Wisdom From The Women Leading The Space Industry, With Annie Balliro Of uniphigood
An Interview With David Leichner
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As a part of my series about “Women Leading The Space Industry”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Annie Balliro Founder and President/CEO uniphigood, LLC.
A visionary risk-taker who sees connections and synergies most people would miss, Annie Balliro creates unique opportunities for musicians, Astronauts and other celebrity clients through uniphigood, LLC, the talent management agency she founded in 2009. Working with clients to maximize their potential, gain new opportunities and strategically integrate all aspects of their business, Balliro and her team live by the ethos “go big or go home.” Its uniphi space agency division has become the premier Astronaut talent management agency in the world, and has worked with over 100 Astronauts since the company began, launching the globally recognized National Astronaut Day in 2016 and now the Astronaut Rock Star Awards in 2024. Some of the awards will be presented at rock band O.A.R.’s show at Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion on July 20, 2024 — the 55th anniversary of the Moon Landing.
A Boston native, Balliro’s early career as a financial analyst and in prominent positions at Island Def Jam and Hard Rock International has cultivated the unique skill set to build her clients’ authentic brands around the world, be their biggest ally and advocate and bring all vital aspects of their business management under one roof.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I consider myself so fortunate to have had the experience of growing up in Swampscott, MA. (on the North Shore of Boston and home of the Dory, and the Lath Lobster Trap). Although I do have to say I was born in Dorchester, MA and get a kick out of saying “Just A Kid From Dorchester” (any NKOTB fans will know what this means — lol). My parents were extremely hardworking, my Dad a pharmacist and my Mom an art teacher and they were always active in the community. The town I grew up in was quite idyllic, a lovely New England beach town, the kind of place where you would walk to and from school and you knew everyone. I am still close with so many of my friends from my childhood, which I do consider a true gift. We all played a lot of sports and it seems like there was never a dull moment as we were always at practice or a game, outside doing “something” and having adventures. I also have fond memories of summertime where we would all run around and play until dusk and the family that lived right next to the park had a “triangle bell” that their Mom would ring when it was time for supper and we would all make our way home.
Education was always a primary focus from my parents, and I’d like to be able to say I was a straight A student, but that is definitely not the case. I did well in the end, but only because I was extremely fortunate to be part of a remarkable group of friends who were much better students than I, so kind of by default I would end up studying more and putting more attention to by coursework. Music was always part of my childhood and growing up I took lessons on violin, clarinet and piano, and I was always active in lots of clubs and extracurricular activities. I also started working early on and had a couple of jobs starting from when I was in High School. The truth is I love to work, always have a million things going on and most of all love being part of a team (or as I call it a “pack”).
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Although my degree from UMASS Amherst is in Finance and Economics, and I worked in the summers at a corporate internship in Boston, I did take quite a few classes in other areas which also happened to include Women’s Studies. I suspect that something about being a young woman trying to navigate my way through the “typical” business world at the time, and trying to find my own identity in all of it, was a motivating factor to take these courses. One book in particular that made an impact on me is Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés (1989) I instantly loved the fairy tales and folklore used in the book to address concepts or ideas that helped me at that time to think about things differently than I ever had before. To this day I still read stories in it often and gift this book regularly to others.
Another book that has always resonated with me and I find pops into my decision making from time to time is The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell (2000). There were so many great stories in there and one of my key takeaways was about embracing the direction that fans may want to customize or make things their “own”. In so much of our business it is about building emotional connections with an audience and what better accomplishment could there be than someone responding and embracing a message, story or creative work?
Recently I have been reading over and over the The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (2023). Rick does a beautiful job of crafting a narrative to discuss the concept of creativity as a state of being, rather than a skill. The Instagram feed to support this is also great, kind of feels like from another time and when I listen to what he has to say it always gives me a moment of reflection and I find quite interesting.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
Well there is a familiar quote that I reference from time to time, but more so in context of something that I seek to expand upon. Basically it’s the quote about teaching someone to fish that I have an alternate perspective about.. I personally am a gardener and love to grow things, anything really. I grow food, flowers, you name it I have probably tried to grow it. One of my favorite things to grow are sunflowers — all sizes, and kinds.. they always seek the sunshine and lean into the light. Sometimes they are so big that when you stand next to them you are in awe. They provide a remarkable food system in general, but also for pollinators, birds, squirrels, and they can self-propagate year over year, simply because they are so strong and prolific that the seeds fall to the earth at the end of the season or are dropped by animals that they then start the cycle all over again the next season all on their own.. and so on, and so on. So to answer the question, I have my own version of a “Life Lesson Quote” that instead of teaching someone to fish, how about teaching someone to grow (in this example sunflowers) so that they can provide for themselves, others and support and grow a beautiful, sustainable ecosystem for all to benefit forever.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the space industry? We’d love to hear it.
The initial idea to expand uniphigood, LLC from a music management and marketing company to also include managing Astronauts, started when a friend asked me if I could help getting Astronaut Garrett Reisman on The Colbert Report live while he was in space. (The whole story still makes me laugh to this day and is sort of like a six degrees of Willie Nelson — lol!). So this actually did happen, and if you get a chance check out this segment of Garrett on the International Space Station, and Stephen Colbert in his studio while still at The Colbert Report and the pure joy and enthusiasm of both is palpable. When I met up with Garrett after he had just retired from NASA and was going to start at SpaceX, it occurred to me that here was this rock star Astronaut sitting in front of me who needed help navigating the entertainment industry, managing speaking gigs and so on, especially since he had such a busy new day job. It was pretty much the exact same thing as managing musicians and I knew I could help. And so, the uniphi space agency was born.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
This is really an impossible question to answer by trying to share “the most interesting story”. Every day of my career has been like a dream.. it is not lost on my how incredibly fortunate I am and this inspires and motivates me daily. Many times someone will start reminiscing about something that happened along the way — could be related to anything from music industry, space experiences or traveling around the world and all the wonderful characters as part of the journey — and I may have a vague recollection of some literally magical, remarkable experience but can’t quite exactly remember all the details… so we will laugh and enjoy the trip down memory lane and joke that we better start writing these down or nobody will believe us one day when we are sitting on the porch in our rocking chairs!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Mamma Mia! I could write for days about funny mistakes that have happened along the way (and certainly continue to this day) Humor in general is a huge part of how we operate at uniphi, we will sometimes prank each other (or a client and vise versa), nothing mean or harsh, often just a silly joke. We also often end virtual meetings with a funny joke or story. With so much going on in everyone’s daily lives and certainly in our world, and I know I’m not really answering the question asked here, but one of my biggest lessons learned is a little levity can go a long way.. especially when mistakes are made.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There have been so many work “guardian angels” in my career path, but uniphigood would never have started if it wasn’t for my dear friend Bill Leopold (with whom I manage Toad the Wet Sprocket). I remember very specifically a conversation we had at the time I was at Hard Rock International and we had worked on some incredible Breast Cancer Awareness initiatives together with his client Melissa Etheridge, and we were talking about the program, but had known each other for years as I was previously Melissa’s product manager at Island DefJam. We were talking as I was trying to rush to my gate in Orlando, FL to fly back to New York and missed my flight. I had extra time so we had a long chat and he asked me point blank asked me if what I was doing at the time was what I still wanted to do in my career. My answer was that I definitely wanted to have my own company as I was passionate about my work and wanted to create something with a totally different kind of culture and structure, and so I could take the work further and into different arenas– like Astronauts & Space. He said to me, “So do it. You are already doing it whether you know it or not.. I can’t read the future, but I can read the past.. You have already been doing this and know how to do it.. now just formalize it and make it happen”.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We just launched the First-Annual Rock Star Awards, to be part of National Astronaut Day every year moving forward. We always knew things would evolve once the day (May 5) had taken on a life of its own, and this is such an organic extension of how National Astronaut Day has been celebrated in the past. Since the very first National Astronaut Day, music has been a key part of the way we honor and celebrate Astronauts. The Astronaut Rock Star Awards will honor the intersection of Space exploration, STEAM education, and the enduring connection between Astronauts and music. I have witnessed first hand how music is in the DNA of an Astronaut’s experience and space exploration in general, and how Astronauts and Space inspire so much in our culture and specifically in music. The awards will recognize Astronauts, individuals and organizations who push the boundaries of awareness, understanding, and support for Space exploration and STEAM education, as well as reinforcing the importance of why Space exploration is a critical aspect to make life better for all. This year the first round of honorees are so inspiring and we hope that by highlighting their accomplishments and stories it will benefit all.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The space industry, as it is today, is such an exciting arena. What are the 3 things that most excite you about the space industry? Can you explain?
It is remarkable to be part of, and witness first-hand, the evolution of our space industry in general, but also all of the offshoots, entrepreneurs and businesses that hustle and innovate to support the multi-billion dollar, growing, global space industry, in both in the space-for-earth and the space-for-space economies, and the “NewSpace” sector. There are so many individuals and developments that are inspiring, but a few specific concepts that are of particular interest to me are;
(1)
The Democratization of Space, in the air, on the ground and in all aspects of the industry
If you look back just a handful of years ago when Private Space Travel started, to where we are already today with the current NASA program, crews and missions and folks that have recently had the opportunity to experience some version of space travel, the inspiration and representation they are able to provide to all, especially for the Next-gen, is extraordinary. Although the cost of space travel is currently extensive, the analogy is often used about the original costs to fly on an airplane. Those first airline tickets were incredibly expensive and only the very wealthy could fly, and now we can hop on a plane to go see a concert — even overseas!
(2)
Real life example of international cooperation and global collaboration. The International Space Station (ISS) was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 but did not win the award. The ISS is considered a representation of qualities that Nobel winners exhibit, such as: Collaboration, Civility, Betterment of humanity, International teamwork, and Serving humanity. Many crews from all countries have co-existed peacefully for years, focused on a shared vision and mission. If that isn’t exemplary and an example of how to make life better here on Earth I don’t know what is.
(3)
Inspiring the Next-gen and shifting perspectives about Mother Earth (currently all of our only home), and sharing the “Overview Effect”. The Overview Effect is a mental shift that occurs when Astronauts see Earth from space, leading to feelings of awe and a sense of responsibility for taking care of it. The effect is characterized as “a state of awe with self-transcendent qualities, precipitated by a particularly striking visual stimulus”. It can cause Astronauts to feel a deep connection to humanity, and to appreciate Earth’s apparent fragility. Hearing Astronauts share these stories and each of their own unique individual experience and perspective, especially when they speak at events that include video and photos from their journey, is life changing and inspiring. I still to this day think there no better source of unifying inspiration than experiencing an Astronaut “talk”.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech, or the space industry? Can you explain what you mean?
I’ve always been a believer in how people are labeled and doing our best to select words that uphold our individual belief systems, including those that can “level” the playing field of perception about anyone’s role in any industry, including the space industry. For example, ALL Astronauts are Astronauts. We don’t call Astronauts who are women “Female Astronauts”, we don’t call Astronauts who are male, “Male Astronauts” they are all “Astronauts”. All language has over the years caused a division on this, just by the very nature of the basis of what we have been taught through traditional learning and systems since childhood. You will see this shift already happening in film and tv, where the term “Actor” is now much more commonplace as a general term for all who perform. This is also something that is being addressed today in terms of even things like the size of the spacesuits used for EVAs, something in the past that was prohibitive, attention is now being given to providing an equal playing field in the very basis of the tools needed to succeed for all. So although not a direct answer to the question specifically I would encourage all to take a look at the words used, the tools provided and have a quick “check” to see if it does truly represent all of humanity, or not.. certainly none of us our perfect but we all have an incredible opportunity right now in building the future and making it better for all.
What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech” and why?
Some of the leadership lessons I’ve learned along the way are pretty simple, and have become founding cornerstones of the company.
- If you are inspired with an idea, DO IT. Talk it through with those you trust and those around you for inputs and different points of view but make it happen, even if not tomorrow, it just goes on the backburner for another time when it makes sense to do it.
- Build your “pack” — everything at uniphi is based on collaborations, partnerships and a team (i.e. our “pack”) You can’t do everything by yourself and 100% of Zero is still Zero, so better to build strong alliances as you never know when you will need help, where an idea will come from and ultimately this model is best for our clients.
- Keep learning — our entire team is constantly taking new classes, learning new things, the industry is changing so fast you have to keep ahead of the curve to be able to serve your clients.
- When doing “deals”, building collaborations specifically for your clients, working through marketing strategies, etc put your clients’ needs FIRST. ALWAYS. And be transparent with them about any/all feedback, challenges ,etc. Our business is a two-way street and everyone has to be on board to make it work, both the clients and the team.
- Be comfortable with being uncomfortable. You have to take a lot of chances and risks to try new things and there will always be something happening at all times that you can’t control. Sort of like planting a seed in the ground.. you can plant a seed, make sure it has the right amount of water, nutrients and sunlight and then next thing you know a bird swoops out of nowhere or a storm comes by… alternatively if you plant enough seeds some always grow into something beautiful and then propagate themselves over time. And every once in a while you get lucky and a seed that you didn’t even know you planted that fell on the ground grew on it’s own, but was only there because you ultimately put it out there.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
The basis of founding National Astronaut Day was based on the premise to not only honor and celebrate Astronauts, but to use the platform as a sustainable movement to help inspire all. I am so proud of our whole team, and grateful to all the Astronauts, musicians, companies and individuals who have helped us make this a reality every May 5th. All you have to do is go to social media and search #WeBelieveInAstronauts or #NationalAstronautDay or #AstronautDay and you will see the incredible scope of support — it gives me goosebumps even thinking about it! We always knew at some point we would have to evolve the moment to the next step, and this year have launched the Astronaut Rock Star Awards, or as we like to say “Honoring those who Rock the Stars”. If anyone would like to learn more please check out the National Astronaut Day website.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)
Well, perhaps I could just share a quick story of someone I find so remarkable and inspirational, someone who is able to unite and uplift through words — Maya Angelou. If you have never read or seen her talk, please do yourself a favor and do so. When my Mom recently passed the poem that was selected for the back of her memorial card was “When Great Trees Fall”. I’ll let everyone read it to interpret it for themselves, but as we’ve all experienced loss as part of the human experience, this poem also is able to offer hope, even in grief, which is a quite beautiful, I think. To tie this to Space, a dear friend had gone back to Space just after my Mom passed and kindly offered to take something with him, so the memorial card was sent, along with the poem on the back. So for me, it’s lovely to think that my Mom’s image as young woman, and along with Maya Angelou’s powerful beautiful words together had a journey to the stars.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.
About The Interviewer: David Leichner is a veteran of the Israeli high-tech industry with significant experience in the areas of cyber and security, enterprise software and communications. At Cybellum, a leading provider of Product Security Lifecycle Management, David is responsible for creating and executing the marketing strategy and managing the global marketing team that forms the foundation for Cybellum’s product and market penetration. Prior to Cybellum, David was CMO at SQream and VP Sales and Marketing at endpoint protection vendor, Cynet. David is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Technology College. He holds a BA in Information Systems Management and an MBA in International Business from the City University of New York.
