Alyssa Abkowitz joins Leff as VP of content

Over the past half year, we’ve worked on a lot of thought leadership that offered recommendations to companies on how to weather crisis and emerge in a better position. A recurring piece of advice is to use the upheaval from the pandemic to pursue the best talent.

Although this insight has been most commonly highlighted for workers with digital and tech experience, it is relevant to all fields. Many industries are struggling and companies have had to cut back, making the talent market flush with high-caliber candidates. Our company has been fortunate to stay busy during these uncertain times, putting us in the enviable position to add staff.

Still, thought leadership and content strategy call for a unique mix of skills, and being a good writer is the least of it. Understanding the clients and their audiences, having the patience and selflessness to make others look good, and having an entrepreneurial spirit are all critical attributes, but they can be difficult to find in even an experienced senior-level editor or strategist.

I’m pleased to announce that Alyssa Abkowitz, who joined us in October as VP of content, checks all of these boxes and then some. She comes to us by way of Korn Ferry’s career advice and coaching arm, Korn Ferry Advance, where she was head of content. Prior to that move, Alyssa spent more than a decade as a journalist, primarily at the Wall Street Journal. Her work has also been featured in BBC News, Bloomberg Businessweek, Fortune, and the New York Times.

Running across a journalist who has successfully made the leap to thought leadership is exceedingly rare. That Alyssa accomplished this feat reflects a curiosity and ability to learn new skills, even after distinguishing herself as a journalist.

She also spent five years in Beijing with the Journal, where she covered tech and finance. If the future of business is tech, then a good part of that future will flow through Asia, and Alyssa will be a valuable asset as we continue to work with clients on these topics.

Beyond her work as an editor, Alyssa will also be helping to expand the Leff Strategy Studio. Her experience at Korn Ferry Advance in thinking creatively about how to develop and package ideas in new, accessible ways dovetails nicely with our focus on account-based marketing and content campaigns.

Last, although the idea of a physical office feels like a distant memory at this point, I still feel compelled to note that Alyssa lives in Los Angeles. She and my colleague Rachel make up our presence in the US western time zone. As many of us have found, being able to extend our days, even for a couple of hours, can be a gift on tight deadlines.

Please join me in welcoming her to the company. We’re excited to have her.