Alan was responsible for PR and communications for SDL. Alan and his team launched several communications initiatives that enabled us to build the reputation and adoption of the SDL across the industry. During the period when I worked with Alan, my team created guidance and tools to enable organizations outside of Microsoft to adopt the SDL and Alan's team created communications initiatives that enabled us to "get the word out" to the industry through the worldwide trade press. We got a lot of press coverage as a result of those initiatives and that coverage translated to downloads of our tools and to guidance and industry acknowledgment of the SDL as a leadership initiative. Alan was a great partner and a real communications professional. He was a pleasure to work with. - Steve Lipner

I worked directly with Alan Wallace in the Trustworthy Computing Division at Microsoft for approximately 18 months. During that time, Alan demonstrated deep knowledge of Public Relations, media, and broadcast, across an array of subject matter areas, including cybersecurity and consumer technology. Alan's industry knowledge, combined with a deep passion for technology, enabled Alan to make great contributions to Microsoft's efforts to build trust with the industry. It was a pleasure to work with Alan, who brings humility and a great sense of humor to the job. I can confidently recommend Alan to any employer that values people who are willing to work hard, who are passionate about the work they do, and have years of solid experience. - Tim Rains

I have had the pleasure of working with Alan Wallace since 2008 both at Microsoft and at Trend Micro. Alan combines his keen understanding of media from working in it himself with his passion for technology and security. Together they make him a great communicator around the true value of technologies. He also has a gift for PR strategy and planning. While at Trend Micro, he spearheaded a new press outreach strategy that far exceeded expectations by landing numerous top tier outlets like Fox Business, Washington Post and The New Yorker that resulted a total of nearly two million media impressions across multiple outlets. Alan is also a great person to work with: he is always happy to help and give advice with good humor, warmth and humility. I highly recommend him and his work. - Christopher Budd

I have worked with Alan Wallace as a client and a colleague in various capacities since 1995 and have found him to be a highly regarded communications professional which I hold in the highest regard. Alan is one of the best (if not the best) marketing and public relations executives in any technology company. - John Jeffrey

Alan Wallace is a brilliant communicator and manages to find traction in the toughest situation. He is an invaluable asset to any company. - Riggs Eckelberry

Alan Wallace is a dedicated PR pro - a man for whom press releases, distribution tactics, story making and strategy are no mystery. He fights his corner strongly and responds positively when other people fight theirs in return! - Simon Fletcher

I worked with Alan Wallace right in the trenches of computer security PR. This is a "nobody gets out of here alive" environment, but we not only always got out alive, we always emerged victorious. This was due in a very large part to Alan's professional demeanor, his inexhaustible supply of contacts, and his very impressive gestalt of the story, the meeting, and the message involved. I would welcome any chance to work with Alan Wallace in the future. - David Perry

Alan Wallace worked with me at Trend Micro and was very knowledgeable and extremely influential in getting PR and Social Media working together to amplify product launches, product promotions, market penetration, and even worked together to manage crisis communications and competitive marketing campaigns. If I had the chance to work with Alan again anywhere I would do so in a heartbeat. He knows what he's doing! - Neil McElwee

Alan Wallace's dedication to excellence in publicity played a key role at Panda Software. Alan has a wide network of media contacts, which kept Panda's name firmly entrenched in the consumer mind. The press he generated provided an abundance of incoming traffic to our website, which pushed our page rank and incoming links ever higher. The result was less money was needed to be spent on traditional advertising with no loss of revenue. Panda won big. I am sure whatever company Alan is involved with can look forward to a similar experience.
- Brian Meert

Vendor Relations

When working with Alan it's seamless from the agency side. It's hard to tell who's on the client side and who's on the agency as he builds "one team." We always felt like true partners and information flowed the moment Alan received it from either the product team or the C-Suite. It made our jobs very easy as we were always working with up to date information. Alan was our compass on measurement. We knew exactly what success needed to look like at the onset. If goals or needs changed mid-journey, we easily shifted course as we were alerted immediately. The same with budgets. Very transparent, and we knew what we had to work with and where the priorities stood. - Mathew Afflixio

Alan is the consummate professional. A strong strategist, seasoned writer, and is passionate about his work. He hired my firm for an Afilias project in China and partnering with him was a pleasure. I also appreciate his sense of humor. - Faith Brewitt

Alan is one of the few communicators you come across who understand the technology her represents at the core level. Alan was my client for only a year or so, but he manages the expectations or an agency team well and uses resources in a very efficient manner. - Kevin Sangsland

Among the most knowledgeable PR pros I've had the pleasure of working with. As a client of mine for two years, Alan demonstrated he knows ins-and-outs of the industry like nobody's business. With solid experience and an array of skills, he can truly take a Comms department to the next level. Highly recommended! - Greg D' Andrea

Client References

I have known Alan Wallace for nearly 30 years. He is a fantastic human, a great entrepreneur, and a solid communications executive. He's helped me over the years numerous times personally & professionally and I look forward to working with him again! - Richard Titus

Our agency was hired for a Seattle based promotion right before the busy 2013 Holiday season. We knew we needed an on-the-ground expert who could leverage local connections for our client's program to be 100% successful. Alan was just that person - a Seattle guru, an organized champion of our client's program, and an amazing partner to help us execute everything from gift wrapping presents to awarding winners via a unique technology platform. We needed a team of 20, and I chose Alan to lead this team for his agency management experience and his ability to direct and lead a team. He also scoped out locations and helped manage visits for our teams to the headquarters for Boeing, Starbucks, T-Mobile and others. The client was very happy and the campaign was very successful. Alan was a key reason we were successful with this campaign as we are already looking to find more ways to use him again. - Leigh Rowan

This recommendation is difficult to write because LinkedIn asks you which company the person you are recommending was at when you worked with them. This implies that you meet a person at a job and never encounter them again. I have worked with Alan multiple times. I first met him while he was at iAgency, a firm he founded. Its very concept was years ahead of its time. I then worked with him when he was Live365, and then again at Panda Software. He is knowledgeable, competent, and probably has the best contact list of anyone I've ever met. This is not just any ordinary list; these are influential people who he can go to and who go to him. He understands his mission and can put all the pieces together to get his message out broadly. On a personal level, I still count on his advice and hope to have the opportunity to work with him again. Alan is one of my most cherished business associates. - Laura Betterly

Partner Relationships

Alan is that rare PR professional who is very aware of his company's business model, and strives to expand his company by means outside of just PR. Case in point, he met with me and we collaborated on a program to tether premium tech support subscriptions to the sale of CyberDefender's software. His persistence internally led ultimately to Cyber's most successful program ever, so much so that they altered their business model to focus on premium tech support, with software in a secondary role. This was a significant win-win for our companies and would not likely have happened were it not for Alan's vision and persistence. I'd love to work with him again! - Brian Cotter

Alan is sharp, persuasive, committed, focused and a really nice person. We worked together on strategic and tactical activities of interest to his company and mine and sometimes to both. In all instances Alan asked the right questions and delivered great advice. I would hire him if the right opportunity arose. - Jon Potter

Alan did an outstanding job of getting press buzz for SOS when we launched our partnership with CyberDefender. Alan has a background somewhat like mine in PR/Broadcasting, and Alan has the right attitude and skills. I can make no better recommendation to say that I have asked and followed his advice on several occasions. - Herb Kraft

“Alan is a client who fully understands & appreciates the job of the PR firm, as a result Alan is a true partner in the media relations process. Alan is an industry veteran adept at developing new messages and angles to leverage with the media and a broad range of target audiences. Alan is also one of the sincerest, straight-shooting, energetic, and hardworking media professionals I have ever worked with. He remains a good colleague and a great friend.” - Harrison Wise

Alan was great at LIVE365.com and works hard for the industry to get it to the next level. I am already impressed with his work at Panda Software. - Peggy Miles

I met Alan while seeking Executive talent. He impresses me as an expert in his field. (Perhaps you have seen him on CNN?) He is personable, professional and a good person to know. - Jim Stroud