Speaker Bio

Alex Budak believes everyone has the potential to lead positive change from wherever they are. As a social entrepreneur, University of California, Berkeley faculty member, and author of Becoming a Changemaker (Fall 2022), he dedicates his life to helping people from all walks of life make a positive impact in their lives, career, communities, and society.

A graduate of UCLA and Georgetown University and the recipient of UCLA’s Recent Alumnus of the Year Award, he co-founded StartSomeGood.com, a platform that breaks down the barriers that prevent people from enacting change. StartSomeGood.com has helped over 1,000 changemakers in 50 countries raise over $12 million in funding to bring ideas to action to address issues of social justice, sustainability, mental health, and more. He also ran Sweden’s most prominent social innovation incubator, Reach for Change and was previously at Change.org.

At UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, he teaches students and executives from around the globe the mindset, leadership skills and action steps required to become changemakers. He also serves as Executive Director of the Berkeley Haas Global Access Program and as a Lecturer and Faculty Director for UC Berkeley Executive Education programs. Budak has lectured on changemaking, entrepreneurship, and leadership at scores of corporations, non-profits, and governmental agencies including the White House, the United Nations, Accenture, AirBnB, and MIT, and around the world from Ukraine to Cambodia.

In September 2022, Budak released his first book, Becoming a Changemaker: An Actionable, Inclusive Guide to Leading Positive Change at Any Level. Using the same techniques as his popular UC Berkeley courses, the book gives readers everywhere the tools and confidence required to become changemakers.

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Speaking Topics

Becoming a Changemaker

In his signature talk, based on his UC Berkeley course and forthcoming book, Budak covers what it means to be a changemaker today, why companies and the world need changemakers now more than ever, and how people from all walks of life can lead positive change from wherever they are.

Developing a Changemaker Mindset

Irrespective of roles or sectors, your career and professional success will be determined by your ability to navigate, shape and lead change. Through stories, key academic findings, and experiential exercises, this session provides actionable skills for leading change. Budak covers topics including resilience, collaboration, trust and how to thrive in highly dynamic environments.

Reinventing Leadership

In this engaging and thought-provoking talk, Budak explores why “traditional” models of leadership are broken, and what it means to be a leader today. He discusses how to become an inclusive leader, how to develop psychological safety for yourself and your teams, and how to lead change through networks.

Leading Change when Change is Hard

Budak explores why change efforts most commonly fail and what changemakers can do to proactively improve success rates. He explains how to effectively engage others – even skeptics! — in change efforts and how to inspire others to action through vision and purpose.

Booking Info

Alex Budak’s speaking engagements are handled by the Hachette Speakers Bureau, a division of Hachette Book Group and an accredited member of the International Association of Speakers Bureaus. Contact us to learn more.