Carla Itzkowich Consultant, Foresight Consulting
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlaitzkowich/
What do you do?
Carla Itzkowich founded International Contact, Inc., her multilingual marketing communications company in 1982 in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was a one-stop shop for marketing localization, so she has wide experience in all media and software. Circa 1990 she also offered interpreting services and in 2020 pioneered event architecture models for making inclusive meetings. She worked for events like San Francisco’s Climate TED talk and the first-ever interpreted session of the California Legislature.
Born and raised in Mexico, and educated in California with a degree from U.C. Berkeley Carla is fully bicultural as well as multilingual, and clearly understands the intricacies of communicating with clients who may speak English, yet prefers to make purchasing decisions based on information provided in their native language.
Her clients included major Fortune 1000 corporations like T-Mobile and Intel as well as city, county, and federal agencies including the cities of Oakland and San Francisco, Alameda County, and the IRS among many.
When Apple Computer decided to create definitive guides for their “Elite” Mac User Group, they turned to Carla and her co-writers to develop and write the book describing the localization process for software and manuals. Carla’s “Apple’s Guide to Producing Localized Multimedia” has helped clients steer clear of culturally inappropriate images, colors, preferences, etc.
Carla sold the company in May 2022 and is now consulting with businesses and governments on their language access plans and how to integrate new technologies into language service companies’ offerings.
She has been a speaker at various conventions on topics related to language services: she has presented at the Federal Online Learner’s Association, Zoomtopia (the conference for Zoom users), and various ALC events.
Carla found many questions and answers when she sold her company that are invaluable to those members interested in mergers and acquisitions. She has been moderating M&A panels to make sure those topics are addressed.
What investments have you made in your professional career development?
I joined the Association of Language Companies and the VMA/PIA and participated in their networking and personal development programs. As I learned the intricacies of M&A while selling my company, I then contributed back to the group and developed the M&A Lab series of webinars to help those behind me make better deals and plan their exit strategy.
What investments have you made in your personal development?
In my 20s and 30s, I did many self-awareness and growth seminars to make me a better public speaker and salesperson. Doing things I am passionate about makes it easy but putting in the time to develop the skills to do that is also important.
How can the industry proactively invest in women, and why should this be a priority?
Women in Localization offers a great model for how to support women in their professional development. Women bring special creativity to problem-solving and leadership that benefits everyone. Despite huge strides, we are still behind men in leadership participation so supporting and encouraging women is critical to bringing equity and finding better life solutions. Thanks to Girls Who Print for your efforts in this regard.
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