Isaiah Akridge

About

Around the age of three, I discovered the power of why? and began using it endlessly. Although it got me into a lot of trouble as a child, it now fuels my curiosity and drive, benefiting me greatly in life. Why? allowed me to question my circumstances and abilities, leading me to become the first person in my immediate family to graduate from college. It also enabled me to challenge the status quo, securing internships with three Fortune 500 companies during my time at NC State University, even as a freshman. Today, as a Product Marketing Manager at IBM, I get to ask Why? to drive change within my company and the tech world. I thrive at the intersection of psychological theory, business strategies, and technology, which has shaped my career as a versatile professional. At my core, I am a problem solver. Currently, I drive innovative consulting solutions and strategic marketing initiatives that resonate with our clients and address their evolving needs. So, I get excited when presented with a challenge because it allows me to collaborate across disciplines, translate highly technical content into material for multiple audiences, innovate and co-create with artificial intelligence, and serve as a bridge between our technical consultants and our clients. Now that you know a little bit about me, I hope you've realized why you should connect with me!

Experience

• Product Marketing Manager, IBM Consulting · IBM08-01-2023

  As a Product Marketing Manager at IBM, I lead strategic efforts for our hybrid cloud management solutions. This includes our Hybrid Cloud Services, IT Automation & Operations, FinOps, Platform Services, IBM Consulting AIOps, and Generative AI consulting offerings. Drawing from strong technical knowledge and market insights, I drive initiatives that showcase what makes our consulting services and offerings truly valuable. My role is to make sure our solutions resonate with the right audiences to meet their evolving needs. I'm key in establishing IBM as the go-to experts in the hybrid cloud space.

• Field Marketing Specialist · Red Hat05-01-2023 – 08-01-2023

  - Successfully led the revival and optimization of the an original internal asset manager, optimizing 100+ assets and supporting over 10+ field marketing managers, providing the team with an efficient and familiar system for accessing NAPS-specific content - Enhanced the visual appeal and design of the internal newsletter to effectively communicate and promote upcoming events, increasing sellers' awareness and engagement, leading to a measurable boost in the pipeline which is estimated at $500M for 2023 - Conducted a comprehensive event impact data analysis for NA Regions (West, Central, East, and Canada), analyzing attendee conversion rates, allocadia spend, SYB won value, marketing sourced pipeline for each event, marketing sourced pipeline for commercial & enterprise, and top personas - Utilized Salesforce and Tableau for data analysis - Managed internal one-pagers which assisted in increasing awareness of various Red Hat partners. One-pagers were published on internal Red Hat webpages

• Administrative Assistant · North Carolina State University02-01-2023 – 04-01-2023

  I have successfully designed a cohesive framework for evaluating the student success purpose statement at North Carolina State University. Recognizing the need for a more holistic approach to measuring the student success definition, I spearheaded the development of an interactive and holistic action plan that goes beyond traditional metrics to assess the diverse dimensions of student success. This plan will be carried out by the Division of Academic and Student Affairs starting Fall 2023.

• Ecosystem Marketing Specialist · IBM05-01-2022 – 08-01-2022

  - Conducted conversations with over 25+ internal SMEs to gather an in-depth analysis of IBMs Partner Ecosystem marketing strategy and gain viable skills and tools to build a robust go-to-market multi-touch marketing campaign - Utilized quantitative and qualitative data to develop a set of strategic assets for marketers and partners to build eminence through internal communication channels (W3, YourLearning) and an external partner platform (IBM Partner World, Seismic), increasing partner relevance - Presented high level findings and campaign recommendations to IBM Ecosystem Executives and internal teams, increasing synergy and collaboration amongst teams - Currently building out a growth campaign, with potential to scale to ~35-40K partners of whom ~10-12K transact regularly

• Podcast Host for Beyond The Bell Tower · North Carolina State University08-01-2021 – 05-01-2022

  Managed a podcast serving over 30,000+ students at North Carolina State University. This podcast allows minorities and marginalized communities space and a voice for issues and experiences they navigate through at a land-grant university.

Education

• North Carolina State UniversityBachelor of Science, Business Administration, Information Technology
• Universidad Pontificia ComillasBusiness Administration and Management, General
• NC State European Center in PragueCritical and Creative Decision Making Models

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