Allison Aboud Holzer is a master-certified coach, executive adviser, and founder and CEO of Aha2Impact, a Women’s Business Enterprise National Council-certified, woman-owned firm that works with organizations on innovation, talent and leadership issues.
Over more than 25 years, Holzer has coached and advised thousands of senior leaders and executive teams during periods of organizational change and growth. Her work focuses on leadership development, strategy and innovation.
Holzer is a frequent speaker on leadership topics and oversees Aha2Impact’s work and direction.
What have been your biggest professional accomplishments so far?
I define success less by what I’ve done and more by whom I have been for clients and colleagues over the years — a passionate, caring, generous, loyal and high-integrity partner to their success. I keep notes of gratitude from clients over the years and feel tremendous pride in seeing the positive difference the work has made in their lives: ‘it’s been transformational,’ ‘career-defining,’ ‘the most impactful development experience,’ and ‘you remain one of the key influencers of who I am as a leader today.’
In more traditional ‘success’ terms, I’m proud of coaching more than 2,000 senior leaders over 25 years; designing transformational large-scale leadership, innovation and strategy programs; delivering two TEDx talks (on unstructured time and inspirational leadership); lead authoring a business and leadership book called ‘Dare to Inspire’; building and leading a successful leadership development business for 13 years; and, more recently in 2025, launching a new firm, Aha2Impact, with an expanded focus on business innovation and strategy.
What’s the next big goal you want to accomplish professionally?
My personal vision for the next 10 years is almost embarrassingly simple: I want to do great work with great people that has great impact. More concretely, I plan to grow Aha2Impact’s presence through expanding strategic partnerships with top-tier higher education institutions, innovative health care systems and purpose-driven corporations.
I also plan to build new future-forward content and online, experiential mini-mods to customize and scale for clients. At the highest level, I plan to grow the team, partners and resources dedicated to achieving Aha2Impact’s vision: a world where empowered people create positive, lasting impact.
What’s one of the biggest professional challenges you’ve overcome?
One of the biggest professional challenges I’ve overcome is learning to redefine success on my own terms, rather than based on measures or metrics promoted by others (or society, more broadly). I recently wrote about this in an article on LinkedIn called “Success Theater? Or Real Success?,” exploring the gap between looking successful and truly feeling successful.
A big part of my new definition of success includes seeking out environments and people who encourage innovation, learning and expansion. In taking the entrepreneurial leap to launching Aha2Impact in 2025, I’m both redefining success for myself and embracing growth and expansion.
How are you involved in the community?
I’m passionate about mentoring women and emerging leaders, supporting nonprofit and educational organizations, and serving on regional and national boards (e.g., CT Conscious Capitalism, WNET.org, Pursuit-of-happiness.org, and HR.com). More recent community efforts include Aha2Impact’s commitment to the American Cancer Society, supporting both local and national research and advocacy.