Natalie Nixon

Dr Natalie Nixon is a creativity strategist and Ideas Artist who helps leaders unlock transformative innovation by blending wonder and rigour. Author of the award-winning *The Creativity Leap* and her latest book *Move. Think. Rest.*, she has been named to the Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2024, recognised among Real Leaders' Top 50 Keynote Speakers, and featured in a Harvard Business School case study examining her career and impact. Through her firm Figure 8 Thinking, ranked among the top 20 women-led innovation consultancies, she guides organisations including Microsoft, Salesforce, and Bloomberg to navigate uncertainty and build future-ready teams by connecting imagination, inquiry, and intuition with practical business results.

When Harvard Business School chose to examine Dr Natalie Nixon's career in a published case study, it marked a rare honour typically reserved for landmark business challenges rather than individual leadership journeys. This recognition, alongside her inclusion in the Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2024 and Real Leaders' Top 50 Keynote Speakers, reflects her distinctive approach to helping organisations unlock breakthrough innovation by connecting imagination, inquiry, and intuition with practical business results. As the founder of Figure 8 Thinking, ranked among the top 20 women-led innovation consultancies by Core 77, Natalie works with global clients including Microsoft, Salesforce, and Bloomberg. Her latest book, *Move. Think. Rest.*, builds on the success of her award-winning *The Creativity Leap*, which Fast Company honoured in its 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards.

Natalie's credibility stems from a unique fusion of disciplines that few strategists can match. With a PhD from the University of Westminster in London and a BA (Hons) from Vassar College, she combines rigorous academic training in cultural anthropology with professional experience spanning fashion, design thinking, and dance. Certified as a Foresight Practitioner and fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, she has lived and worked across Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Israel, and Sri Lanka, bringing genuinely global perspective to her work. As a trustee of the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt Design Museum and former trustee of both Vassar College and Leadership+Design, she bridges the worlds of culture, education, and commerce. Her commitment extends to early-stage investing in social impact ventures, where she champions the balance between commercial value and stakeholder equity. This multifaceted expertise has made her a sought-after voice in publications including Forbes, Fast Company, and INC.

Natalie helps leaders navigate uncertainty by democratising creativity across their organisations. She challenges the notion that creativity belongs solely to artists, showing engineers, scientists, lawyers, and project managers how to think differently and lead with intention. Through keynotes, strategic consulting, and executive workshops, she equips teams to embrace what she calls the "new 'I' in AI", positioning human creativity as the competitive advantage in an increasingly automated world. Audiences leave her sessions with actionable frameworks for fostering innovation cultures, practical tools for balancing wonder with rigour, and renewed confidence in their ability to shape future-ready organisations. Whether speaking at global summits or advising C-suite leaders, Natalie creates lasting impact by making the complex accessible and the aspirational achievable, all whilst maintaining the energy and authenticity of someone who still perfects her salsa, foxtrot, and hip-hop moves outside the boardroom.