i'm alexandra galviz. you may know me as authentic alex.
I once lived by rules I didn’t write. I sought to perform, prove, and power through. I built a life that looked full but felt hollow. The closer I adhered to expectations, the further I drifted from myself.
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Then, everything unravelled.
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And in that unravelling, I found the truth I’m here to share:
There’s another way.
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Not the path of proving or performing, but of returning. To self and to soul. To living, leading, and expressing in a way deeply aligned with who I’m truly meant to be.
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Now, I guide others through their own unravelling. I work with individuals and organisations ready to shed what no longer fits and step into something truer. Because when we return to who we truly are, we don’t just succeed.
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We expand.
the story: boss girl to moss girl
"Once upon a time, a young woman entered the forest with a broken heart and a broken womb. She was so bereft with grief; she didn’t even realise she had gotten lost. She searched and searched for a way to get back home, her tears making the soil fertile. As she pilgrimed through dense and dark woods, she began to awaken ancient and ancestral gifts. She learnt that she could pull down heaven from the skies, that her words were medicine laced with beauty, and that stories were alive and alchemical. On her way she met witches, fairies, and ghosts, followed the smoke to a cabin in the woods filled with good women until she eventually moved in. And one day, on an ordinary day when there was dirt under her fingernails, beech nuts flying into her hair, and caterpillars landing on her lap, she noticed that belonging had sprouted from her tears. She realised that there was no home to go back to, the earth had claimed her."
how I got here
1991-1996: The Early Years
Born in London to a Colombian mother and Moroccan father. Dad leaves when I'm two. We move to Cannes, France, then back to London. At age 5, I travel to Colombia alone—the first of many journeys that would shape me.
1996-2001: Finding My Way
Rejected by multiple secondary schools. Move to France for a sports camp, end up staying with a host family and attending school there. Return to London a year later to a new school. Bullied severely, eventually pulled out for my own safety. Homeschooled while waiting for a school place.
2001-2006: Against the Odds
Back into school, having missed a year. Study two years of GCSE in one, teachers warn of "risk of failing." Pass with flying colors. Start sixth form at an all-boys school, face more bullying. Finish A-levels in creative subjects and land my first internship, by the end I'm project planning a £1 million deal for MAPFRE.
2006-2011: The Corporate Climb
Awarded City of London Business Trainee of the Year. Begin university studying French at Queen Mary, University of London. Move to Paris for a summer internship in web marketing, then a year abroad studying International Business at Paris Sorbonne IV. Get headhunted into Foreign Exchange when I graduate.
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2011-2016: The Unraveling
Promoted after a year. Headhunted by a competitor, into my first leadership position at 24. Existential quarter-life crisis. Suffering from depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, I see a therapist for the first time. In 2016, begin blogging on LinkedIn about work, then mental health and my following begins to grow.
2016-2021: The Becoming
Quit my corporate job, backpack solo through South East Asia. Everything I built begins to crumble. Return and set up Authentic Alex. Co-found #LinkedInLocal, named LinkedIn Top Voice UK. Within two years, #LinkedInLocal reaches 100 countries. Become a LinkedIn Learning Instructor. Suffer a miscarriage. Accept an invite to a retreat in the woods where I hear the myth of The Handless Maiden—a story that changes everything.
2021-2026: The Pilgrimage
Step away from the noise, move to Berlin. Struggle with chronic health issues, move back to the UK after a year. Return to the wood sisters, then follow the call to Colombia on a pilgrimage to look into my ancestry. Get headhunted back into corporate, then fall in love in Wales. Move to Northumberland. Feeling grounded and home, Authentic Alex is reborn.
I didn't arrive here by climbing. I got here by falling, then learning to grow where I landed. Through forests both literal and metaphorical, through the dark work of transformation, I learned what composting teaches: that what breaks down becomes the richest soil. Stories heal. Belonging transforms. And the path reveals itself not when we search for it, but when we stop running from where we are.
my labels
I AM A WITCH, ARTIST, STORYTELLER, POET, WRITER, TEACHER, AND COMMUNITY GATHERER.
Myers Briggs
Taurus Sun
Sagittarius Moon
Virgo Rising
5/1 Projector
Enneagram
My ancestral roots are from Colombia, through my mother's line and Morocco, through my father's line. Further back, I have minor ancestral traces of Algerian, Portuguese and Egyptian origin.
I was born in West London, where I grew up. After many years of being a nomad, living in France, Germany, Colombia and most recently Wales, I now call Northumberland home, where I live with my partner.
who i serve
organisations
Speaking Engagements
You're done with surface-level leadership. You crave depth that speaks to your company’s soul. I guide organisations that are ready to dismantle the status quo and build something truer. My speaking events defibrillate workplaces, reigniting your company's heart and reviving the soul of business strategy. Culture becomes a living, breathing expression of purpose.
individuals
1:1 Guiding & Courses
You’ve climbed the ladder and hit the marks, yet there’s a whisper in your soul that something is missing. You’ve been playing the game, but now it’s time to play your own. I’m here to help you brush away the fog and reveal your aligned path. You don’t need to reinvent your career. You simply must rediscover your truth to embody the leader you were meant to be.
what i value
I believe in authenticity above all else.
To be rewilded is to embrace each unfiltered, unruly part of ourselves. I believe creativity is the alchemy of reimagining what can be, reclaiming lost pieces, and weaving magic into the everyday. I believe it takes courage to draw outside the lines and paint a new reality. I believe wisdom hums in our bones, in the echoes of the land and our ancestors, waiting to be remembered. And I believe belonging means coming home to yourself and the quiet truth that you were always enough.
my mission
I am here to walk with you back to your truest self.
It’s easy to lose your voice in such a loud, busy world suffocated by deadlines, expectations, and KPIs. But it’s still there, waiting to be heard. I’ll help you uncover the truth waiting inside through stories, creativity, and reflection. This is where strategy meets soul, and clarity, courage, and connection guide you home to wholeness.
my vision
I envision a world where you lead from your full power and purpose.
A world where creativity, courage, and connection are the threads that guide you home to your true self. You invite others to do the same when you step into your truth. That ripple of transformation creates lasting, meaningful change, awakening and inspiring everyone it touches.