Strategist and digital anthropologist focusing on emerging technology, innovation, and future of work.
Ranked in 2025.
Thinkers50 Innovation Award, 2021.
“One of the most innovative women in France” – Les Napoleons, 2019.
Rahaf’s research focuses on three emerging themes: how we learn, how we lead, and how our bodies react to digital environments. In her topic ‘Building an Adaptive Knowledge Practice’ she examines the need for intentional learning in an era of infinite information, uncovering strategies for future-proofing expertise, strengthening creative thinking, and avoiding the passive consumption trap that Gen AI can reinforce. She champions a hybrid model of leadership – the Ecosystemic Leader – that blends adaptability, strategic foresight, and deep expertise to navigate today’s complex landscape. She also studies the science behind digital addiction and how our bodies react to digital stress.
Strategist and digital anthropologist, Rahaf is the executive director of the Red Thread Institute of Digital Culture. She is a member of France’s National Digital Council, was recently named to the United Nations Advisory on Artificial Intelligence and served on President Macron’s commission on AI’s impact on democracy. A visiting policy fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, Rahaf was named a Young Global Changer at the G20 Think Tank Summit. Formerly, she was the associate director of the Technology Pioneer Programme at the World Economic Forum.
Hustle & Float: Reclaim Your Creativity and Thrive in a World Obsessed with Work (Diversion Books, 2019); The Decoded Company: Know Your Talent Better Than You Know Your Customers (with Leerom Segal, Aaron Goldstein, and Jay Goldman, Portfolio, 2014); Yes We Did: An Inside Look at How Social Media Built the Obama Brand (New Riders Pub, 2009). ‘How can we sustain the planet if we don’t sustain ourselves?’ (TEDxKiteInsights, 2021); ‘How burnout makes us less creative’ (TED Talk, 2019); ‘Digital DNA’ (TEDxESCP, 2012); ‘Micro Influence, Entrepreneurship & the Future of Protest’ (TEDxWallStreet, 2012).
NATIONALITY: Canadian
“Rahaf Harfoush’s engaging book (Hustle & Float) is an encouragement for all of us whose job is to be creative in environments that seem designed for cookie-cutter production. It will make you smile. It will make you think. It may make you cry. Don’t miss out on a word.”
Rita McGrath, Thinkers50 Ranking Top 10
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Thinkers50 Limited
The Studio
Highfield Lane
Wargrave RG10 8PZ
United Kingdom
Thinkers50 Limited
The Studio
Highfield Lane
Wargrave RG10 8PZ
United Kingdom
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