Experienced Venture Investor in the Future of Work; Author of Breaking into Venture (McGraw-Hill, 2023); Professor at Columbia Business School
Allison Baum Gates is a successful venture capital investor, Harvard graduate, McGraw-Hill author, Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, a contributing writer for Forbes, a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley-HaaS and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. As a globally recognized thought leader in the future of work, she exudes unstoppable energy and passion for changing the way we work, live, and invest.
As a General Partner at early stage venture capital fund SemperVirens, Allison invests in B2B technology transforming work, health and financial wellness. The fund is backed by an ecosystem of 1500+ HR leaders, including CHROs at companies like Disney, UPS, Visa, and BNY Mellon. As a result, Allison’s point of view on the future of work is informed by the latest emerging technology innovators as well as the largest, most influential employers in the country. She is also a contributing writer for Forbes, a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley-HaaS and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, and the author of the book Breaking into Venture. She has spoken to audiences across the globe, including California, New Zealand, China, Japan, and Russia.
Prior to joining SemperVirens, Allison worked on the trading floor at Goldman Sachs; was an early employee at General Assembly (which sold to Adecco for $413mln in 2018); co-founded a global seed fund Fresco Capital, and was an investor at Trinity Ventures.
Currently based in San Francisco, Allison has lived and worked in New York, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. She holds a B.A. in Economics with Honors, a minor in Film Studies, and a language citation in French from Harvard University.
Allison Baum Gates on Breaking Into Venture Capital
Allison Baum Gates on Workforce Technology
Allison Baum Gates on the Future of Work
Allison Baum Gates Advice on Fundraising
Allison Baum Gates’s Speech Topics
How Technology is Transforming the Future of Work
Although technology has transformed nearly every aspect of our personal lives, it is only beginning to change the largest and most complex systems that govern our lives. Allison Baum Gates provides a compelling deep dive into how technology has disrupted how we make money, take care of ourselves, and find meaning. Through case studies drawn from her portfolio of nearly one hundred investments, she discusses the specific impact of artificial intelligence, automation, and analytics on how employers manage their workforce, how individuals navigate their careers, and how we value the results.
The Changing Nature of the Employer/Employee Relationship
A combination of technological advancement, demographic shifts, and social justice movements have permanently disrupted the way we approach the workplace. Leveraging her work with some of the world’s biggest and oldest employers, as well as her experience investing in disruptive technologies enabling new ways of earning a living, Allison Baum Gates how the future of work is taking shape at both an individual and a societal level. Listeners will gain an understanding of how employers can and should adapt their recruiting, retention, and cultural strategies for a generation of workers with different needs, expectations, and talents.
The Employer’s Role in the Future of Healthcare
Employee benefits have historically been viewed as an afterthought, a cost center and a box to be checked after compensation has been negotiated. The country’s leading employers, however, have started to leverage benefits as a key strategy for recruiting, retaining, and empowering a diverse workforce while also saving on claims costs. Allison Baum Gates discusses how employers play a key role in accelerating the shift toward a more accessible, equitable, and efficient healthcare system. She highlights case studies of an exciting new generation of technology-based solutions for fertility, mental health, childcare, and LGBTQ+ and BIPOC populations.