Mike Walsh

Founder & CEO of Tomorrow and Business Consultant

Mike Walsh

Founder & CEO of Tomorrow and Business Consultant

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Biography

CEO of Tomorrow, author of The Algorithmic Leader, Harvard Business Review columnist. Leading authority on technology, transformation and leadership - with a uniquely global perspective.

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 regulator 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 over a 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.

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.

Speaker Videos

Welcome to the Age of Algorithm

The Metaverse is the Next Universe

The Algorithmic Leader

New Rules for a New World

After COVID-19, Where Do We Go From Here?

The Secret Behind Successful Digital Transformation

Leadership in a Time of Crisis

Why Leaders Need Digital Ethics

AI in Daily Life

How AI Will Change What You Do

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Speech Topics

What Leaders Need To Know About The Metaverse

The Metaverse is more than a gold rush - it will be an alchemical transformation in how 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 protocols and AI platforms capable of generating persistent, immersive and collaborative experiences indistinguishable from reality.

With a pragmatic focus and a playbook style approach, Mike Walsh's new keynote presentation will not only demystify the Metaverse technologies and concepts, but will provide personalized insights into where the commercial opportunities will lie for customer engagement, workplace collaboration and the creation of entirely new virtualized products and services.

The time for action is now. Whether a media company or retail brand, financial services or manufacturing operation - the question for leaders is no longer what is the Metaverse, but rather what is our plan for action?

Attendees will learn:

How to position your organization for success by anticipating your future customer needs, collaborating with rivals and startups, and experimenting with new models of value exchange
Why digital twins, distributed workplaces and autonomous organizations will be essential components of the enterprise Metaverse, and what this means for the future of your business
How leaders can navigate the 3 challenges of privacy, power and policy as they take their first steps developing their own Metaverse strategy

New Rules for a New World

COVID-19 is not only changing our way of life, it will hasten the arrival of a radical new future of work. While for many of us working from home has been a new and unexpected challenge - that is just the start of a much bigger transformation set to reshape the nature of business itself. In order to survive, every organization will have to virtualize.

Whether it be serving customers through digital channels or leveraging AI, algorithms and automation to ensure business continuity - we are likely to experience in the next twelve months, a decade’s worth of change. Not every business will make it, but those that do will never be the same again. And for leaders, now more than ever, 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 the current 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 there to destroy your jobs, but it will change them

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?

In this dynamic keynote, Mike Walsh, futurist and author 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.

In this keynote, attendees will learn:

Why competing in an age of AI requires a radically new approach to delivering data-driven experiences and personalized services.
What it takes to accelerate your journey to becoming an AI-powered organization, and how to lead a successful process of digital transformation.
How to unlock the new skills, capabilities and mindsets that your leaders will need to survive and thrive in the future

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 rethink customer engagement
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

The Rise Of Generation AI

The next generation of consumers will not only be radically different to anything we have known, they will reshape the future in their own image. Forget Millennials. It is their kids we should be worrying about.

Generation AI, born between 2010 and 2025, are the first generation natural born to the Algorithmic Age, a world in which all of their experiences have been personalized and designed for them with data and artificial intelligence.

As young consumers today they are behind the meteoric rise of Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, TikTok and YouTube Kids. As young adults in the 2030s, their expectations and behavioral patterns will transform everything from healthcare to retail, education to financial services. This is their story.

In this keynote, attendees will learn:

What makes Generation AI so different, and their unique approach to play, entertainment and learning.
Life in the 2030s, and what a decade of accelerated innovation means for the future of interfaces, experiences and interactions.
The new skills and capabilities we will need, not only to parent this generation, but to engage them as our customers.

Testimonials

"Amazing! Mike was the perfect anchor to bring the conference to a high energy, thought-provoking close. He had the attention of everyone in the audience. The post-conference survey has shown Mike was one of the most valuable speakers. When I went through the search for the conference speaker, I was thrilled to put his name in front of the General Manager of my business unit. Mike had another company that was looking at him for the same date but we swooped in and put a firm commitment on his calendar. I feel sorry for the other company that let him slip away. Thanks Mike!"

- Compuware

"Mike’s presentation for the L’Oreal Professionnel Artists, Educators and Corporate Team at Foundation 2021 was INCREDIBLE. 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!"

- 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

"Fantastic! It touched on two key aspects of my current professional role (ethnographic research in the tech space) and analytics/data/dashboards."

- Qualcomm

"Excellent presentation – challenges status quo and our ability to react and if possible predict where and what customers’ needs are."

- Financial Center FCU

"All I can say about Mike is that he “Rocked the House.” They loved him!!! He did a fantastic job for us. I saw him two years ago in Denver at PCMA and then again in Boston. I knew he would be a perfect fit for our group."

- The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council

"Mike Walsh is very engaging, with the perfect blend of serious content and light humor. His insights into our next generation of customers and employees was compelling and right on the mark. His “mind grenades” were great takeaways that I will absolutely use at my 1,800-person company immediately. I believe his content would be useful in almost every environment from a small start-up to a large, established business or government agency."

- Forfeiture Support Associates (FSA) LLC

"It’s nice to hit the pause button and reflect on us as individuals, the industry, and the world. I don’t get to do this enough leading the busy life I do, so your address gave me some reflective time and an interesting perception on our journey as a society. I loved the mind grenade concept, and loved the to-do’s associated with each of them."

- Microsoft

"Very insightful and full of powerful content. Great way of engaging people in the topics and I really found the “next actions” as a very useful tool to turn the ideas into concrete follow-up to drive change."

- China of Mercedes Benz Financial Services

"Very well done! The cultural/anthropologic dimensions as related to technology innovation is a fantastic theme to explore and to get people to ponder more in thinking about people’s behaviors, the root of them, and how this impacts their adoption and use of technology (nudges us out of the US centric context)."

- Raytheon

"Very insightful. Loved the discussion of the future of mobile, integration of social media, and the need to identify how to best use the telemetry from this to drive sales and customer satisfaction."

- Verizon Wireless