Peter Hinssen Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerPeter Hinssen

Best-selling Author, London Business School Lecturer, Technology Entrepreneur, nexxworks Co-Founder

Peter Hinssen is a global keynote speaker, bestselling author, business school lecturer, LinkedIn Top Voice, serial entrepreneur, trusted board member, startup investor and the world’s leading innovation, technology and leadership expert. Peter likes to describe himself as a pathological optimist. He firmly believes that companies can and should help build... Read more

Biography

Peter Hinssen is a global keynote speaker, bestselling author, business school lecturer, LinkedIn Top Voice, serial entrepreneur, trusted board member, startup investor and the world’s leading innovation, technology and leadership expert.

Peter likes to describe himself as a pathological optimist. He firmly believes that companies can and should help build a better, brighter and bolder Day After Tomorrow.

Peter is a top ranked and world class speaker on technological evolution, innovation strategy and adaptive leadership. He brings his content with a unique combination of depth, clarity, positivity, and a dry sense of humor.

Peter has collaborated with Fortune 1000 companies and leading brands like Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Accenture, HP, SAS, Microsoft, Gartner, Danone, HSBC, London Business School, Sanofi, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and many more. He also lectures at renowned business schools like the London Business School and the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Peter is the author of six bestselling business books. ‘The Uncertainty Principle’ (2025) is a guide for those bold leaders who want to better grasp the opportunities that lie in the challenges and uncertainties presented by our constantly shifting Never Normal era. ‘The Phoenix and The Unicorn’ (2020) is a book about Phoenixes: companies that are able to rethink themselves in cycles, just like the mythical bird. ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ (2017) is about the benefits of long-term thinking in times of radical innovation. ‘The Network Always Wins’ (2014) explains how and why companies have no choice but to become a network when the outside world has evolved into one. In ‘The New Normal’ (2010), Peter writes about how companies should explore the limits of the digital world, and what happens when technology just becomes ‘normal’. ‘Business/IT Fusion’ (2008) is a guide about how to solve the conflict between business and IT.

For more than fifteen years, Peter led a life of technology start-ups. His first company e-COM was acquired by Alcatel-Lucent, his second, Streamcase, by Belgacom, and Across Technology by Delaware Consulting. His third venture (Porthus) was quoted on the stock exchange in 2006 and acquired by Descartes. Between start-ups, he has been an Entrepreneur in Residence with McKinsey & Company, with a focus on digital and technology strategy. Peter’s current company nexxworks helps inspire and connect organizations to thrive in the Never Normal.

Peter is a multiple board advisor at leading companies like Belfius, Mediahuis and Ergon Capital on subjects related to innovation and technology.

"Peter Hinssen's Never Normal keynote is a truly inspiring and thoughtful experience, designed to inspire organizations and their leaders about reinventing themselves like phoenixes. Peter’s energy and charisma engaged our HR community to understand how much our departments and functions are living through a moment of truth, in which we'll need to help initiate and lead the necessary transformations that will allow us to thrive in the Never Normal age of constant change." Director Executive Development - LVMH
"Once more, Peter offers a refreshing perspective and insight from the external landscape. With his profound understanding of technology, he excels as a speaker in bridging the realms of business and technology seamlessly. His keynote left my team thoroughly energized, captivated by his rhythm, conceptual clarity, and visionary outlook. Attending Peter's presentations annually has become indispensable!" Head of Global Accounts Sales - HP
"Peter Hinssen is a brilliant thinker and speaker who knows how to capture the current paradigm shifts like no other and articulates them with both depth and humor. Listening to him is like engaging in an immersive experience that turns you upside down and helps you remain wired to this definitely “Never Normal” environment." Prospective & New Concepts VP - DANONE
"Our global team got together face to face for the 1st time after 18 months of remote work. We wanted to kick off our team retreat with an energizing, future and value focused, thought and action provoking speaker. Peter brought exactly this… with a triple bonus that made his intervention deeply memorable: humor, genuine interest in our work, and immediately actionable advice." Global Patient Experience Lead – Digital Healthcare - Sanofi
"Peter is a fantastic speaker! His presentations are rich in content, full of practical examples and delivered in such an authentic manner that they leave audiences inspired and ready for action!" Costas Markides, Professor - London Business School

Popular Talks by Peter Hinssen

  • The Uncertainty Principle

    This is a keynote about a Never Normal future. Not the bleak, dystopian kind that so many seem convinced we’re heading toward, but one that is built on hope, possibility, and progress.

  • The Era of Augmented Intelligence

    Everybody is talking about AI, but the discussion tends to center around the two extremes of hype or doomism. In this keynote filled with practical examples and cases, Peter Hinssen wants to demystify AI in order to provide his audience with a profound and nuanced story of both the challenges...

  • The Phoenix and the Unicorn

    Unicorn start-ups are brilliant. But, let’s be honest, very few of us will start one, become one, or work for one. Most of us are connected to large companies that often struggle to keep themselves relevant for the ever-changing customer. That’s why this keynote is about a creature that’s just...

  • AI Unveiled: moving beyond the hype in East and West

    In the rapidly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the discourse tends to fluctuate between extremes: hype versus doomism and West versus East (China in particular). This joint keynote – featuring innovation strategy and tech expert Peter Hinssen and China keynote speaker Pascal Coppens – seeks to navigate beyond these...

  • Never Normal Masterclass

    The world is more unpredictable than ever, presenting business leaders with many economic, geopolitical, societal and ecological challenges. Some see these Never Normal evolutions as a threat, but this Executive Masterclass with Peter Hinssen and CX and company culture expert Steven Van Belleghem has been designed to help you see...

  • Innovation Strategy Masterclass

    The world is more fluid and unpredictable than ever, presenting business leaders with many economic, geopolitical, societal and ecological challenges. Some see these Never Normal evolutions as a threat, but our Executive Masterclass by world leading innovation experts Peter Hinssen and Pascal Coppens has been designed to help you see...