Alex Barinka is an expert on the intersection of social media and commerce, having led strategy and conversations as both a journalist and business leader in the space. She currently covers social media for Bloomberg across the web, TV, radio, the Bloomberg terminal and Businessweek Magazine. Alex has a keen interest for where money and power consolidate in the industry, the tech giants that rule it and how they do business, and the people that it impacts. She returned to journalism after four years in leadership roles within businesses where social media and commerce meet. She spent a year as Director, Engagement and Partnerships at Stitch Fix, driving new marketing teams responsible for strategy and execution of influencer programming and shoppable marketing activations. Prior to that, she was a founding executive team member and head of external affairs at Lightspeed-backed social commerce startup, Verishop, where she also executive produced and hosted an Apple top-50 fashion & beauty podcast.Before spending three years helping build Verishop from the ground up, Alex broke some of the biggest news on the beat as a Deals reporter covering tech M&A and cross-industry U.S. IPOs at Bloomberg. In past reporting roles at the company, she covered east coast technology companies and U.S. equities.A financial journalist by education, Alex holds a bachelors in Business Journalism from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, with a minor in Art History. She’s a native Texan, spent years in New York and San Francisco, and currently resides in Los Angeles.