Clay Routledge
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Clay Routledge, PhD, is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Archbridge Institute, where he also leads the institute’s Human Flourishing Lab. He joined the Archbridge Institute in 2022, initially serving as Vice President of Research. Prior to joining the Archbridge Institute, Clay spent nearly two decades in academia as a professor of psychology, professor of management, and distinguished professor of business. As a thought leader in existential psychology and human motivation, Clay translates research into practical insights that help people reach their full potential, build meaningful lives, and advance human progress and flourishing. Building on his extensive scholarly research, teaching, and writing, Clay has authored dozens of articles for popular outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Fortune, Business Insider, The Hill, and Harvard Business Review. He also wrote the TED-Ed documentary short film Why Do We Feel Nostalgia?
His work has been covered by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, CBS News, ABC News, BBC News, CNN, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Vox, National Geographic, HGTV, Men’s Health, Wired, Forbes, Oprah Daily, Shondaland, Discover Magazine, Reason Magazine, and many others. He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs and podcasts such as NBC Today, Hidden Brain, Science Friday, Cheddar News, and NPR Morning Edition. He has also appeared in a number of documentary programs, including “The Overview” from NBC Peacock, “The Benefits of Being Nostalgic” from BBC Reel, “Cursed Films” from Shudder, and “The Well” from Big Think.
Dr. Routledge received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He regularly advises a range of organizations, from small startups to large companies, helping them use existential psychology and behavioral science more broadly to improve their products, services, and workplace culture. He is co-editor of Profectus Magazine, an online publication dedicated to human progress and flourishing, and he writes the weekly newsletter “Flourishing Friday.” His latest book is Past Forward: How Nostalgia Can Help You Live a More Meaningful Life.
