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Now leading a software company, Alison Lange Engel says she sees three core business pressures — economic, online fragmentation and the rise of AI in enterprise. She dined with Kerry last month for our "1 big meal" interview series.

Why it matters: Ceros is a content creation platform working with Fortune 500 businesses and majority owned by Sumeru Equity Partners. Engel was named CEO in May after three years on its board. She previously worked at LinkedIn, Stripe and Greycroft, which backed Ceros' Series A and B. 

🇬🇷 Why we chose the restaurant: estiatorio Milos in Hudson Yards. Engel says she loves seafood and Mediterranean restaurants. She also hadn't yet visited the neighborhood.

🐟 What we ate: We enjoyed the pre-theater menu. She ate salmon tartare, grilled tsipoura and fresh fruit and drank iced tea. I ate octopus, salmon and walnut pie and drank coffee. 

This interview was edited for clarity, style and length.

What lessons did you learn at Greycroft that you brought to Ceros?

"The great founders I work with were so strong at casting a vision and mission and building that trust and aligning teams. ... Great companies are built from this irrational passion to solve that problem. And so now as a CEO, I reflect on that, and I call on some of my former founders."

"We have a really large product program. ... The idea is focusing on our core customer set, which are mid-market businesses up through the biggest advertisers in the world."

"We are constantly reevaluating how we do what we do from product, from data, from our go-to-market teams and enabling those teams to be much more efficient. Companies can be rich in data but poor in insights, so how are we not in that camp?"

"We're trying to embed AI in the workflow for people. ... So if you're working on an image, it [could] say, 'This seems to be bigger than the rest of them' — just kind of prompting you and helping you." 

"There are enterprises that are not yet using AI. They don't want AI in products. They have complexity in certain contracts if AI is included. ... We want AI to be an enabler and a multiplier." 

"As a CEO, you are up at night. There always are threats and challenges and how fast are things going to be updated and what does that look like? So far, I think it still goes back to ... what are [customers] opening their wallets for? Are we being true to that?"

🏞️ 1 fun fact: Engel's goal is to visit all U.S. National Parks. About 10 years ago, she did the rim to rim hike of the Grand Canyon.

Ceros CEO Alison Lange Engel on AI for enterprise

"Companies can be rich in data but poor in insights."

Photo illustration of Ceros CEO Alison Lange Engel in front of a picnic table print background.

Alison Lange Engel. Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of Alison Lange Engel

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Now leading a software company, Alison Lange Engel says she sees three core business pressures — economic, online fragmentation and the rise of AI in enterprise. She dined with Kerry last month for our <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="&quot;1 big meal&quot; interview series" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/media-deals/2024/05/31/dazn-global-cro-walker-jacobs" data-vars-content-id="b3297cb3-0725-4044-9ca8-e0dc3f08ac53" data-vars-headline="Ceros CEO Alison Lange Engel on AI for enterprise" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/media-deals/2024/05/31/dazn-global-cro-walker-jacobs" target="_self">&quot;1 big meal&quot; interview series</a>.Why it matters: Ceros is a content creation platform working with Fortune 500 businesses and majority owned by Sumeru Equity Partners. Engel <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="was named" data-vars-click-url="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ceros-announces-alison-lange-engel-as-new-ceo-302145220.html" data-vars-content-id="b3297cb3-0725-4044-9ca8-e0dc3f08ac53" data-vars-headline="Ceros CEO Alison Lange Engel on AI for enterprise" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ceros-announces-alison-lange-engel-as-new-ceo-302145220.html" target="_blank">was named</a> CEO in May after three years on its board. She previously worked at LinkedIn, Stripe and Greycroft, which backed Ceros&#x27; Series A and B.

Ceros CEO Alison Lange Engel on AI for enterprise

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