Natalie Nixon, PhD changes lives through ideas so that people build their creative confidence for years to come, make an impact and get paid their worth. She is a creativity strategist, global keynote speaker and author of the award-winning The Creativity Leap: Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation and Intuition at Work, which has been recognized as a game-changing innovation book by Fast Company, Porchlight and Soundview. As president of Figure 8 Thinking, LLC she advises leaders on transformation- by applying wonder and rigour to amplify growth and business value. Clients have included Comcast, Citrix, Living Cities, VaynerMedia and Bloomberg. A hybrid thinker, Natalie consistently applies her background in cultural anthropology and fashion. She began her career in education and as a hat designer. Later, Natalie worked in global apparel sourcing for a division of The Limited, Inc. Previous to Figure 8 Thinking, she was a professor for 16 years. Natalie is an early-stage investor at two social impact ventures. She’s valued for her ability to work at the intersection of commercial value and stakeholder equity. Natalie has lived in Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Israel, and Sri Lanka and is proficient in Portuguese and Spanish. She is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is certified as a Foresight Practitioner by the Institute for the Future. She received her BA (honours) from Vassar College, and her PhD from the University of Westminster in London.