Alison Stutter is an extremely private person.

Yes, she may be the lifelong best friend of one of the most famous people in the world, Kim Kardashian West ("BFFAE" in their lingo), and she may be the daughter of arguably the biggest power in the music industry, Irving Azoff (founder of Azoff Music Management) She may be the daughter of Irving Azoff, founder of Azoff Music Management. She is content to stay behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.

Stutter lives a low-key life in Beverly Hills with her husband, Rich Stutter, and their three sons. Her "normal" suburban life somewhat ends there: not to be outdone by her two closest friends, she is also the CEO of Blended Strategy Group, a Los Angeles-based celebrity and influencer marketing, public relations, and branding firm (in a new tab ), a Los Angeles-based celebrity and influencer marketing, public relations, and branding firm that she co-founded with Sherry Jhawar, formerly of eos Products, in 2015. Five years after its founding, business is booming, with the firm working with brands such as Revlon, Tiffany & Co. and Reebok. Says she, "We're five years in and have grown a business that we're really proud of."

Stutter modestly describes herself as a "college dropout." She left school in her sophomore year and spent 17 years working for her father's company, rising from pseudo secretary (answering phones) to talent manager and eventually working directly with performers like Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani. she developed her PR and marketing skills and went on to mega stardom.

"I've been in the industry a long time and I've seen it evolve," he says. 'From the days when you had to spend millions of dollars to hire and market a global pop star, to bloggers to influencers, and now influencers in many forms. I feel really fortunate to have been educated in real time and to see the entire evolution of the marketing structure around influencers." [But in 2015, at age 35 and after nearly 20 years working for her father's company, Statter felt stunted - that despite the security of working for a highly successful family business, she needed to challenge herself and forge her own path independent of her father's legacy. 'It was the scariest decision I ever had to make, but it was also one I had to make if I wanted to earn respect and credibility as a businesswoman. And I am so glad I did." [When Stutter met Jawer, she knew she had found the right co-founder; the two started the company and combined Stutter's background in talent management with Jawer's background in branding. The meeting of an expert in one field with an expert in another reimagined both the celebrity talent and influencer fields to serve clients in a unique way. [Allison and I] are really a yin-yang duo, we know each other's strengths and when to baton and utilize the other more," says Jawer.

For Stutter, it would have been easy to get Kim, a childhood friend, to help him officially launch the company. However, she preferred to let Blended's work speak for itself. Still, the mere fact of being in Kardashian West's life led Stutter to appear in scenes in Keeping Up with the Kardashians and on KKW's website and app as part of her "Inner Circle" series. The reality star even said on the app, "I know I say 'my BFFs' all the time, and I certainly have many, but Allison and I go way, way back."

The stutters didn't really come to the forefront until September 2019, when they appeared in a campaign for Kardashian West's shapewear line Skims (opens in new tab). This August, the two collaborated on "KKW x Allison for KKW Beauty" (opens in new tab), a makeup collection featuring products like the BFFAE eyeshadow palette, whose name reflects their 40-year friendship. (Their mother and father have been family friends since before they were born.) The move came after Statter finally created a public Instagram account in April (she also maintains a private account).

But don't mistake Stutter's sudden public appearance as a publicity stunt. 'It's very interesting to me,' Stutter says. 'How did you get [Kardashian West] to do that? She's my best friend. If she asks me to do something, there's nothing I won't do for her. I didn't make the decision to do the Skims video or the (makeup) collaboration to be in the public eye. I did it because she's my best friend, because she asked me to, because I wanted to do it for her. And she would do the same for me."

Stutter still turns down most of the press offers that are thrown at her. She says, "There's no doubt that the collaboration has exposed me in a different way, and I accept that. Fame and publicity need not be my driving force. That is not my driving force."

What drives Stutter is to continue to grow the business she is so proud of and to use her microphone for good. When she retires from Blended in the distant future, she hopes to give back as a third activity. She says she knows how fortunate she is to live the life she does. Says Statter, "If I can help others, whether from a philanthropic standpoint, a business standpoint, or a personal standpoint, and I have the ability to do it in a way that makes sense to me, I will." She serves on the board of HFC (opens in new tab), a nonprofit that helps families affected by Alzheimer's, and works regularly with organizations such as This is About Humanity (opens in new tab) and Baby2Baby (opens in new tab) that help underprivileged families and children. He regularly collaborates with organizations such as This is About Humanity (opens new tab) and Baby2Baby (opens new tab).

Although an undeniable success story, Stutter does not consider himself an influential person. At 40, however, she feels that she is finally coming into her own. The world has seen her, but it definitely hasn't seen the last of her. [Does turning 40 feel any different? 'People are starting to take me more seriously. People are finally, literally finally looking at me. I feel like I'm just getting started."

This article has been updated.