As founder and CEO of Global Futures and Foresight since 2006, David A Smith is one of the world’s top futurists and a leading authority on upcoming global trends.
As early as 2010, David predicted, in a series of seminal speeches and reports at Microsoft, Terex, and Shirlaws, that in the coming decades launch markets would move to China, online shopping would eclipse retail, TV channels would become obsolete, working from home with video conferencing would become widespread, and a large-scale pandemic would sweep the globe.
Alongside identifying the social, technological, and financial developments that will shape the world, David provides practical solutions for adapting to these changes. He is passionate about helping organizations to embrace new technologies and create cutting edge visions, strategies, and products, and his clients have included HSBC, PwC, and EU Commission.
Before founding GFF David held numerous long-term strategic roles including strategic marketing director for Unisys $2 billion global financial services business. Here, in 2006, he co-created the Unisys Global Futures Forum which was devoted to long term prediction and distinguished Unisys in a world where a focus on short term outcomes is widespread and systemic.
His current speaker topics often include 9our entering the ‘Intelligent Era’, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Blockchain, VR/AR/XR, 3D fabrication and mass machine-generated data etc. Determined to inform and engage clients and audiences on these key issues of the near future, David believes that with the knowledge we can all thrive in the future.
We are leaving the Digital era and entering a new animated, intelligent, predictive, personalised and information rich era where everything that can be automated will be including work, buying, leisure, health, travel and learning. An era when virtualisation enables the metaVerse and breaks our relationship with location. An era of hybrid everything where we value engagement in person and apart in separate ways. It’s a time for those who have taken strides in engaging with the digital world to better understand what happens next, to extract value to ride the exponential growth the intelligent era brings.
New and emerging technology will make the current internet and our existing operations and data look miniscule. The scope, speed, volume, intelligence and impact of technology will redefine everything from health, work, leisure, entertainment, travel etc. as engagement become increasingly quantified, automated and predicted. Internet of Everything, Quantum computing, Artificial Intelligence, prescriptive analytics, satellites, Extended Reality, 3D and 4D fabrication, 5G and 6G, platforms and ecosystems are just some of the drivers that will reshape not just how you engage with your customers and markets but change the very essence of what you offer. Understanding this better gives you a head-start against others.
Being on top of the latest trends in meeting customer expectations has always been vital. But now we can see a seismic shift in what customers will want and how they will want to engage with us. In the past we have had time to adapt to new ways, using new technology through new processes, yet it’s always seemed frantic. Now, particularly through new technologies we are seeing rising demand for whole new, virtualised, hyper personalised offers. If you’re not on top of this others are and your customers will see this.
We’ve been forecasting the impact of new and emerging technologies on work and working for decades. But now we have arrived when existential change is being brough to sectors, roles, skills and careers. It’s a time of ultra-dynamic change and an exciting time to adapt to whole new methods and means of achieving outstanding productivity and goals. The future belongs to those who can blend new technology with human skills and add new and valuable growth to their organisations.
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