Denter of the Week: Alanna Gombert
Each week from now through December, we’ll pose several short questions to a member of the Dent family and share their answers with you. This week's Denter is Alanna Gombert, CEO of Gombert Consulting, a full service digital media consulting agency.
Say it in a sentence: Whether you’ve met your biggest goal or it’s still ahead of you, how would you like to be known for having dented the universe?I want to help change the world in a positive way. Social good and the desire to better the world should drive commercial decisions. Specifically I would like to be known for disrupting the way content is distributed to consumers. More to come on that.What would I know about you after we’d worked together for a year?I'm obsessive about detail, loyal to a fault, and a believer in meritocracy.
What virtue do you prize most highly in those you associate with?Loyalty.
If not yourself, who would you be?I rather like being me. Although being Cady Coleman would be pretty awesome as well, as she gets to go to space.Who else is doing interesting, universe-denting work right now?So many people. My friend Laila Bokhari is certainly denting the universe with her work at LAMS (Laila and Amar School and College for Girls), a free elementary, college, and vocational school in Pakistan for mostly women students. She also is doing important diplomatic and peace keeping work in Norway. Truly inspiring.Another "Denter" is my friend Laura Darby Singh, a woman dedicated to saving primates..be it chimpanzees, gorillas etc. She currently works for GRASP (Great Apes Survival Partnership) and is based in Kenya. She's airlifted chimpanzees to safety and had malaria more times than I can count in the pursuit of her goals.On the creative side, my friend Vincent LaForet for pushing the creative limits in photography, video, directing, and arm breaking. Google him.
And Elle Kaplan of course! I know she is one of us [Denters] but her approach to investment and women is bar none. Inspiring.
Question from last week’s Denter, Emmett Shear: What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned recently?That it is possible to start a company in one day.What would you like to ask the next Denter of the Week?What one thing would you like to do more of that you sacrifice for your day to day? And will you now make a plan to try to do it?========
Alanna Gombert is CEO of Gombert Consulting, a full service digital media consulting agency. Prior she was Head of Digital Sales and Strategy at Conde Nast and founder of CatalystDesk, Condé Nast's digital media trading platform. Gombert joined Condé Nast from Google by way of Admeld, where she ran the trading desk, agency, and demand-side platform relationships and helped grow RTB from an idea to a killer business.
Prior to Admeld, Gombert worked at Right Media, the first online advertising exchange, where she focused on ad selection algorithms and market dynamics. Right Media was acquired by Yahoo in 2007. Her early career included stints with Nielsen, DoubleClick, and the finance world with JP Morgan Chase and Commerzbank. Advertising has allowed her to travel the world, and she has experience in international markets, including EMEA, APAC, and Latin America.
Gombert is also very active in the start-up community in NYC. She enjoys advising start-ups, angel investing, and is a proud board member of Rare Crowds and Snowball Technologies.
Dent the Future is a conference series that tackles the art and discipline of visionary leadership. The next Dent The Future conference is coming up March 22-25, 2015. Register here.