Steve Wells – Associate Speaker
Global Futurist, International Keynote Speaker, Strategic Advisor, Founding Director Informing Choices
SUMMARY
Steve Wells advises global clients on the transformative potential of megatrends and disruptive technologies, how brands can leverage them to create distinctive identities in a fast changing world, and drive exponential growth and improvement. He has a particular focus on adopting new mind-sets, new models of leadership, collaboration, and innovation required to sustain and differentiate brands in a rapidly changing reality.
BIO & EXPERIENCE
Steve is an experienced international speaker, futurist, strategist, and facilitator. He prepares and delivers thought provoking client keynote presentations, executive education seminars, and strategic foresight studies to clients on the future of life, society, and business with a particular focus on how we enable a very human future.
He helps clients understand the key future factors driving innovation, growth, and disruptive change, highlighting the new thinking and business models being enabled by exponential technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality, 3D and 4D printing, the Internet of Things, and hyper-connectivity. He explores the mind-set shifts and leadership capabilities required to compete in the emerging future in order to help clients and delegates make informed choices on the potential impact of emerging technologies.
Steve is a co-editor and a contributing author of Aftershocks and Opportunities—Scenarios for a Post-Pandemic Future, Opportunity at the Edge—Change, Challenge, and Transformation on the Path to 2025, A Very Human Future—Enriching Humanity in a Digitized World, The Future Reinvented—Reimagining Life, Society, and Business, Beyond Genuine Stupidity—Ensuring AI Serves Humanity, and The Future of Business.
He is a regular contributor to the BBC having appeared on live national and regional radio and TV broadcasts, live broadcasts with other national radio broadcasters, and on various podcasts and on-line events to discuss the role of emerging technologies in the future of life, society, and business.
Steve has previously worked as Chief Operating Officer at Fast Future, a firm specialising in foresight and generating future insight through keynote speaking, consultancy, and publishing, as an independent Strategy Consultant and Foresight Researcher, and as a Strategy Development Manager in Pfizer Inc.’s UK business where he worked across C-suite and senior manager level to lead and facilitate the company’s strategic planning process.
POPULAR SPEAKING TOPICS
A Very Human Future explores the drivers of future change and the domains of action required to help ensure we enrich humanity in a digitised world. In this keynote, Steve examines the mind-set shifts required to focus on new ideas of leadership, education and training, the world of work, new ideas of investment for business and society more broadly, and how we should focus on paying greater attention to the needs of society as a whole to drive social sustainability.
Global Megatrends and the Future of Business, Work, and the Workplace focuses on the critical future change drivers that are already impacting our world. Steve makes the case for adopting new mind-sets, underscores the importance of change, and the context for new ideas on leadership in order to take organisations through the transition to a digital future.
Navigating a Post-Pandemic Landscape is a tailored exploration of the lessons learned through the Covid-19 pandemic that could have a significant impact on the future of life, society, and business. Steve underpins his observations by describing the global megatrends driving future change, uses examples of how technology is accelerating change across a number of different domains, and links those with examples with the challenges presented by the pandemic, and the opportunities in a post-pandemic period.
Leading Change with Foresight for Growth describes a novel approach to integrating foresight with human-centric change methodology. Change is an investment in the future and not changing can be costly or even terminal for organisations, so Steve shares how establishing a vision set in the context of a foresight exercise, and change plans built to consider different plausible futures can build organisational agility, resilience, and future-fit change-competence.
Collaboration and Partnership Working explores why collaboration is increasingly seen as a critical enabler of addressing the opportunities in a rapidly emerging future. In this keynote, Steve explores the nature of collaboration, when and when not to partner, how to assess the potential of a partnership, and the enablers and hurdles of successful collaboration. He shares a number of tools and approaches to support collaborative working and draws on his own experience and research.
Exponential Technology Enabling a Reinvented Future considers the pace and scale of technological development and the potential impact it could have on life, society and business. Using a number of case examples of technologies changing existing industries together with the second and third order effects, Steve explores the opportunities presented by new science and technology developments that allow us to reimagine the future.
TESTIMONIALS
Caty Batten – Head of Partnerships, Peter Jones Foundation
“What can I say? You were absolutely brilliant on the panel thank you so much! I’m so happy we were able to have Fast Future represented as you contributed such a critical piece to the conversation. No doubt you were swamped afterwards.
“We are so grateful for your generous and expert participation and hope you also enjoyed the evening.”
Mirza Atif Baig – Project Manager, Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce
“Steve did an amazing job at the International Technology Conference 2018 at Microsoft as the Opening Keynote Speaker. His talk on ‘The UK’s Future Industries: Tapping the Engines of Futurism, Science, Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship’ set the scene for the day providing an overview of the emerging opportunities for the UK emerging from science and technology innovation, entrepreneurship, and visionary thinking about the future. Looking forward to working together again.”
Nectaria Passarivakis – President & CEO, Economist Events for Greece, Cyprus, Malta and SE Europe
“I would like to warmly thank you for your honourable participation as a keynote speaker in our recent special Economist event entitled A World in Transition: The New Jobs – The New Skills which took place at The Athens Concert Hall.
“Your participation undoubtedly contributed significantly to the conference success and your speech was met with great enthusiasm by our distinguished audience of Government representatives, heads of international institutions, prominent businessmen, diplomats and academics who came together for this open and fruitful dialogue.”
Chris Crauford – Head of Commercial Planning, Heathrow Airport
“Steve, many thanks again for a great presentation earlier. It definitely got people thinking and provoked some good conversation.”
Frane Šesnić – Zagreb Forum Chairman
“Steve Wells was a guest speaker at the 5th Zagreb Forum international conference. Mr. Wells’ talk touched upon the topics of future, disruptive change and uncertainty all the while weaving together human connectivity and technological development.
“Mr. Wells is a dynamic and energizing speaker who kept our audience engaged throughout the session while providing thought-provoking material coupled with relevant examples.”
Rachel Brushfield – CIPD, Thames Valley
“Steve did a presentation at a CIPD Thames Valley half day Career Conference in Reading, UK to an audience of HR professionals, both employed and self-employed.
“Steve is very knowledgeable about his fascinating expert topic of global trends affecting both businesses and individuals and brings the topic to life by speaking with passion in an engaging way with the audience, and using the right blend of impactful images and words to get his point across. He answers questions from the audience in a clear and down to earth way. If you are looking for an approachable yet informed speaker on the topic of trends, Steve is your man.”
PUBLICATIONS, INTERNET, MEDIA
WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA
- Website http://www.stevewells.uk
- Blog / Articles http://www.informingchoices.com/articles-media
- Podcast https://anchor.fm/steve-wells-futurist
- YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/InformingChoices
- LinkedIn 2,700 connections www.linkedin.com/in/Steve-Wells-Futurist-Speaker
- Twitter 1,300 followers https://twitter.com/informingchoice
PUBLICATIONS
- Aftershocks and Opportunities—Scenarios for a Post-Pandemic Future (ISBN 978-1-9999311-6-2) Published 2020 – Co-editor and Contributing Author
- Opportunity at the Edge: Change, Challenge, and Transformation on the Path to 2025 (ISBN 978-1-9999311-4-8) Published 2019 – Co-editor and Contributing Author
- A Very Human Future—Enriching Humanity in a Digitized World (ISBN 978-1-9999311-3-1) Published 2018 – Contributing Author
- The Future Reinvented – Reimagining Life, Society, and Business (ISBN 978-0-9932958-9-8) Published 2018 – Contributing Author
- Beyond Genuine Stupidity – Ensuring AI Serves Humanity (ISBN 978-0-9932958-7-4)
Published 2017 – Contributing Author - The Future of Business (ISBN 978-0-9932958-0-5) Published 2015 – Co-editor and Contributing Author
VIDEOS
- Showreel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inWojdmHM-I
- BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT Consultancy Event – The Future Reinvented https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYLVyRF2N4w&t=35s
- 5 Questions – An interview with Steve Wells by Jane Duke – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpjouf86X08&t=99s
- Entrepreneurs Forum – Mind-set and Leadership for a Reinvented Future (Highlights and feedback – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0avZgPmTX60
- Zagreb Forum: Megatrends for Cities – Disrupting our way to a Very Human City – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3F55AC2nlE&t=47s
- CIO Conference, India – Disruption and Opportunity – Creating a Very Human Enterprise Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKKpVEy9bYU Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0HwiieFtj8&t=143s
EXAMPLES OF RELEVANT ARTICLES
- Leading Change with Foresight for Growth – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leading-change-foresight-growth-steve-wells/
- Collaborative Working Practice in Foresight – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/collaborative-working-practice-foresight-steve-wells/
- The Post-Pandemic Future Recalibrated – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/post-pandemic-future-recalibrated-steve-wells/
- Collective Intelligence – Maximising Human/Machine Working – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reflections-nestas-event-collective-intelligence-maximising-wells/
- Navigating a Changing World – 10 Principles for Future Leaders – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/navigating-changing-world-10-principles-future-leaders-steve-wells
- Financial Times – Navigating digital disruption – https://www.ft.com/content/c5c46a8c-8826-11e7-afd2-74b8ecd34d3b
- Disruption and Opportunity – Creating a Very Human Enterprise – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cioleader-annual-conference-disruption-opportunity-creating-wells
- Robot Taxes – http://www.freshbusinessthinking.com/do-we-need-to-consider-taxing-the-robots
