Chris Allison

Background

About Chris Allison

For 16 years - 10 of which as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - Chris led Tollgrade Communications, Inc. from technology start up to public company to being recognized as one of the Best Small Companies In America by Forbes, Fortune, Business 2.0, Bloomberg Personal Finance and Industry Week. In the year sales of Tollgrade’s centralized telephone test systems reached $114 million. That year, its value on the NASDAQ exchange also reached $2 billion. For his efforts, Chris was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young, as well as by the Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association. Chris was also named CEO Communicator of The Year by the Public Relations Society of America. Now, Chris has devotes much of his time to Allegheny College. He teaches entrepreneurship and managerial economics as the college’s Entrepreneur-In-Residence. He is also a member of Allegheny’s Board of Trustees. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Timesys Corporation. Chris has also been a columnist for Pittsburgh Quarterly since the magazine’s inception four years ago. His column, “To Boldly Go” deals with the subject of innovation. For his writing, he is a two-time nominee and one time winner of the Golden Quill Award by the Pittsburgh Press Club. His new book, You’ll Manage, is now available on Amazon.com.