Valiena A. Allison

Innovator, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, World Traveler

President, Vertex Adventures L.C.
President, Allison Family Foundation
President, Marriott’s Summit Watch C.O.A.
Chair, Oakland University Economics B.O.A.
Executive Board Secretary, J.A.S.E.M.
Board Member, O.U. S.B.A.
Grants Chair, Troy Community Foundation
Retired CEO & Chairman, Experi-Metal Inc. (EMI)

Valiena A. Allison is an accomplished Chief Executive Officer and philanthropist with over 35 years of manufacturing, leadership, and managerial expertise. As the former Chairman of the Board and CEO of EMI - a full-service sheet metal component and assembly manufacturing company - Valiena worked diligently to expand the company’s presence globally by successfully leveraging its traditional Automotive business capabilities into the Aerospace, Military, Homeland Security, and Alternative Energy markets. Hired as a receptionist in 1988 and fueled by her passion for excellence, Valiena rose through the ranks to make EMI a world-class manufacturer and the premier manufacturing solution for some of the best and most demanding companies in the world. She sold the company on August 1, 2016.

Ms. Allison has received numerous professional and personal accolades including the prestigious
Champion of the New Economy Award that recognizes executives who drive growth in highly competitive industries, sponsored by Junior Achievement, DBusiness Magazine, and WJR News/Talk Radio. She also received the Michigan Manufacturer’s Association Manufacturer of the Year Award, the WellCo and Corp! Magazine Best and Brightest in Wellness Elite Award, Crain’s Healthiest Employer Award, the Sterling Edge Business Award for Blue Ribbon Company of the Year, and the Corp! Magazine Best of Michigan Award. Allison is the recipient of several personal awards, including the Entrepreneur of Distinction presented by Corp! Magazine, the 2017 Troy Volunteer of the Year Award, the 2021 Leader of Leaders Award granted by Leadership Oakland, and Oakland University’s 2022 Odyssey Award that honors an alum whose life exemplifies the University’s motto “to seek virtue and knowledge.”

Valiena is an active philanthropist - both locally and globally. She currently sits on six nonprofit boards with a focus on youth, entrepreneurship, and travel. Since 2019, the Allison Family Foundation (AFF) has supported a small village in Southwestern Uganda adjacent to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The Foundation built a new library for the Ntungamo Primary School and Orphanage with a comprehensive water collection and filtration system designed to provide clean drinking water for the surrounding community. In 2021, AFF built a new kitchen and initiated a breakfast and lunch feeding program for 550 students. Future projects include a dining hall shelter/open air pavilion, reading room for children in the library, musical instruments and the creation of a Women’s Bike Shop and Glass Beads enterprise in Kisoro.

Valiena is a graduate of Oakland University, earning undergraduate degrees in Marketing, Economics, and Spanish, and later an MBA in Finance and Accounting. She also completed Advanced Graduate Studies in World Economics, Manufacturing, and Shakespeare at Oxford University in England. She is a graduate of both the Leadership Macomb and Leadership Oakland programs. Valiena enjoys adventure travel, art, yoga, and wine. Her passion is helping others realize and reach their personal and professional best.