About Author Therese Allison – Playing for Keeps in Business
Best-Selling and Award-Winning Author Therese Allison (Huntington Beach, CA, grew up in La Canada, CA, born in Hollywood) is a self-made success story, mom and Best-Selling Author of “Playing for Keeps – How a 21st century businesswoman beat the boys” (self-help memoir) – who empowers women and men to succeed in business and life.
Business Success
To help others succeed, Allison openly shares her career success story. Readers will learn how she became financially independent at age 38 when her company (McKenna & Associates) was sold to AON. After working 5 years at AON as an Executive Vice President, she retired early at 43 to spend quality time with her 3 children.
Based on her 20-year career, Allison’s new book uncovers her “16 Pearls of Wisdom,” “Velvet Glove for Women” approach (using humor while being smart/firm), “Lucy Moments” (self-deprecating stories that broke barriers) and how her unknown heritage helped her “break the glass ceiling” in a “man’s world” in the 1980s and 1990s.
Using these self-taught skills, Allison became the first female producing Partner in an insurance brokerage company tied to Lloyd’s of London where for 300 years, women weren’t allowed on the underwriting floor.
As someone who had to learn early how to fend for herself and won competitively in sports, Allison initially had no idea where she got her drive. While she was born in Hollywood, she grew up in La Canada (a wealthy area nearby). She always felt like her family struggled because her dad was a carpet salesman making $25,000/year. As a result, Allison took on more responsibility and learned the importance of winning and earning money at an early age.
Family Heritage
Then in 1992, her father, Gould Allison, started researching their family heritage and discovered a blue blood line that includes her great grandmother Mary Churchill (from the Devonshire Churchills, Winston Churchill and Lady Diana Spencer) and grandfather, J.C. Allison who competed against Mulholland to bring an International Aqueduct into Los Angeles in 1932. Allison’s great, great grandparents crossed the plains to come to the Gold Rush in 1851.
Mentoring
After mentoring her successful children, she decided to write her “Playing for Keeps” self-help memoir to help others thrive.
Allison’s book, fun movie examples and success secrets have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, MSN, GoBankingRates, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Sports, Shout Out LA, Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, Huntington Beach News, KVTA News Talk 1590 (ABC Radio affiliate), Great Books Great Minds, A Dime Saved and more.
