Mike Walsh
Leading authority on technology, transformation and leadership - with a uniquely global perspective. CEO of Tomorrow, Author of The Algorithmic Leader, Harvard Business Review columnist
Mike Walsh is the CEO of Tomorrow, a global consultancy on designing companies for the 21st century. For the past twenty years, he has been a leading authority on disruptive innovation, digital transformation and new ways of thinking. A global nomad from a diverse ethnic background, futurist and author of three bestselling books, Mike advises some of the world’s biggest organizations on reinvention and change in this new era of machine intelligence.
A specialist in AI-powered transformation, Mike’s work and research was recently profiled by the Rotman School of Management. His talent is being able to bridge the two worlds of disruptive technology and business leadership, translating deep tech into pragmatic recommendations for leaders to seize new opportunities, transform their organizations, and change their own thinking.
Mike is a prolific researcher who interviews innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs and corporate revolutionaries every year. Many of these conversations feature in his popular podcast, Between Worlds. A skilled facilitator, he excels at fireside chats with CEOs, customers and other thought leaders. He brings this consultative approach to personalizing insights and recommendations for his audiences, specializing in identifying ‘mind grenades’ or provocative questions that will challenge your team and stretch their thinking.
A prolific writer and commentator, Mike’s views have appeared in a wide range of international publications including Inc. Magazine, BusinessWeek, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. Recently, LinkedIn invited Mike to publish his weekly newsletter Tomorrowist about next generation leadership. A regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, his articles explore a wide range of cutting-edge leadership topics including data-driven decision making, agile organizations, algorithmic management and AI ethics.
Mike’s latest book, The Algorithmic Leader, offers a hopeful and practical guide for reinventing leadership and organizations. The book has been a global hit and is now available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Polish and Russian. In 2019, The Algorithmic Leader was selected to be given to the world leaders and executive attendees of the Ambrosetti Global Forum at Villa d'Este in Cernobbio, Italy.
Futuretainment, Mike’s first book, was published by Phaidon and was the winner of the design award by the Art Director’s Club in New York. Released in 2009, it predicted how the smartphone would reshape the media and marketing industry, and the imminent rise of social media, digital influencers and streaming entertainment. In The Dictionary of Dangerous Ideas, Mike anticipated breakthroughs in micro satellite networks, cryptocurrencies, remote work, digital protest movements, self-driving cars, drones and digital biology. A dynamic and engaging keynote speaker, Mike has given more than 1,000 talks over the last decade, from strategic briefings for the boards of companies like Verizon and Raytheon, to an employee summit for a healthcare corporation that filled a sports stadium with an audience of over 25,000 people. In addition to both in-person and virtual presentations, Mike also works with enterprise learning and development leaders to create compelling programs to up-skill teams for a world of AI-powered competition.
Corporate Experience
Mike has been a pioneer in the digital space since the 1990s, running both successful start-up ventures as well as holding senior leadership positions in established media organizations. With a background in corporate law and management consulting, he began his career at XT3, a spin-out from McKinsey and one of the first digital consulting firms created to help major companies embrace the embryonic Web. During the first dotcom boom, Mike launched the technology publishing group internet.com in Australia, which went on to become the leading local technology news and events platform in the country.
He also founded and ran Jupiter Research in the Asia Pacific, one of the first research agencies to track the early adoption of e-commerce and digital business models by online consumers. During this period, he was recognized as one of Australia’s “Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30.”
After his experiences in the Webspace, Mike spent five years in senior strategy roles at News Corporation where he helped shape the digital strategy for both their Australian newspaper and Asian TV divisions. Directly engaged by the CEO of Star TV to provide the company with a digital roadmap for their operations, he began his in-depth research into the fast growth markets of Asia.
While in Hong Kong and inspired by the dramatic changes taking place in China and India, Mike founded his latest venture, Tomorrow – an innovation research lab focused on emerging technology and disruptive consumer behavior. Always in demand for his fresh insights and practical future-focused strategies, Mike has advised the CEOs and senior management teams at multinational companies including the BBC, Fujifilm, Richemont, MSN, Star TV, Televisa, Philips, and HSBC.
In addition to his corporate profile, Mike is a published photographer and supporter of the Arts. His photographic images from his travels around the world helped his book, FUTURETAINMENT, win an Art Director’s Club award in NYC. He has also served on the Director’s Circle at the Australian Museum of Contemporary Art.
As a global nomad and consumer trend scout, Mike does live research, in the trenches, with big corporations and entrepreneurs all over the world bringing a truly global perspective to every event.
Mike travels from Miami, Florida or the UK.
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.
In this keynote, attendees will learn:
- Why AI will change the dynamics of every industry and the delivery of even the most traditional products and services
- How to harness new ways of working, with the use of humans and algorithmic platforms
- How to identify and develop future needs from tomorrow’s leaders and teams
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.
In this keynote, attendees will learn:
- Why there is no such thing as digital disruption, just digital delivery
- Why there is no remote work, just work
- Why AI is not here to destroy our jobs, but it will change them
The Future Favors The Bold
Now is the time for transformational leadership. Customers are changing, generational priorities are shifting, and industries are being reshaped by the collision of AI and data-driven business models. In this new world, only organizations willing to adapt, experiment and embrace learning at scale will succeed.
There is nothing inevitable about progress. The status quo is the path of least resistance. A better, brighter future is the direct result of radical reinvention not incremental improvement. Too often we fail to commit energy and resources to the real drivers of difference: projects that depart from the norm, products or services that never existed before, and technologies combined in new and unexpected ways.
Transformation is a path not a plan. It could be the courageous decision to back a provocative idea from an unexpected source or the recognition that a broken rule might be a smarter way of doing things. It could be as big as merging with a disruptive competitor or as simple as hiring someone whose thinking challenges what you know to be true. The future is not an upgrade on the familiar, it is a world built by the bold.
Based on Mike Walsh’s extensive research into the habits and mindsets of the world’s most dynamic organizations and leaders, this keynote will not only inspire your teams to embrace a new approach to change but will also empower them with a robust set of next actions personalized for their specific challenges, pain points and growth opportunities.
In this keynote, attendees will learn:
- The bold believe that 'more is different' not 'less is more'
- The bold believe that failure is free, and success is expensive
- The bold have a bias for action, even when the future is uncertain
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?
In this keynote, attendees will learn:
- Successful case studies of how both existing brands and disruptive new entrants are leveraging Web3 technologies to reinvent customer experiences, create engaged communities and unlock new value creation opportunities.
- What the Metaverse means for enterprises and how we work - whether it be personal avatars in hybrid workspaces, digital twins on the factory floor, or smart contracts in the supply chain.
- A Metaverse toolkit for leaders to understand and navigate emerging ethical and strategic issues like privacy, fraud, user safety, sustainability, governance and control.
Designing Your Business For The 21st Century
Most companies are simply not designed to survive. They become successful on the basis of one big idea or
breakthrough product - but then fail to evolve and change. One out of three public companies will cease to exist in their current form over the next five years. The companies that will thrive in the near future are the ones not only embracing change but breaking the rules.
Companies built to survive the future are no accident. They are a result of deliberate business design decisions smart leaders are making today. In his ongoing research on the world’s most innovative companies, Mike has organized these decisions into strategic priorities - that he will explore with audiences as a roadmap for their own reinvention.
Walsh will outline the forces shaping the future of business and consumer behaviour, and the lessons learned from successful Fortune 500 companies on leveraging disruptive innovation, adopting a data-driven mindset and leading change through digital transformation.
In this keynote, attendees will learn:
- How to leverage technology, and data to become truly AI-powered
- How to make culture your operating system and redesign the way your teams work
- How to become a better data-driven decision maker, and reimagine your role as a leader
Mike’s presentation for the L’Oreal Professionnel Artists, Educators and Corporate Team at Foundation 2021 was INCREDIBLE. Mike, we can’t thank you enough for connecting with us to understand the needs of the beauty industry and our team and the future!!! Your segment was one of the group's favorite and you really got everyone thinking about how they can future proof their businesses and embrace what is coming next. Thank you for your amazing knowledge, passion and connection. We absolutely recommend you and your content to the beauty industry - it was just what we needed right when we needed it!
Victoria Usher, Asst. Vice President of Training, L’Oreal Professionnel USA
Mike's session definitely resonated with our partners and helped challenge their assumptions about the future and to “think bigger” -- specifically around “how to make culture the operating system” and to consider whether they are “probabilistic” or “deterministic” in their decision-making. Again, we sincerely thank Mike for sharing his insights and we appreciate him helping us to build transformative leaders.
EY Inclusiveness Leadership Program
Mike was wonderful to work with. And he was great about adding nuance to his remarks in keeping with our thematic language. We appreciated it.
Lisa Kaplan, ICAN
Extraordinary! Great ideas and eye-opening comments that make you think.
Benavent, L&D Manager, Hewlett-Packard Company
Terrific! Energizing and engaging. Thought provoking and really put forward issues and challenges facing marketers and CPG manufacturers.
Greg Kerr, Principal and Team Lead, IRI Worldwide
The Algorithmic Leader: How to Be Smart When Machines Are Smarter Than You
The Dictionary Of Dangerous Ideas
