Karen Balle

Email Deliverability Director Continuous Process Improvement | Inbox Delivery Management | Cross-Functional Leadership and Training Regulatory Compliance and Standards | Email Authentication and Technologies Detail-oriented, systematic, and customer-oriented professional, offering comprehensive experience in all aspects of email deliverability; complemented with hands-on leadership background. Armed with proven expertise in maximizing email deliverability rates; monitoring email campaigns; analyzing inbox placement; and implementing industry best practices. Equipped with in-depth knowledge of technical software operations and troubleshooting techniques, as well as policy and procedure development. Armed with superior interpersonal and communication aptitudes, along with well-honed analytical and problem-solving skills. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AWeber Communications – Chalfont, PA director, deliverabilityJuly 2018-Present Enforce and enhance compliance policies, including creation of training for all departments. Closely work with Best Practices and Engineering for deliverability tools, reporting, and legal compliance. Manage industry and ISP relationships for AWeber Communications. Manage and maintain queue performance and rate limits for production MTAs. Advise Engineering on upcoming industry best practices and standards for inclusion in the product roadmap. Career Highlights: Developed new processes and policies to improve customer experience in partnership with internal teams. Led efforts in mitigating escalations through expert management of key clients as well as driving companies’ growth while retaining best practices. Organized and led full network cleanup of shared IP space, including setting metrics for acceptable sending practices, set compliance and termination standards, and trained Best Practices on how to engage Best Practices conversations with large customers.. MAPP DIGITAL US llc. – SAN DIEGO, CA director, deliverability management and consulting- Manage and maintain budget for global department. Restructure and build the Deliverability department to handle sophisticated marketer needs. Create and enforce compliance policies, including creation of training for all departments. Build or restore positive relationships with all company departments. Create global deliverability packages to provide consistent service and high customer satisfaction globally. Closely work with product management in administering project requirements for deliverability tools, reporting, and legal compliance. Facilitate partner development of deliverability tools, including needs and compliance requirements. Manage industry and ISP relationships for Mapp Digital. Career Highlights: Grew the Deliverability Management and Consulting team from two employees to 14 employees in two years. Provided key input and guided Senior Leadership in creating a successful business argument for the Board of Directors to adopt significant changes in company policy relating to anti-spam and best practices compliance. Developed new processes and policies to improve customer experience in partnership with internal teams. Led efforts in mitigating escalations through expert management of key clients as well as driving companies’ growth while retaining best practices. Guided major clients with recurring spam blocks and complaint issues to best practices. StrongView Systems, Inc. – Redwood Shores, CA Delivery Support Specialist- Demonstrated expertise in resolving complex email delivery issues through close collaboration with both internal and external teams. Served as the primary technical resource on deliverability in Asia-Pacific; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and Latin America. Handled IP allocation and usage strategy for high-profile multi-IP senders, including flash sales. Closely worked with project management in administering project timelines to execute changes for efficient delivery. Facilitated training to clients on using and managing ReturnPath’s and IBM Unica Pivotal Veracity’s Deliverability Tools suite. Career Highlights: Developed a customized ramp up schedule for the Production Mailing Program, thus providing an easier onboarding process for clients. Formulated departmental and interdepartmental training programs, which entailed drafting documentation and presentation materials of the program as well as presenting completed project to the Sales and Support teams. Designed and implemented testing strategies to quarantine specific reputation problems and maximize effect changes to client list practices. ExactTarget – Indianapolis, IN Deliverability Consultant- Functioned as the company subject matter expert on deliverability in APAC and EMEA, responsible for resolving challenging email delivery issues. Coordinated with internal teams to calibrate technical configurations and enhance customer experience. Conducted training to clients in utilizing ReturnPath’s and IBM Unica Pivotal Veracity’s Deliverability Tools suite. Promptly addressed spam complaints and ascertained that customers were appropriately suppressing unsubscribe requests. Collaborated with various affiliate companies to ensure compliance with industry best practices. Career Highlights: Developed new processes and policies to improve customer experience in partnership with internal teams. Offered MTA adjustment recommendations to enhance email delivery; authored numerous company blog articles on deliverability best practices. White Delivery, LLC – Plantation, FL Senior Email Deliverability Analyst- Provided efficient assistance on email list targeting and launch to improve the deliverability. Rapidly addressed and resolved long-standing blocking issues with AOL and Yahoo. Closely coordinated with ReturnPath Delivery Services to observe strict adherence to standards, as well as with mailbox providers to remove blocks and mediate blocking. Capitalized on industry expertise in educating internal teams on email best practices. Career Highlight: Efficiently optimized inbox delivery rates by providing advices on technical configurations and options. ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE XO Communications, Inc. – Reston, VA Internet Abuse and Fraud Supervisor- Made substantial contributions in improving company policies and procedures across the XO Communications. Significantly lessened incoming abusive customers by training sales general managers on new pre-sales procedures and commission policies. Monitored strict compliance with international laws and emerging best practices in developing products. Maintained active involvement with Messaging AntiAbuse Working Group and Anti-Phishing Working Group to diminish ongoing network abuse issues. Earlier Positions Held: The Judge Group – Herndon, VA Associate Abuse Investigator2002 Mail Abuse Prevention Systems, LLC – Redwood City, CA Network Abuse Manager- RCN Corporation – Merrifield, VA Abuse Administrator- COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG), Email Sender & Provider Coalition (ESPC) TECHNICAL ACUMEN Windows | Microsoft Word and Excel | NIX Systems | Mail Transport Agent (MTA) Configuration Domain Name System (DNS) | Reverse DNS | DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) SPF | Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC)