Carissa Allen

About Carissa Allen

I have had the good fortune to drive customer engagement strategies, including the modern digital retail experience, lead CXO conversations and energize global partner ecosystems for the world’s productivity technology leader. I bring a win-win leadership mindset, grounded in listening to gain a deep understanding of the needs of customers, partners and teams, as well as a clear view of the market landscape. During my tenure, I’ve overseen highly successful sales and marketing strategies for big bet cloud initiatives by building robust partner and developer ecosystems and global, cross-functional partnerships. I see potential everywhere I look and with everyone I meet. At Microsoft, I have embraced my passion for demonstrating the “art of the possible” inside and out of the organization - with teams, customers and partners. I have been recognized as a compelling speaker and thought leader in next generation technologies as well as diversity and inclusion in tech. My commitment to seeing the possible also resonates in my past board service for LifeWire, a nationally recognized leader and one of Washington State’s largest domestic violence service providers.I enjoy sharing experiences and mentoring at Microsoft as well as throughout my external network. I welcome contact via LinkedIn. Highlights• Integrated sales and marketing focus: leads global strategies and field enablement• Deep cloud solutions expertise• Ability to establish business decision maker relationships through outcome-focused conversations• Compelling storyteller: sought after presenter for audiences large and small across multiple topics (#1 ranked speaker at Microsoft’s flagship Inspire event in 2018)• Energized partner ecosystems to increase impact and effectiveness• Mentor and coach#CX #EX #Storytelling #Retail #Marketing #Sales #Partner #Global #Cloud #Productivity #CustomerExperience #Teams #Omnichannel #Leadership #WomenInTech #WomenLeaders

Experience

1. Director, Ww Event Strategy

   Microsoft

   Jul 2025 — Present

   Create and implement event strategy for SME & C (Small Medium Enterprise Segment). Increase mindshare and effective execution of existing Microsoft event investments, i.e. Ignite, AI tour. Focus on relevant customer experiences, proactive sales engagement and applicable outcomes. Supplement with segment specific experiences, such as our Sales and Partner Summit and 1:many customer briefings.

Education

• Western Washington University

  Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Skills

• Enterprise Software
• Creative Writing
• Powerpoint
• Salesforce.com
• Sales Enablement
• Professional Services
• Enterprise Solution Sales
• Microsoft Platform
• Microsoft Dynamics Crm
• Microsoft Crm
• Peer Mentoring
• Collaboration
• Management
• Solution Selling
• Deal Velocity
• Collaborative Problem Solving
• Rhythm of Business
• Communication
• Presenting Solutions
• Go-to-Market Strategy
• Customer/Client Advocacy
• Customer Marketing
• Strategy
• Teaming
• Cloud Computing
• Saas
• Account Planning
• Partner Management
• Mathematics
• Strategic Sales Initiatives
• Customer Relationship Management (Crm)
• Strategic Partnerships
• Software as a Service (Saas)
• Siebel
• Program Management
• Budget Planning and Fiscal Oversight
• Proposal Writing
• Sales Pipelining