Chelsea Hardaway

I was raised in a geodesic dome on the side of an Arizona mountain. We were so far off the grid, we baked our bread in solar ovens and composted our own soil. I emerged somewhat normal, but every now and then, my wild hippie side emerges and frightens corporate America.

Chelsea Hardaway is a brand strategist and creative director.

She has 16 years’ experience (in-house and agency side) building buzz, launching new brands, and changing the perception of established companies. She writes and designs, but her real specialty is finding unconventional creative solutions to big strategic challenges. She often acts as an “outsourced CMO,” serving as a marketing advisor to CEOs and executives.

Chelsea won a CLIO for the Bullfighter anti-jargon software and is co-author of Why Business People Speak Like Idiots (Free Press, 2005).

Her work has been featured on CNN and CNBC, as well as in Business Week, USA Today, and the New York Times. She is a frequent conference speaker, and lives with her family in the Bay Area coastal town of Montara.