Avo Automation is the gold standard for quality-first and human-centered automation solutions, which are simple to use, intelligent, and continually resilient. Avo Automation empowers people to liberate their potential with the best technology for process discovery, test automation, and robotic process automation (RPA). Recent placements in the G2 top performer quadrant and a near 5-star customer rating from fortune 500 companies across industries is a reflection of their leadership in enterprise automation.
Founded in 2015, Avo Automation started by developing AI-driven computer vision technology, a fancy phrase for super smart automation. By 2019, the company’s technology got so advanced that Avo became the first company to offer a holistic, enterprise-grade platform that unifies process discovery, test automation, and robotic process automation. Annalisa says they are known for delivering high enterprise stability and resiliency through the most innovative quality automation system.
Blazing a trail in high tech
Annalisa’s career started with early exposure to foundational technologies at the age of 16 when she received an invitation to intern at a semiconductor company called ‘Osmosis Inc’ in Silicon Valley. This internship experience and initial jobs at tech start-ups piqued her curiosity in data management, engineering, and applications. Her experiences grew into a passion for helping people solve problems with technology, and a career in marketing became the perfect way to do that. Annalisa spent over two decades leading teams across marketing, operations, and sales. She considers team leadership the best part of her job and explains that coaching and people development are critical skills for any leader because success depends on teamwork. Her dynamic experiences taught her to embrace constant change and be ready to lead through constant disruption.
As the Chief Marketing Officer of Avo Automation she says her primary job is to solve customer problems with automation. She says everyone at Avo is inspired by their mission to liberate human potential. She descirbes the culture as being a community of highly agile, ethical, and diverse talent, who design automation to work for people as they grow and evolve.
The tenets of success
As the CMO of Avo Automation, she keeps her marketing edge by staying on the fringes of her industry. She believes the only way to stand out is by communicating and demonstrating a truly unique, novel and relevant value proposition through remarkable experiences. With an eye toward innovation and customer success, she believes marketing can have a big impact on business growth. She says the trick is being relentless about driving growth with a cohesive strategy that strategically combines all the tools in the marketing toolbox: branding, PR, digital marketing, content, and demand generation.
To innovate for Avo customers, Annalisa says it’s critical to drive a marketing strategy that anticipates customer needs at least one year out. She says no one can rest on their laurels, and adds that this is what keeps Avo marketing unique and relevant. Annalisa opines that to scale, and accelerate business growth, one must be data-driven and built on solid marketing technology. She highlights that marketing is now the second biggest adopter of technology next to IT departments. Annalisa cites an example from the increasing need to deliver 100% digital events now. She underlines the fact that without stable webinar applications, marketers would be left scrambling to deliver virtual events at scale, and without marketing automation tools, marketers wouldn’t be able to execute lead generation at market speed.
How to flourish while juggling many roles
Annalisa recalls a major challenge she faced was blending her professional and personal roles. She highlights that mother, wife, and business roles don’t naturally intertwine for many women. These conflicted for her, making it hard to freely invest equal energy into each of them. Besides, managing these three roles was a major source of stress. Annalisa rejoices that she was able to reset those expectations by aligning personal and professional goals. She says you have to communicate your aspirations and ask for support from your leaders, friends and family members. She advises that women have to give themselves the right to want a career as much as they want to be a mother, wife and friend.
Three core influences accelerated Annalisa’s success as a woman leader: insatiable curiosity in new ways to engage customers, studies in transformational leadership and psychology, and having many amazing coaches, who enabled her growth. Her coaches included a mix of marketing experts, psychologists, and analysts. A foundation in psychology taught her invaluable skills in relationship building, exercising influence, and motivating high employee performance. It has further motivated her to pursue a master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology of which she will use to drive continuous buyer engagement and customer loyalty.
Advice to Emerging Women Leaders
Annalisa advises women leaders to stay open-minded about their career path because it is likely to evolve as times change. She adds that sometimes, the road directs leaders to a surprising destinations that could be more fulfilling, they just have to be open to it. Annalisa encourages leaders to know their strengths and keep them fresh. She advices women to lead with compassion and empathy because these are two skills that enable you to create an environment of open communication and trust. Annalisa concludes by saying that she has always experienced greater success when she did her work with compassion and empathy for teammates and customers.
