Custodian of Change: Alexia Tronel
Bio
Alexia Tronel is the Co-Founder of RACINE, a collective dedicated to exploring the possible futures of luxury. She is also the Co-Founder of an NGO called Itinérance. She lectures at numerous institutions, including HEC, ESSEC, and INSP.
Influence & Purpose
WiSL: Tell us about your sphere of influence: the people, ideas, or spaces you shape, and why it matters to you.
AT: My ecosystem is quite complex, as it spans several interconnected sectors: culture through museum institutions, fashion and luxury as industries involving both global leaders and suppliers, academia through my teaching, and international organisations and NGOs through Itinérance, our association. I find great richness in navigating across these worlds, understanding their distinct languages and expectations, and being able to adapt and connect them. This fluidity allows me to act as a bridge between creative, academic, and operational ecosystems.
WiSL: What impact are you most proud of creating within your community or industry?
AT: I’m most proud of the people who make up our communities. The craftswomen who teach us ancestral wisdom and sisterhood. The students whose curiosity and courage keep challenging us. The experts I deeply admire, who bring their rigor and creativity to the dialogue we build together. What matters most to me is this ongoing conversation with different views, these spaces of exchange that inspire both reflection and action.
Origins & Voice
WiSL: How did you get started in this space, and what helped you find your unique voice as a changemaker?
AT: During my studies, we had a “Global Sustainability” seminar that brought together universities from around the world. That experience became a red thread throughout my career. Curiosity has always been my first compass. I’m drawn to weak signals, emerging narratives, and alternative perspectives and to asking the questions that open new paths. My voice has been shaped by continuous learning, by experimentation and failure alike. Over time, I’ve learned to combine creative and systemic thinking, and to approach sustainability not as a constraint, but as a space for imagination.
Visibility & Misunderstanding
WiSL: What’s something you wish more people understood about your work or the change you’re driving?
AT: My work requires a lot of pedagogy. People often try to categorise it, yet my role precisely consists of stepping outside predefined boxes. I don’t see sustainability as a technical compliance function, but as a creative, cultural, and strategic endeavour. My mission is to bring a voice, a vision, and a creative response to transformation: to make sustainability not only measurable, but meaningful.
Values & Alignment
WiSL: What personal values guide your work, and how do they make you the best person for the career you’ve designed for yourself?
AT: My work is guided by collective resonance and interbeing, values that invite connection, care, and co-creation. I see every encounter as an opportunity to nurture understanding and inspire transformation. Change, to me, starts with the invisible threads that connect us: empathy, deep listening, and a shared sense of purpose.
The Everyday Reality
WiSL: On challenging days, what does your work look or feel like behind the scenes?
AT: On difficult days, my work can feel like an endless balancing act; between the urgency of action and the patience that true transformation requires. It demands deep listening, diplomacy, and persistence.
WiSL: And on days when you remember why you started, what moments bring you joy and affirmation?
AT: What brings me joy is seeing connection happen: when an artisan, a student, or a brand team suddenly sees differently, when the work sparks awareness, a new idea and finally delivers impact!
Reflection & Growth
WiSL: Looking back, what advice would you give to yourself at the beginning of this journey?
AT: To trust the in-between; the uncertain spaces where things are still being shaped. That’s where creativity and transformation happen. This is exactly what is happening now (read Matthieu Dardaillon’s book “Anti-Chaos”).
WiSL: What leadership qualities are you currently nurturing, and how are you actively developing them?
AT: I’m learning to cultivate strategic patience; the ability to hold long-term vision while staying flexible in execution. It is not easy for me. I’m also working on deep listening and collective intelligence, because the kind of change I advocate for can only emerge through collaboration and shared ownership. Still working on it!
Words by: Alexia Tronel
