Chip Conley is on a mission. After disrupting the hospitality industry twice, first as the founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, the second-largest operator of boutique hotels in the U.S., and then as Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy, leading a worldwide revolution in travel, Conley co-founded MEA (Modern Elder Academy) in January 2018.
Inspired by his experience of intergenerational mentoring at Airbnb – where they called him a "modern elder" and his guidance was instrumental to the company’s extraordinary transformation from fast-growing start-up to the world’s most valuable hospitality brand, Chip created the world's first "midlife wisdom school." Dedicated to reframing the concept of aging, MEA engages and supports students to navigate midlife with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility. With nearly 3,500 alumni from 42 countries and 26 regional chapters globally, MEA is expanding to the United States with a new campus and regenerative community in Santa Fe, New Mexico, slated to open in 2024.
Conley is also the award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller "Emotional Equations," alongside "Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow," "The Rebel Rules," "Marketing That Matters," and "Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder," which forms the core of the MEA curriculum. Conley's book "A Year of Wisdom" is based on daily inspiration and insight from his Wisdom Well blog. His new book, "Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age” is a global bestseller.
A hospitality veteran, Conley is the recipient of its highest honor, the Pioneer Award, and was named the Most Innovative CEO in the San Francisco Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times. He is the founder of the Celebrity Pool Toss that supports families in the Tenderloin neighborhood where he opened his first hotel, and San Francisco’s Hotel Hero Awards. Chip holds a BA and MBA from Stanford University, and an honorary doctorate in psychology from Saybrook University. He previsouly served on the boards of Glide Memorial, Esalen Institute, and was a founding board member of Burning Man. Chip currently serves on the board of CoGenerate.org and advisory board for the Stanford Center on Longevity and SpeakUp Now.
Relevant Topics for “Wisdom at Work and Learning to Love Midlife”
1. Advantages of diversely aged employees.
2. Significance of a growth mindset.
3. How we can all support each other for success.
4. Embracing opportunities for life-long learning.
Chip’s Resources
4. https://longevity.stanford.edu
5. Bestselling books by Chip include “Learning to Love Midlife”, “A Year of Wisdom” “Wisdom at Work”, “Emotional Equations”, “PEAK”, “Marketing that Matters”, and “The Rebel Rules”.