On paper, Alex Halbardier, a Princeton alum and the chief customer officer and founding member of Alto, an on-demand ride-sharing company in Dallas, appears pretty intimidating. But when asked about her impressive educational background and résumé, she quickly laughs it away and calls herself a “major imposter.”
Hardly, but her humbleness is one of the things that makes her so likeable. Halbardier had a career in what she calls the “corporate cushy life” as a consultant for Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Last spring, a personal loss caused her to question everything in her life, including her career.
As she took time to reflect, she was serendipitously presented with an opportunity to join Alto as one of its founding members. On the company’s official launch day in January 2019, she made time to sit down and talk. Read our full Q&A with Halbardier here—and scroll below for some of her top tips and local resources for families on the go.
Reading Material for “Me” Time
“I love reading high-fantasy science fiction. I’m like a pocket-protector nerd in that way. I just finished reading the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. I love that Pierce lived in Dallas.”
Rules for Work-Life Integration
Don’t sweat the small stuff. “While we try to keep our schedule with Louis pretty structured, I also don’t let schedules or rules get in the way of doing fun family activities. If I feel like I haven’t seen Louis enough during the week, we’ll all go out to dinner after bedtime or we’ll blow through his nap to do something fun.”
Set boundaries. “If the official workday is ending and I have more work to do, I make it a goal to still be home in time to put Louis to bed even if I have to fire up my laptop after that to do some more work.”
Share the load. “It’s important to embrace the whole ‘it takes a village’ concept and not feel guilty if your child has a lot of relationships with people they love. I’m honored to share Louis with the people who help us make life work.”
Family Restaurants
“We love to find restaurants where Louis can run around. We especially like The Rustic in Uptown.”
Routine for the Weekend
“Every Saturday morning we get up and take a long walk. We’ll walk to Whole Foods for coffee and breakfast. On the way home, we’ll stop by playgrounds and just play around as a family.”
This article was originally published in February 2019.
Photos courtesy of Skyler Fike; Random House; Casey Dunn; Royal Blue Grocery
