Over the past two decades, Gerd Leonhard has become one of the top 10 futurist keynote speakers worldwide. With over 2,000 engagements in more than sixty countries since 2004 and a total audience of over 2.5 million people, he has been listed by Wired Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in Europe – and by the Wall Street Journal as “one of the world’s leading media futurists.”

“The future is no longer a time frame, it is a MINDSET.”

Gerd Leonhard’s work focuses on the future of people and technology, specifically addressing digital ethics, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and the economic, social, and political consequences of exponential technological change. Gerd Leonhard’s keynotes, presentations and seminars are known for a hard-hitting and provocative, but also inspiring, humorous and personal style.

Gerd Leonhard Lecture Topics

Here everything revolves around, securing the future of your company, education and training, leading your company into the future, topics around philosophy, social issues, the future of our humanity, media scenarios and many other business topics!

Digital Darwinism – Winners and Victims of the Digital Transformation
Accelerated technological change and the Internet are revolutionizing business, work and leisure. Discover what you need to be prepared for in the next five years. What opportunities and challenges will companies and organizations face? Gerd Leonhard sheds light on developments and shows new ways forward.

The future relationship between man and machine

• Will our computer soon be ‘smarter’ than us (and what does that mean exactly)?
• Artificial intelligence / AI is on the rise everywhere. What does this mean for us as humans? Which jobs will we still do ourselves in the future?
• What ethical questions arise in a world of ‘intelligent’ machines?

Gerd Leonhard asks the important questions and discusses the consequences of the latest technical developments.

Mobile marketing, advertising and selling: scenarios up to 2030

• How will advertising and marketing change in the next few years?
• In 5 years, there will be no more interruptive advertising or unauthorized targeting of consumers. How will companies still reach their customers?

Gerd Leonhard discusses the changes in marketing, advertising and sales and shows new ways to win customers.

Offline is the new luxury

• Thanks to smartphones and tablets, we are now constantly online and accessible. But many can no longer cope with constant availability – what are the survival strategies?

Further lecture topics by Gerd Leonhard

He offers customized lectures and keynotes for a variety of topics.

• From transformation to humanization a new renaissance Technology & People
• The digital transformation
• The 10 things you need to know about the future
• The Megashifts: Transformation x10
• Digital ethics: The ethics of technology
• Wisdom from the future
• Understanding the Future: Game changers & megashifts
• The future of work
• Designing the future, now!

With his own design team, he continuously produces animations and videos for his engagements, making his speeches unique and immersive experiences. As a global influencer, Gerd Leonhard has personally advised many C-Level Executives around the world. His clients include many governments, NGOs and Fortune 500 companies such as SAP, Microsoft, Google, Accenture, Deloitte, KPMG, Sony, UBS, Tetrapak, Mastercard, BBC, Unilever, Lloyds Bank, WWF, Sony, The Guardian, Telkom Indonesia, Siemens, RTL, France Telecom, The Financial Times, Ogilvy, Omnicom, The EU Commission, VISA, Audi, Netapp and many more. Gerd Leonhard is not only a leading expert on the future, he is also a convinced humanist.

He believes that all technological progress should serve the collective good of humanity. People, Planet, Purpose, Prosperity – that is his credo.

In his engagements, he addresses very important issues. These include the importance of being human in a world of machines and algorithms, and the coming redefinition of human-machine relationships – but also the future of work and jobs, and the ethics of technology.

Change has been a constant companion in the life of Gerd Leonhard.

From professional artist to Internet entrepreneur and author to today’s visionary thinker, speaker and CEO of The Futures Agency in Zurich. In 1985, he won the Quincy Jones Award from Berklee College of Music in Boston and then worked as a professional guitarist, composer and producer for twelve years. Then he began his Internet phase, as he describes it himself – and he became a digital music and media entrepreneur. From 1994 to 2004, he was founder and CEO of several San Francisco-based Internet startups. After the dotcom bubble burst in March and during the 9/11 crisis, Gerd Leonhard returned to Europe. There he discovered his talents as a futurist and in 2007 founded The Futures Agency, a global network of over forty leading futurists, speakers and personalities.

Gerd Leonhard: “The future is already here – we weren’t really looking!”

We are rushing headlong into a machine-driven world where our humanity is increasingly challenged and questioned. Gerd Leonhard challenges us to think about what human values we are willing to stand up for – before “being human” changes its meaning forever. “The future is already here – we haven’t really looked!” Gerd Leonhard travels the world speaking at leading conferences, events and seminars. He helps other people as well as companies and government organizations to deal with the “future shock” and to shape the intended change themselves. He is also an influential author. For example, he is co-author of the visionary book “The Future of Music” and author of five other books, including his latest bestseller “Technology vs. Humanity” (September 2016), which is already available in eleven languages.

Gerd Leonhard’s films on the future of technology and humanity, on digital transformation and artificial intelligence have reached millions of viewers. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (London) and an Advisory Board Member of the Indian and Canadian Research Institute. He lives in Zurich and presents in both English and German.