Norbert Hillinger

Norbert Hillinger studied journalism and corporate communications at the FH Joanneum in Graz. Shortly after graduating he realized that he wanted to use his passion for asking questions and questioning statements. Not in a professional career as a journalist, but in the world of trend and futurology research.

After graduating, Austrian-born Norbert Hillinger worked for seven years in various functions. He worked for the trend research company TrendONE in Hamburg and Berlin. During this time, he gave numerous international keynotes and moderated workshops on a wide range of topics with clients from all over Europe.

In 2013, he started his own business as an innovation consultant. He supports his clients from the retail, FMCG, financial services, and entertainment industries in the areas of trend scouting, strategic foresight, and innovation management.

Norbert Hillinger Lecture Topics

• Future Retail – Theses and Trends on the Future of Retail
• Retail Reimagined: How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming the Value Chain in Retail
• Rethink Entertainment – Drivers for the Entertainment of the Future
• Putting AI in Banking – How AI is transforming the financial world
• How does the new come into the world? Between trends, innovation, and the future
• Impossible Future – What will be normal in the future
• Emerging Markets – How trends create new markets
• Artificial intelligence is not an IT issue – How to successfully build AI knowledge in your company
• The Industria Renaissance Project – Growth prospects for the industry of the future

As co-founder of the Viennese New Work start-up GDOS Playroomrocks GmbH (part of the edding Group since 2021), Norbert Hillinger is experienced in moderating trend and creative workshops and trained in the application of a wide range of co-creation and innovation methods.

TEDx speaker Norbert Hillinger frequently speaks at international conferences and customer events on topics related to the future and has been running the Berlin Retail Tour service for several years, inviting international trade delegations to the German capital to visit a wide variety of concept and pop-up stores, as well as innovation hubs and start-ups, on a learning journey.

In 2022, he developed training formats on digital topics at the Hasso Plattner Institute Academy in Potsdam and worked closely with renowned experts on a wide range of technology topics. Under his leadership, more than ten masterclasses were created on topics such as “The Future of Software Development – LowCode / NoCode,” “Ethical AI,” “Blockchain Fundamentals,” “Web3, Smart Contracts, and NFTS,” “Quantum Computing,” etc.

Also in 2022, Hillinger was appointed to the Future Panel of the Future Academy of Upper Austria. This think tank of the Upper Austrian state government includes 31 experts from various fields. They advise the Future Academy and provide impetus for a wide range of policy areas.

For various futurology companies, Norbert Hillinger has been organizing international learning journeys to Silicon Valley for around 20 years. He has worked as Head of Foresight and, in this context, has led the creation of various futurology studies and strategic consulting projects for the creation of visions of the future.

In addition to his work in corporate foresight, Norbert Hillinger is currently primarily involved in the education sector, with a focus on reskilling and upskilling in the field of AI/GenAI. From 2021 to 2024, he supported the edtech scale-ups ThePowerMBA and Ironhack in Germany.

Since summer 2024, he has been working for Retail.ai GmbH, a corporate start-up of the Markant Group. In his role as Head of Academy, he develops training programs for retailers with a focus on artificial intelligence and advises retail companies and consumer goods groups on the introduction of AI and GenAI.

Interested in working with Norbert Hillinger?

If you are interested in exciting and inspiring experts for your events and conferences, please contact us. Our Leading Minds team is available to contact you at any time.