Mike Walsh Speaker Biography
Futurist, Best-Selling Author, and CEO of Tomorrow
Mike Walsh serves as the CEO of Tomorrow, a prominent global consultancy dedicated to equipping companies for the demands of the 21st century. For the past two decades, he has established himself as a leading futurist, offering profound insights into disruptive innovation, digital transformation, and novel approaches to thinking. As a global nomad with a rich ethnic background and the author of three influential bestselling books, Mike advises some of the world’s largest organizations on navigating reinvention and change within this burgeoning era of machine intelligence. Indeed, his expertise as a futurist helps businesses anticipate and strategically respond to the rapid advancements in technology and their societal impact.
Expertise in Artificial Intelligence-Powered Transformation
As a distinguished specialist in AI-powered transformation, Mike’s significant work and insightful research were recently highlighted by the esteemed Rotman School of Management. His unique talent lies in his exceptional ability to effectively bridge the often-disparate worlds of disruptive technology and astute business leadership. Consequently, he skillfully translates complex deep tech concepts into pragmatic recommendations, empowering leaders to capitalize on emerging opportunities, fundamentally transform their organizations, and evolve their own cognitive frameworks. Therefore, his guidance is invaluable for businesses seeking to leverage artificial intelligence for strategic advantage.
Prolific Researcher and Insightful Facilitator
Mike is a dedicated and prolific researcher, conducting numerous interviews annually with leading innovators, pioneering scientists, visionary entrepreneurs, and transformative corporate leaders. Significantly, many of these engaging conversations are featured on his popular podcast, Between Worlds. Furthermore, as a highly skilled facilitator, he excels at conducting insightful fireside chats with CEOs, discerning customers, and other influential thought leaders. He adeptly applies this consultative methodology to personalize his insights and tailor his recommendations for his diverse audiences. Moreover, he specializes in identifying what he terms ‘mind grenades,’ which are provocative questions strategically designed to challenge teams and significantly expand their thinking.
Influential Publications and Commentary
As a prolific writer and sought-after commentator, Mike’s expert views have been featured in a wide array of prestigious international publications, including Inc. Magazine, BusinessWeek, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. More recently, LinkedIn recognized his thought leadership by inviting him to publish his weekly newsletter, Tomorrowist, focusing on next-generation leadership strategies. Additionally, as a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, his insightful articles delve into a broad spectrum of cutting-edge leadership topics, encompassing data-driven decision-making processes, the development of agile organizations, the implications of algorithmic management, and the critical considerations of AI ethics.
The Algorithmic Leader: A Guide for Reinvention
Mike’s latest influential book, The Algorithmic Leader, offers a hopeful yet practical roadmap for fundamentally reinventing both leadership paradigms and organizational structures in the age of intelligent machines. The book has achieved global success and has been translated into numerous languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Polish, and Russian. Notably, in 2019, The Algorithmic Leader was specially selected to be presented to prominent world leaders and executive attendees at the prestigious Ambrosetti Global Forum held at Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, Italy.
Other Visionary Books on Future Trends
Mike’s earlier groundbreaking book, Futuretainment, published by Phaidon, garnered significant recognition by winning a design award from the esteemed Art Director’s Club in New York City. Released in 2009, this prescient work accurately predicted the transformative impact of the smartphone on the media and marketing industries, as well as the imminent rise of social media platforms, influential digital figures, and the prevalence of streaming entertainment. Furthermore, in The Dictionary of Dangerous Ideas, Mike astutely anticipated significant breakthroughs in various emerging technologies, including micro-satellite networks, cryptocurrencies, the increasing prevalence of remote work, the rise of digital protest movements, the development of self-driving cars and drones, and the advancements in digital biology.
Dynamic Futurist Keynote Speaker
As a highly dynamic and engaging futurist keynote speaker, Mike has delivered over 1,000 impactful talks in the past decade. His engagements range from strategic briefings for the executive boards of major corporations such as Verizon and Raytheon, to large-scale employee summits, including one for a healthcare organization that filled a sports stadium with an audience exceeding 25,000 individuals. In addition to his compelling in-person and virtual presentations, Mike also collaborates closely with enterprise learning and development leaders to create impactful programs designed to effectively up-skill teams for a competitive landscape increasingly shaped by AI-powered technologies.
Extensive Corporate and Entrepreneurial Experience
Mike has been a pioneering figure in the digital landscape since the 1990s, successfully launching and managing his own start-up ventures, as well as holding significant senior leadership positions within well-established media organizations. With a strong foundation in corporate law and management consulting, he began his professional journey at XT3, a pioneering digital consulting firm spun out from McKinsey, created to guide major companies in embracing the nascent World Wide Web. During the initial dot-com boom, Mike founded the technology publishing group internet.com in Australia, which rapidly became the leading local platform for technology news and events in the country.
Global Entrepreneurial Ventures and Insights
He also established and led Jupiter Research in the Asia Pacific region, one of the earliest research agencies to meticulously track the adoption of e-commerce and emerging digital business models by online consumers. During this period, he was recognized as one of Australia’s “Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30.” Following his extensive experience in the Web space, Mike spent five years in senior strategy roles at News Corporation, where he played a key role in shaping the digital strategy for both their Australian newspaper and Asian television divisions. Directly engaged by the CEO of Star TV to develop a comprehensive digital roadmap for their operations, he embarked on in-depth research into the rapidly growing markets of Asia. While based in Hong Kong and deeply inspired by the dramatic transformations occurring in China and India, Mike founded his latest venture, Tomorrow – an innovative research lab focused on emerging technologies and disruptive consumer behaviors. Consistently sought after for his fresh perspectives and practical future-focused strategies, Mike has advised the CEOs and senior management teams of numerous multinational corporations, including the BBC, Fujifilm, Richemont, MSN, Star TV, Televisa, Philips, and HSBC.
Photographic Pursuits and Global Perspective
Beyond his prominent corporate profile, Mike is also a published photographer and a dedicated supporter of the Arts. His captivating photographic images from his extensive travels around the globe significantly contributed to his book, FUTURETAINMENT, winning an esteemed Art Director’s Club award in New York City. He has also served on the Director’s Circle at the Australian Museum of Contemporary Art. As a true global nomad and astute consumer trend scout, Mike conducts live, on-the-ground research, collaborating directly with major corporations and innovative entrepreneurs worldwide, bringing a genuinely global perspective to every engagement.
Mike Walsh Speaking Topics
The AI Powered Organization
This keynote explores why now is the time for radical reinvention. ChatGPT and the rise of generative AI platforms are just the beginning of a much bigger algorithmic revolution that is set to reshape the future of work itself. Rapid shifts in technology, customer needs and competitor dynamics allow companies to build resilience to changing environments and integrate not only cutting edge technologies but also embrace a new generation of talent. Whether it be how we engage our customers, how we automate our processes or even how we make decisions as leaders - the ability to effectively transform data into value will be at the heart of 21st-century business. Building an AI powered organization is crucial to your company’s future survival.
New Rules For A New World
The pandemic not only changed our way of life, it accelerated the arrival of a radical new future of work. While for many of us hybrid work is a new and unexpected challenge - it is just the start of a much bigger transformation set to reshape the nature of organizations themselves. Whether it be engaging customers through digital channels or leveraging AI, algorithms and automation to reinvent how we deliver value - we are likely to experience in the next decade, a century’s worth of change. Not every organization will make it, but those that do will never be the same again. And for leaders, now more than ever, it is a time to upgrade their capabilities, embrace new technologies, and reimagine what they do. Mike Walsh's inspiring new keynote presentation will offer audiences an insight into the organizations and leaders that are successfully navigating this period of change, and how to create a playbook for their own transformation. Becoming future-proof is more than just about getting through a crisis - it is about being ready for the new world that awaits us on the other side.
What Leaders Need To Know About the Metaverse
The Metaverse is more than a gold rush; it will be an alchemical transformation in the way the world works. Over the next few years, we will see a rapid convergence between the digital and real world driven by increasingly sophisticated devices, decentralized blockchain technologies and AI platforms capable of generating persistent, immersive and collaborative experiences indistinguishable from reality. Mike Walsh's new keynote presentation will demystify core Metaverse technologies and concepts like NFTs, DAOs, DeFi, XR, DeSO, GameFi and Web3. In addition, with a playbook style approach, he will provide insights into what it will take to pioneer Metaverse applications, experiment with new ways of working, and attract and develop the right kind of talent to help you achieve your goals. The time for action is now. Every organization and industry will be impacted by the next iteration of the Web and its radical interfaces, infrastructure and investment models. The question for leaders is no longer what is the Metaverse, but rather - what is our plan for it?
What Leaders Need To Know About the Metaverse
The Metaverse is more than a gold rush; it will be an alchemical transformation in the way the world works. Over the next few years, we will see a rapid convergence between the digital and real world driven by increasingly sophisticated devices, decentralized blockchain technologies and AI platforms capable of generating persistent, immersive and collaborative experiences indistinguishable from reality. Mike Walsh's new keynote presentation will demystify core Metaverse technologies and concepts like NFTs, DAOs, DeFi, XR, DeSO, GameFi and Web3. In addition, with a playbook style approach, he will provide insights into what it will take to pioneer Metaverse applications, experiment with new ways of working, and attract and develop the right kind of talent to help you achieve your goals. The time for action is now. Every organization and industry will be impacted by the next iteration of the Web and its radical interfaces, infrastructure and investment models. The question for leaders is no longer what is the Metaverse, but rather - what is our plan for it?
The Algorithmic Leader
We live in an age of wonder - cars that drive themselves, platforms that anticipate our needs, and robots capable of everything from advanced manufacturing to complex surgery. Automation, algorithms and AI are transforming not only business, but every facet of daily life. While many fear that robots will take their jobs, the rise of machine intelligence begs a more important question: what is the true potential of human intelligence in the 21st century? Based on his bestselling book, Mike Walsh will present a vivid portrait of a brave new world orchestrated by machines that think, and how tomorrow's leaders can upgrade their capabilities to survive and thrive in an age of accelerating technology. Audiences will walk away with an insight into the companies, technologies and global forces shaping the age of machine intelligence, as well as a set of tailored next actions on how to redesign their organizations, reimagine their roles and reinvent the way they make decisions.
Mike Walsh Books
The Algorithmic Leader: How to Be Smart When Machines Are Smarter Than You
Purchase BookMike Walsh Videos
Mike Walsh Speaker Testimonials
"Mike is highly inquisitive and original, not only in his thinking but also in his presentation, taking complex issues and turning them into simple and digestible themes. Mike is very valuable at helping challenge whatever your conventional wisdom is and in setting out a clear set of views on how things might shape in months and years to come. I recommend him highly."
- | NINEMSN
"Mike was a pleasure to work with. His presentation was perfectly pitched reflecting his research prior to the event to tailor his presentation to our audience and he also took the time to meet with some of them prior to the presentation. We would highly recommend Mike to anyone interested and would love to work with him again."
- | ROCHE PRODUCTS PTY LIMITED
"Mike Walsh can observe today’s consumers as if they are already living in tomorrow’s world. He understands the changing dynamics of media – fundamental changes in content creation, distribution and consumption and in the economic realities that underpin both traditional and new media businesses. He understands the structural shift that is occurring."
- | FAIRFAX MEDIA
