Michele Wucker Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerMichele Wucker

Strategist, Speaker, Qualified Risk Director®, and Best-selling Author

Michele Wucker coined the term “gray rhino” as a call to improve people’s responses to obvious, probable, impactful –yet all-too-often neglected– risks. She sheds light on why some people step up to head off the dangers right in front of them, yet others let themselves and everyone around them get... Read More

Biography

Michele Wucker coined the term “gray rhino” as a call to improve people’s responses to obvious, probable, impactful –yet all-too-often neglected– risks. She sheds light on why some people step up to head off the dangers right in front of them, yet others let themselves and everyone around them get trampled.

In today’s volatile, uncertain world, Michele is a sought-after risk expert specialized in the global economy, public policy, decision-making, and governance. Formerly a think tank and media CEO, she founded the strategic advisory firm Gray Rhino & Company.

C-Suite executives, boards of directors, and business continuity teams apply her gray rhino theory across diverse industries: technology and AI, finance, human capital, education, logistics, mining, manufacturing, and cyber-security. So do central banks, securities regulators, and policymakers working on national security, technology, demographic change, and emergency response all around the world.

Michele is the author of four books including the influential global best-seller, The Gray Rhino, and the sequel, You Are What You Risk. The gray rhino has made headlines in more than 75 countries and 35 languages in articles about the COVID-19 pandemic; climate change; and post-pandemic financial fragilities. It inspired a lyric in the hit single, “Blue & Grey,” by the global K-Pop mega-phenomenon BTS.

Popular Talks by Michele Wucker

  • Top Global Gray Rhinos: What They Mean for You (Your Company or Organization)
    Top Global Economy Gray Rhinos combines Michele’s deep experience and personal network in global policy, finance, and economics with the powerful framework Michele developed for helping decision-makers improve their responses to clear and present dangers. Join the CEOs, risk professionals, boards, thought leaders, and senior financial and national policy officials...
  • Climate Risk Gray Rhinos: Strategic Responses
    The wildfires and multiple new record high temperatures set in 2023 are a clear reminder that climate change is a global, obvious, impactful “gray rhino” risk for board directors. Climate risk and the net-zero transition affect strategy and operations involving issues that range from supply chains to agriculture, property values,...
  • The Risk Your “Free-From” Food Brand Cannot Afford to Take
    Companies are wise to recognize the attractions of the fast-growing “free from” consumer market segment. People with food allergies and sensitivities are loyal, resulting in high-customer lifetime value and willingness to accept higher prices for foods that they know are safe. Moreover, many alternative, gluten-free grains come from hardy, drought-resistant...
  • Gender and Risk: Debunking the Stereotypes
    How many times have you heard that women are “risk averse”? It’s not meant as a compliment. Worse: It simply is not true. Recent research challenges older studies that made that claim despite findings with low to no statistical significance; based their conclusions on averages versus ranges; or failed to...