Bio and Headshots
Short Bio
Leigh Durst is a recognized authority in business, operations, and digital transformation. For 25 years, she has advised the global Fortune 100, startups, nonprofits and businesses across sectors, including 1-800-FLOWERS, American Express, AOL/Time Warner, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Chevron, IEEE, Walmart, and the US Army Reserve. Leigh is a change agent who helps people work smarter to produce exceptional outcomes, presenting at events like SXSW, New Media Expo and MarketingProfs B2B. She has been featured in media outlets like Fast Company, CNN, CNET, ABC News, National Geographic, Customer Think, feature documentary Social Good in a Digital Age, and three best-selling books.
Long Bio
Leigh Durst is the is also the author of Walk, Climb or Fly: Surviving and Thriving in the Workplace Wilderness, and founder and CEO of Live Path, a strategic consultancy that serves the needs of global blue chip, startup, non-profit and government clients across sectors. A visionary strategist and transformation agent, Leigh is a highly recognized authority in business, operational and digital transformation. She works with an array of world-changers and technology makers, applying deep, cross-functional, cross-industry insight and wisdom to help businesses and individuals fully realize their full potential and serve people better.
In her early years, Leigh co-founded the Interactive Services Division at 1-800-FLOWERS, leading the development of 16 groundbreaking eCommerce applications in under two years. She was later recruited to spearhead eCommerce initiatives for American Express, and later went on to pioneer in product, portal and channel development for two successful startups, serving both companies through A/B funding through successful IPO and acquisition.
For six years, Leigh served as a solutions, account and engagement lead for KPMG Consulting / BearingPoint (now Delloitte Consulting) where she led transformation initiatives for Fortune 100, startup and public-sector clients. Leigh delivered over $10M in sales annually, led the development of the firm’s first company-wide e-business courseware and Enterprise B2B Portal, Content Management, Integrated Marketing, MRM, CRM and User and Customer Experience Management solutions.
Today, Leigh consults with an array of world-changing organizations and serves on several boards, including the SXSW Advisory Board. For eight years, she curated the IEEE Tech for Humanity Series (client), creating a dynamic partnership and platform for the stories of over 150+ world-changing innovators, including Tim Berners-Lee, Dean Kamen, Adam Savage, Nolan Bushnell, Vint Cerf and others. Leigh also co-founded the highly successful SXSW4Japan / SXSWCares campaign in 2011, which was compared in the 2014 .org domain documentary “The Digital Citizen” to the #Occupy movement as well as Wikipedia.
A syndicated writer, speaker and thought leader, Leigh has appeared in national/international press including Fast Company, CNN, CNET, ABC News, National Geographic, Customer Think, Marketing Profs and others. She also contributed to the best sellers, “Web Redesign: Workflow that Works” and “The Customer Experience Edge.” Leigh is an active public speaker and teacher, who has presented at SXSW, New Media Expo, Marketing Profs B2B, The University of Hawaii at Manoa, and an array of industry events.
