Richard Watson

Futurist & strategic thinker

Speaker Themes

  • Global trends
  • Tech trends
  • Strategic foresight
  • Scenario planning
  • Innovation
  • Corporate culture
  • The future of work
  • Creativity

Travels from

London, UK

BIOGRAPHY

Richard Watson is a specialist in scenario thinking, strategic foresight, technology foresight, global trends, innovation process & culture, creativity, idea generation and – more generally – thinking about thinking.

He’s the founder and editor of www.nowandnext.com, a website that documents global trends. He has worked extensively on scenario planning projects, having been introduced to the discipline by Napier Collyns, one of the founders of Global Business Network (GBN).

Richard is the author of five books about various aspects of the future (including one about scenario process). He has been a blogger on innovation for Fast Company magazine and has written for the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies and Mckinsey & Company. His latest book, Digital vs. Human, was published in 2016.

Richard Watson has also authored the following books; ‘Future Files: 5 Trends for the Next 50 Years’ (2007), ‘Future Minds: How the Digital Age is Changing Our Minds’ (2010), ‘The Future: 50 Ideas you Really Need to Know’ (2012) and ‘Future Vision: Scenarios for the World in 2040’ (2012). 

He has worked with organisations such as the Ministry of Defence, London Business School, McDonalds, Virgin, IBM, KPMG and more. Richard Watson is also the founding member of Futures House, a specialist scenario planning consultancy. 

Richard Watson is also a Visiting Lecturer at London Business School and futurist in residence within the foresight practice at Imperial College London. 

RICHARD WATSON: SPEAKER

From politics and economics to technology, demographics and everything in between, Richard brilliantly explains how global trends are re-shaping the world around us.

Crucially, through his expertise in scenario planning and strategic foresight, he helps organisations understand what the implications are for them, and the key things they need to be thinking about and doing if they are to survive and thrive in the 21st century.

Richard Watson’s areas of expertise cover; Digital vs Human, A Broad Overview of Future; What Lies Ahead, Future Scenario Planning, Disruptive Technologies, Organisational Creativity and Innovation and Emerging Opportunities and Risks of All Sectors.

As well as speeches, Richard is also available for seminars and workshops.

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