ALEXA CLAY

Chief Misfit, Culture Hacker, Tech Provocateur, Economist, Writer, Keynote

SELECTED SPEAKING TOPICS

The Future of Work, Creativity in Unlikely Places, Innovation, The Black Economy, Entrepreneurship,
Alternative Economies, Intrapreneurship

"The Misfit Economy is the best business book to read in 2015"

- The World Economic Forum and Huffington Post -

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Alexa Clay is the leading expert on subcultures and innovation from unlikely places. With a BA from Brown University and a MSc. from Oxford University, Alexa works to create bridges and opportunities between misfit subcultures and the formal economy. She believes the underworld is filled with natural-born-innovators and they have more in common with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs or Exxon, than you might think.

Alexa is the co-author of best selling book The Misfit Economy, named the pre-eminent business book to read by The World Economic Forum, TechRepublic, The Telegraph and Huffington Post. In the book Alexa interviews over 500 criminals, including Somali Pirates, LA drug dealers, hackers and NY con artists to unveil their remarkable ingenuity.

On a mission to change the worlds perception of criminals and their contribution to society, she wants us to stop viewing them as burdens and locking away their expertise, but instead, she wants them to be valued and repurposed for society’s benefit.

Through her Misfit Academy, Alexa teaches how to think like the underworld’s most creative, innovative and forward-thinking individuals and how to apply their lessons to more formal markets.

Beyond her work with the dark side of the economy, Alexa holds a number of positions including being the co-Founder of the League of Intrapreneurs, a movement to create change from within big business, she’s advised for the Clinton Foundation where she developed a community of social intrapreneurs (from the private sector) to work on climate change.

She is also the Founder of Wisdom Hackers, an incubator for philosophical inquiry, and when not operating as Alexa, you can find her playing ‘Rebekah, The Amish Futurist’ a provocative alter ego that challenges modern life. Rebekah also gives talks and moderates panels to challenge our reliance on technology.

Alexa has written and appeared in Fast Company, Forbes, Wired, Dazed and Confused, VICE, Harvard Business Review, the New York Times and MTV. She is a regular commentator on topics related to economic transition, misfit subculture, social entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship and technology angst.