Alan Webber

Founding Editor, Fast Company Magazine; Mayor of Santa Fe, New Mexico

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Alan Webber Biography

Alan M. Webber is an American entrepreneur, author and politician serving as the 43rd and current Mayor of Santa Fe since 2018. As one of the most widely respected and knowledgeable leaders in business journalism today, Alan Webber brings audiences unusual depth of knowledge and insight into an economy fueled by information, change and innovation. He currently writes regularly for USA Today as a member of its board of contributors and was the cofounder and former editor of Fast Company magazine. Webber understands the important characteristics of a 'fast company': the ongoing competition for the best people, for great ideas, and for the right way to think about leadership.

 Webber coauthored Changing Alliances: The Harvard Business School Project on the Auto Industry and the American Economy, an important book on the competitive future of the American auto industry in the global economy. He also coauthored of Going Global: Four Entrepreneurs Map the New World Marketplace, a blueprint for how to expand into global markets.

Alan is in wide demand as a speaker and has been a consultant to some of the most innovative and successful companies in the world. The former managing editor/editorial director of the Harvard Business Review, his columns and articles have appeared in numerous national publications, including the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The New York Times Sunday Magazine and The Washington Post. He has appeared on several broadcast networks discussing how companies are adapting to today’s fast-changing business environment.

Webber is a former fellow of the U.S.-Japan Leadership Program and a John J. McCloy Fellow. He has worked in the public sector as a special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and in several capacities for the city of Portland, Oregon.

Credentials

Cofounder and former editor of Fast Company

Co-author, Changing Alliances: The Harvard Business School Project on the Auto Industry and the American Economy,

Co-author, Going Global: Four Entrepreneurs Map the New World Marketplace

Columns and articles have appeared in numerous national publications, including the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The New York Times Sunday Magazine and The Washington Post

Former Harvard Business Review editorial director

Former Harvard Business Review managing editor and associate editor

Former fellow, U.S.-Japan Leadership Program

Former special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation

Former editorial page editor of the Willamette Week

Former administrative assistant to the mayor of Portland and chief of his policy council Former administrative assistant to Portland’s city commissioner

Former Associate Editor, Oregon Times magazine

Recipient, Oregon State Newspaper Publisher’s Association Award for news and feature writing

Named John J. McCloy fellow

BOOK Alan Webber

Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 09/20/2024.

Alan Webber Speaking Topics

  • Optimism, Innovation and Leadership

    The last decade has been a dizzying time of change: boom, bust, scandal, terrorism, war, disease—and who knows what comes next! It’s easy to lose focus and to get discouraged. In fact, much of the conventional wisdom today sounds pretty pessimistic. Webber’s message is different:

    Three words define where we are today: optimism, innovation, and leadership.

    Why Optimism? First, because conventional wisdom is wrong: much of the ‘90s was right! We built the technological infrastructure to change how business gets done, how people live and work, how value gets created. The next ten years will see an even more exciting, more demanding, more important business revolution — conversion to this new operating system — and the people who understand and respond first will win.

    We should also be optimistic because, in each industry that conventional wisdom says is failing (airlines, retail...), one company stands out—through innovation. That’s the second key word.

    Here are 10 rules for out-innovating the competition. Great companies:

    Don’t let lean times make them mean organizations.
    Practice “serious innovation.”
    Change customer expectations.
    Change the basis for competition—they reinvent the rules.
    Change the economics of their industry.
    Get more than their share of great people.
    Live inside their customers’ skins.
    Learn across the board, and learn at all levels.
    Create new opportunities for their partners; they have an “open system” approach to doing business.
    Have great leaders who “get it” when it comes to building a future.
    

    Leadership is the key, especially in challenging times. Great leaders make sense for their people, their customers, and their business partners. They describe a future that is important, powerful, desirable, achievable, and reasonable; and they show people how to get there by working together. They adapt, they understand essentials, they understand the need for integrity and transparency in their operations, the value of values. They deliver productivity. They are honest.

  • Human capital

    You can no longer cut your way to greatness, or merge your way to greatness. The key to success now is knowledge and creativity—in a word, people. Clients now are under enormous pressure to adapt, change culture, get customers to co-create their products and services and to attract talent in order to do all this. This is no less true for law firms.

    What’s the punch line of all these trends? A major disconnect exists between the law firms (and clients) of today and those of the future. Lawyers traditionally are left brain to the max: logical, skeptical, a little distant, urgent, often not great listeners and not team players. But increasingly, clients want to be heard and wooed; they want a relationship, not a transaction.

  • Technology

    As Web 2.0 expands, industries are converging. Everything is becoming connected and interactive and new forms of social communities and mass participation are emerging. This is shifting power to consumers.

  • Globalization

    He discusses how the world is becoming flat, a la Tom Friedman’s book, and the implications of this trend for clients and law firms alike.

  • Innovation, Leadership and the Law Profession

    The law profession is squarely in the cross-hairs where innovation and leadership intersect. Three major forces are upsetting the status quo — not just for lawyers, but for their clients, as well — and calling for effective leadership to guide the changes.

    Firms, CMOs, and lawyers who meet these challenges will flourish; those who embrace the status quo may do well in the short run, but in the longer run they run a huge risk of becoming dinosaurs like the Big 3 and other industrial age companies and industries that have failed to adapt. The three major forces are: globalization, technology and human capital. In this presentation, Alan Webber explores these forces in depth.

Alan Webber Videos

  • BIF 9: Alan Webber - The Disappearing Man in the Grey Suit
  • Episode 746 | Election 2014: Alan Webber

Alan Webber Books

  • Life Reimagined: Discovering Your New Life Possibilities
    Life Reimagined: Discovering Your New Life Possibilities
  • Rules of Thumb: How to Stay Productive and Inspired Even in the Most Turbulent Times
    Rules of Thumb: How to Stay Productive and Inspired Even in the Most Turbulent Times
  • Going Global: Four Entrepreneurs Map the New World Marketplace
    Going Global: Four Entrepreneurs Map the New World Marketplace

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  • What topics does Alan Webber speak about?

  • Where does Alan Webber travel from?

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Alan Webber is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Optimism, Innovation and Leadership, Human capital, Technology , Globalization and Innovation, Leadership and the Law Profession. The estimated speaking fee range to book Alan Webber for your event is available upon request. Alan Webber generally travels from and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Parag Khanna, Sir Richard Branson, Clay Shirky, Jimmy Wales and Gary Vaynerchuk. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Alan Webber for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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