For two decades, Dr Craig Wing has delivered 500+ keynotes to 5,000 global leaders and executives to understand, create and design their ideal futures through imagineering and futures thinking. His expertise include emergent futures thinking, scenario planning, disruptive technologies, emergent business models, company culture and new world of work. He’s spoken at length on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and Africa’s preparedness. He converted his car to electric: creating the future, versus merely talking about it! He rejected the chance... Read More
For two decades, Dr Craig Wing has delivered 500+ keynotes to 5,000 global leaders and executives to understand, create and design their ideal futures through imagineering and futures thinking. His expertise include emergent futures thinking, scenario planning, disruptive technologies, emergent business models, company culture and new world of work. He’s spoken at length on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and Africa’s preparedness. He converted his car to electric: creating the future, versus merely talking about it! He rejected the chance to head one of Branson’s companies to focus on enhancing South Africa (ZA).
He has been recognised by CIO magazine as one of the “most inspirational leaders shaping the business landscape in 2024” and (in progress) author with the biggest publisher in the world: Penguin Randomhouse for a mainstream adaption of one of his PhD frameworks.
He consulted to the United Nations to create 2050 scenarios for the Nigerian government, moderated the 10th BRICs summit on 4IR with H.E. President’s Xi, Putin and Ramaphosa & PM Modi and delivered a keynote on “the role of disruptive technology for BRICs to meet the SDG’s” (2023). He’s hosted sessions at the African Innovation Symposium, was head of Innovation for B4SA as ZA recovered from Covid-19, is adjunct professor at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Duke Corporate Education and others. He is an associate of the Tayarisha school of governance (University of the Witwatersrand, ZA) and fellow at Institute of Social Innovation (Babson, USA). Clients include UNAIDS, Deloitte, Audi, Tata, Shell, MTN, Airbus, Danone, Nestle, Citi, Anglo American, Microsoft, Fidelity, Accenture, Barclays, Investec, Discovery, Standard Bank, BMW, Huawei, Mubadala fund, Indonesian Central Bank, and Indian government. He was a former radio insert future specialist on Hot1027FM (ZA Radio), created a YouTube mini-series on science and futures and asked to be a TV host for the national broadcaster.
His PhD is the first in Futures Strategy in South Africa and described as avant-garde & ingenious that adds significant new frameworks leveraging Rumsfeld’s Unknown Unknowns and Joharis Window. This research allows leaders to design their ideal future strategy and create a single metric for their future preparedness: The Future Fitness score. Dr Craig Wing presented his PhD at the first UN AI conference in Macau to drive thinking in AI regulation, ethics and equitable global adoption. His research is the foundation for his AI company using human analytics to optimize operations and develop future resilience and his third book: “Four Future Seasons” that draws upon Japanese philosophy, psychology, and military strategy. He has a BSc (Eng), MSc (Usability) and MBA from Babson College (USA) as a recipient of the prestigious Frederic C Hamilton scholarship for significant entrepreneurial achievement. During his MBA he was the first “non-American” class president and only ever two-year representative.
Craig Wing started 6 companies: a software venture for partially sighted children, commercialization consultancy & silicon valley, cleantech startup launched at 8 U.S and international Universities and profiled at the Clinton Global Initiative and TEDx speaker. As Google small business marketing head, he launched South African Business Woza online where SMEs created 50,000 websites in its first year: 1 every 10 minutes. He grew revenue YoY by 82% YoY, was African “Googliest Googler” and first GoogleX African. He is an angel investor in disruptive, technology driven startups and created a dashboard to “quantify the future.”
Accolades include: CIO Today Most Inspirational leaders (2024), AFLI Desmond Tutu Fellow, AshokaU Changemaker, WEF Global Shaper, Mail and Guardian Top 200 under 35, Destiny Man & African Independent Top 40 under 40, disruptive Innovation speaker at TEDx and Clinton Global Initiative awardee. He is the youngest graduation speaker at University of Johannesburg and former WomEng board member (non-profit inspiring woman into STEM), chairperson of Moving into Dance (educating disenfranchised youth and disabled people through dance), non-executive and advisor for government entities.
He’s travelled to 53 countries: swam in the Amazon, trekked gorilla in Uganda, tigers in India and snow leopard in the Himalayans, swam with whales in Mozambique, skydived in California, hiked Machu Pichu (and the Great Wall), shark dived (twice!) wept at the Wailing Wall, watched the sun rise over the Taj Mahal and been tear-gassed in Turkey! When not travelling he taught himself to play the guitar and considers himself an amateur photographer and casual sous chef.