Carina Stöttner

Carina Stöttner’s life revolves around the day after tomorrow on a daily basis: as a futurologist, Carina Stöttner focusses on how our world will be shaped in over 10 years’ time.

At the age of 27, Carina Stöttner founded the think tank Themis Foresight, which has since developed into one of the leading corporate foresight boutiques in Europe. Together with her team, she develops future scenarios, studies and strategic visions of the future for family businesses, hidden champions and large corporations throughout Europe. While many organisations base their decisions on past data, Themis Foresight enables companies to think multiple futures ahead and proactively shape their path based on predictive insights.

Previously, the sociologist and media scientist worked in the fields of innovation, communication and marketing in various industries. The futurologist has lived and worked in numerous cities in Europe, which gives her a broad perspective on international developments and economic trends.

Carina Stöttner sees herself as a generalist and sees this as a clear advantage: as a futurologist, she has an eye for recognising the links between individual trends and developments.

Her credo: ‘The future can be shaped’

She says: people tend to perceive negative things more strongly than positive things. Carina Stöttner emphasises how important positive, achievable visions of the future are in order to get people involved in shaping the future.

She gives her keynotes in either German or English.

Carina Stöttner lecture topics

• Actively shaping the future: How uncertainty creates new opportunities
• The future of industry: four scenarios that companies need to be aware of
• Skilled labour shortage? Not a chance! What the future of industrial work will look like
• Future technology between hype and reality: artificial intelligence in companies

Unlocking the potential of the future: Turning uncertainty into opportunity

Fear of the unknown is human. But the future is not a threat – it is a space full of possibilities. In this keynote, Carina Stöttner sheds light on the thought patterns that cloud our perception of the future, how this limits our actions and what we can do to regain our ability to shape the future. Using insights from psychology, sociology and foresight, she shows how we can move from a reactive attitude to actively shaping the future – and presents the methods that she and her team regularly use with business leaders.

Instead of asking: ‘What could happen?’, we should ask ourselves: ‘What do we want to create?’ – because the future is not predetermined, it is in our hands.

The future of German industry and industrial labour: four future scenarios

German industry is facing a turning point. Rising energy costs, geopolitical uncertainties, disruptive technological developments and the immense pressure to decarbonise demand not only adaptability but also foresight from companies. But what could the industrial landscape look like in the coming decades? What risks need to be anticipated and what potential could be realised?

Carina Stöttner investigated this in a 12-month research project. Based on intensive analyses and collaboration with leading industry representatives and scientists, the futurologist has developed four well-founded future scenarios. These scenarios shed light on possible developments in German industry and provide valuable orientation for decision-makers in industrial companies, suppliers and industry-related service providers.

The audience will learn in the keynote speech:

• Which industrial sectors are under pressure or growing in the scenarios and can deduce from this where adjustments to business models or investments in new business areas make sense.
• How your company should shape its strategic orientation between local production, global value creation and technological specialisation in order to remain competitive in the future.
• How the requirements for industrial workers will change depending on the scenario and what this means for their HR strategies and qualification programmes.

Future technology between hype and reality: artificial intelligence in companies

Since the breakthrough of ChatGPT, many people have realised the potential of artificial intelligence. AI-based systems not only automate and optimise processes, but also revolutionise our range of tasks and our approach to complex challenges. In her presentation, Carina Stöttner will discuss the opportunities that actually lie dormant in artificial intelligence, the pitfalls and risks for companies and where new business opportunities are emerging. She will explain how AI can be used successfully and, above all, ethically – and what we can learn from the mistakes made by big tech companies when dealing with AI. She also talks about current and future use cases specifically for business.

An excerpt from her speaking activities:

• Handelsblatt Hydrogen Summit 2023, AI Summit 2024, Future Steel 2025
• Corporate and association events, e.g. for the Otto Group, Google, EnBW, The Marcom Engine, Südwestmetall or Rotary
• FIFU – Conference Future Family Businesses
• First Braunschweig Digital Congress
• Berlin Women Entrepreneurs Day 2023

A reference from the Eberspächer Group, Senior Director Global Talent & Culture Paul Eckert:

„Carina held an insightful keynote on AI and the future of HR during our this years’ Global HR Conference “Shaping the Future”. She illuminated the path ahead and sparked a collective drive for positive change in our understanding of technology and its impact on human resources. Her speech inspired our global HR community and laid the foundation for very fruitful work session that followed afterwards. Many thanks, Carina!“

Interested in working with Carina Stöttner?

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