All around the world, passionate coworking leaders are finding new ways to make coworking spaces friendlier, more connected, and more useful for everyone.
In this coworking influencers list, you’ll meet 23 inspiring people who are helping shape the future of shared workspaces in 2025 and beyond:
Best coworking influencers to follow in 2025
David Walker
David Walker is one of the original pioneers of the coworking movement. He started back in 2008 in Austin, Texas — before coworking became the global trend it is today. At that time, he co-founded one of the first coworking spaces in the world, helping shape a brand-new way of working.
Over the years, David has become a go-to expert for coworking space owners, commercial real estate developers, and investors. In 2014, he co-founded OpenWork Agency, the first full-service global coworking consultancy. Then in 2023, he launched CoworkingConsulting.com, a platform that connects people involved in coworking development and supports projects worldwide.
Jerome Chang
Jerome Chang is a pioneer in the coworking world, blending his architectural expertise with a passion for community-driven workspaces. In 2008, he founded BLANKSPACES, Southern California’s first coworking space and one of the earliest in the US.
Beyond BLANKSPACES, Jerome co-founded LExC (League of Extraordinary Coworking), a network that connects independent coworking spaces globally. He also offers consulting services through his firm, CODAspaces, helping others design and operate successful coworking environments.
Cat Johnson
Cat Johnson is a well-known voice in the coworking world, especially when it comes to helping space operators grow strong brands and connected communities. Since 2013, she’s been teaching and coaching coworking pros on how to tell their stories, build purpose-driven brands, and create spaces where members feel like they truly belong.
Cat runs Coworking Convos, a popular event series where coworking folks come together to share ideas, and she leads The Lab, a community for independent coworking operators. She’s also the author of The Daily Co., a guide full of insights for coworking leaders.
Jamie Hodari
Jamie Hodari is the co-founder and CEO of Industrious, one of the biggest and most well-known coworking brands in the world. Since starting the company in 2012, he’s helped it grow to over 200 locations across more than 65 cities, creating flexible workspaces that feel welcoming, professional, and full of great energy.
Before getting into coworking, Jamie had a really interesting career — he worked as a lawyer, a journalist in India, and even co-founded a university program in Rwanda. Now, along with leading Industrious, he works with CBRE, a global real estate company, to help more businesses create great places to work.
Hector Kolonas
Hector Kolonas is a behind-the-scenes powerhouse in the coworking world, especially when it comes to the coworking tech that helps spaces run smoothly. He’s a self-described “workspace technologist,” which means he’s all about using smart tools and systems to make coworking spaces easier to manage, book, and grow.
He’s the founder of included.co, a platform that gives coworking spaces access to exclusive deals and benefits for their members, and later co-founded Syncaroo, which helps flexible workspaces connect and sync the many tools they use every day. He’s also the brain behind the popular newsletter This Week In Coworking, where he shares news, trends, and insights from across the coworking world.
Liz Elam
Liz Elam is one of the most recognized and respected names in the coworking industry. She started her journey in 2010 when she founded Link Coworking in Austin, Texas, growing it into a successful business with three locations. In 2019, she made history by becoming the first woman in the world to sell a coworking brand, showing what’s possible for entrepreneurs in this space.
But Liz didn’t stop there. In 2011, she founded GCUC (the Global Coworking Unconference Community), which has grown into the biggest coworking conference in the world. Known for her bold ideas and love for innovation, Liz is also a speaker, consultant, podcast host, and even a certified futurist. Her newest venture, Bottle Rocket Search, is the only recruiting firm focused entirely on hiring for coworking and flexible workspaces.
Frank Cottle
Frank Cottle is one of the original pioneers in the world of flexible and virtual workspaces. He’s the founder and CEO of Alliance Virtual Offices, a company that helps businesses work from anywhere by offering smart office solutions like virtual addresses, meeting rooms, and live receptionist services. Frank has been in the workspace industry since 1979, and he’s spent decades helping companies grow by connecting the right people, places, and technology.
With a background in real estate, finance, and business leadership, Frank knows how to spot trends and guide businesses through change. He often shares his insights at conferences and in interviews, helping others understand where the world of work is heading.
Bernie J Mitchell
Since 2008, Bernie J Mitchell has been writing, podcasting, and sharing ideas about coworking and community. He co-founded the London Coworking Assembly in 2015 to help coworking spaces become places where people feel supported, connected, and seen.
Today, he runs Third Place Works with his creative partner Emily Breder, where they coach and support people who want to build meaningful spaces, not just fast-growing businesses. Together, they also host the Coworking Values Podcast, where they have honest conversations about what makes coworking work for real people.
Pauline Roussel
Pauline Roussel is a global voice in the coworking world, passionate about helping people and companies create better, smarter places to work. Originally from France and now based in Berlin, Pauline has spent the last 8 years learning everything she can about coworking and the future of work — by actually visiting over 420 coworking spaces in 47 cities around the world!
She’s the co-founder of Coworkies, a job board made especially for the coworking and flex workspace industry. She also runs Hack Coworking, a yearly event where creative people come together to brainstorm and build the future of workspaces. Plus, she hosts the Hot Water Podcast, where she chats with experts from all over the globe about how work is changing.
Jamie Russo
Jamie Russo has been helping coworking spaces succeed since 2012. After running her own spaces, she discovered a love for sharing what she learned with others. That passion led her to serve for five years as the Executive Director of the Global Workspace Association, where she supported coworking operators around the world.
Today, Jamie runs Everything Coworking, a popular education platform for anyone starting or growing a coworking space. She hosts the Everything Coworking Podcast and leads programs like the Coworking Startup School™, Community Manager University™, and the Coworking Mentorship Program™. Her courses cover everything from launching virtual mail services to building creative partnerships.
Tobias Kremkau
Tobias Kremkau is a leading voice in Germany’s coworking scene. With a deep passion for collaborative workspaces, he has significantly influenced how coworking is perceived and implemented, especially in rural areas.
As a co-founder of the German Coworking Federation (GCF), Tobias has been instrumental in promoting coworking values like openness, collaboration, and community. His tenure as Head of Coworking at Berlin’s renowned St. Oberholz further solidified his reputation as a pioneer in the field. Currently, Tobias serves as a consultant at CoWorkLand eG, where he focuses on developing coworking spaces in small towns and rural regions. He believes that coworking can revitalize these areas by providing flexible work options and fostering local communities.
Manuel Zea Barral
Manuel Zea Barral is a key figure in Spain’s coworking movement. He founded CoworkingSpain.es, a platform that helps people find coworking spaces across the country. In 2012, he launched the Coworking Spain Conference, an annual event that brings together coworking professionals to share ideas and best practices.
In his book Living Coworking, Manuel emphasizes that coworking is more than just shared office space. He believes it’s about building a community where people can connect, collaborate, and support each other’s growth.
Marc Navarro
Marc Navarro is a well-known coworking expert from Spain who helps create better work environments that boost both well-being and productivity. With a background in industrial design, he brings a creative and practical approach to shaping coworking spaces that truly work for people.
Marc has played key roles in several influential coworking projects. He led the first Utopicus coworking space in Barcelona and later guided the strategy for CREC Coworking, focusing on community building and smart design. He also founded Sinèrgics, a unique coworking space that gives back to the local community by offering social value alongside workspace. As the Content Director of the Coworking Spain Conference, Marc helps bring together coworking professionals to share ideas and shape the future of flexible work.
Carsten Foertsch
Carsten Foertsch is a key figure in the coworking world, known for founding Deskmag, a leading online magazine dedicated to coworking spaces and their communities. Through Deskmag, Carsten has provided valuable insights and data about the coworking industry, helping space operators and members understand trends and best practices.
One of his significant contributions is the Global Coworking Survey, which gathers information from coworking spaces worldwide to analyze how the industry is evolving. This survey has become a trusted resource for anyone interested in the future of shared workspaces.
Jeannine van der Linden
Jeannine van der Linden is a passionate coworking leader who believes that workspaces should be welcoming, accessible, and built for real people, not just big businesses. After moving from the US to the Netherlands, Jeannine found herself facing barriers in the job market. So, like the entrepreneurial women in her family before her, she created her own path by founding De Kamer, a coworking community designed to break down the traditional obstacles to starting and running a business.
Jeannine sees coworking as the backbone of the future of work — a way to support people who are often left out of conventional systems. That’s why she also serves as the Director of the European Coworking Assembly and a managing partner of Open Coworking, where she helps promote coworking values like openness, accessibility, and community across Europe and beyond.
Dimitar Inchev
Dimitar Inchev is a passionate advocate for coworking and the future of work. As the co-founder of Coworkies, he has dedicated himself to exploring how shared workspaces can foster community and innovation. Alongside Pauline Roussel, Dimitar has visited over 430 coworking spaces across 48 cities, gaining insights into the diverse ways people collaborate globally.
Their experiences culminated in the creation of the book Around the World in 250 Coworking Spaces, which showcases unique stories and designs from coworking communities worldwide. Dimitar also co-hosts the “Hot Water” podcast, where he engages with industry leaders to discuss the evolving landscape of workspaces.
Ashley Proctor
Ashley Proctor is one of the early leaders of the coworking movement and has spent the last two decades helping people build strong, supportive communities through shared workspaces. She’s the founder of Creative Blueprint, a platform that brings together artists, activists, entrepreneurs, and everyday people to rethink how we work and connect.
She’s especially focused on making coworking accessible and meaningful for independent workers, remote teams, and underrepresented voices. With a passion for justice, equity, and inclusion, Ashley continues to lead conversations about the future of work, showing how community-first spaces can help solve big challenges like loneliness, inequality, and disconnection.
Jana Greer
Jana Greer is a passionate consultant and strategist who helps coworking spaces and commercial real estate projects grow and thrive. She’s the founder of Colliding Clouds, a company that blends big ideas with real-world solutions to support coworking spaces at every stage — from startup to scaling.
Jana also works in commercial real estate with KW Commercial, focusing on office and retail spaces. She’s known for her strong communication skills, deep market knowledge, and ability to connect the right people and places.
Abigail M Schilling
Abigail M. Schilling is a coworking expert with a deep love for helping people and businesses grow. With nearly 20 years of marketing experience and a strong background in coaching, Abigail combines her talent for strategy with real-world know-how to make coworking spaces successful.
She owns and runs profitable coworking spaces, so she truly understands what it takes to build spaces that work — not just for the bottom line, but for the people who use them every day. Through her agency, Space Savvy Studio, Abigail helps other coworking space owners level up their operations, marketing, and technology.
Will Bennis
Will Bennis is a leading thinker in the coworking world, blending hands-on experience with academic research to understand how shared workspaces impact our well-being and productivity. Based in Prague, he teaches at the Prague University of Economics and Business and has also been involved with the University of New York in Prague. Will co-founded Locus Workspace, one of the city’s early coworking spaces, giving him firsthand insight into the dynamics of collaborative work environments.
His research focuses on how coworking spaces influence people’s work experiences. Will also explores how coworking concepts can benefit higher education. He proposes models where students and researchers from different institutions can collaborate in shared spaces, breaking down traditional barriers in academia.
Melissa Schilo
Melissa Schilo is a seasoned expert in the coworking and flexible workspace industry, bringing over 18 years of global experience to the table. As the founding partner of Workspace Concierge LLC, she has been instrumental in helping individuals, property owners, and landlords transform underutilized spaces into thriving coworking environments.
Melissa’s insights have been featured in industry discussions, such as the GCUC podcast, where she emphasized the importance of collaboration between coworking operators and landlords to maximize the value of underutilized spaces.
Jean-Yves Huwart
Jean-Yves Huwart is a key figure in the coworking world, known for his dedication to building vibrant, community-focused workspaces. As the founder of SocialWorkplaces.com, he has been instrumental in promoting innovative and flexible work environments.
In 2010, Jean-Yves launched the Coworking Europe conference, bringing together coworking enthusiasts from across the continent. The success of this event led him to establish similar conferences in Africa and India, fostering global conversations about the future of work.
John C. Santora
John C. Santora is the new CEO of WeWork, one of the most well-known coworking brands in the world. He stepped into the role in mid-2024, right after the company went through big changes to get back on track financially. Now, he’s focused on helping WeWork grow in a smarter, more stable way.
Before joining WeWork, John spent nearly 50 years at Cushman & Wakefield, a major real estate company. He held top leadership roles there, so he knows a lot about how office spaces work. At WeWork, he’s changing how the company does business—moving away from long, risky leases and working more closely with landlords instead. His goal is to make WeWork’s spaces even better for companies of all sizes, with more flexibility and less risk.
Berenika Teter
Archie's Content Manager, fueled by filter coffee and a love for remote work. When she’s not writing about coworking spaces and hybrid workplaces, you can probably find her exploring one.
