Chris Riddell

Chris Riddell is one of the most sought after thought leaders, futurists and strategists. Having spent his life connecting with businesses and individuals across industries and around our hyper-connected digital world, he has developed a talent for analysing emerging trends, patterns and behaviours. His insights are compelling, thought provoking and inspirational.

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In the chaotic state of our world today, there’s never been a more critical time for optimism with rigour. The uncertainty, unpredictability and sheer pace of our hyper-connected world is Chris’ passion and life’s work. His obsession with making sense of the discomfort and challenges of this rapidly changing landscape has powered his thinking for over 15 years.

Equally potent across myriad industries, Chris’ insight and expertise has benefitted trail-blazing start-ups, government bodies, and Fortune 500 companies. As a renowned strategist and senior business advisor, Chris has worked globally with some of the biggest and most influential brands and businesses on the planet including Jaguar Land Rover, Facebook, Australia Federal Police, Ebay, Vodafone and Macquarie Bank. His intuitive and instinctive approach to tracking global patterns and unlocking opportunities has had significant impact on how businesses—and humans—can take purposeful steps towards creating real and lasting positive impact.

And making an impact is what Chris is arguably most famous for, because being in a room with Chris Riddell is an immersive and transformational experience. A combination of rigorously detailed insights delivered with unparalleled enthusiasm, and dynamic screen content, all wrapped up in sensational showmanship. Any amount of time spent with Chris is a wildly entertaining and deeply revolutionary experience.

His unique skill of taking what we know and fear about our world and encouraging changes in attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and mindsets, is critical to business and social transformation. No sector, subject or stone is left unturned in his quest to make sense of the challenging and disrupted world of ‘the future’.

This is the power of the Chris Riddell experience. It’s real, relatable, relevant and revelatory.

Chris Riddell talks about:

Business – Thinking Like a Startup: What does a business of the future look like, and what are the skills your organisation needs to survive?

Adopting a culture of deep innovation across the business, thinking and behaving like a start-up, and finding the entrepreneurs from within your business is more important than ever. Business leaders are under more pressure to understand how to bring new world, blended and more agile thinking into existing businesses. Trust has taken a radically different meaning in the world after tomorrow, and it’s a new currency for businesses. How is this possible in a well established business, and how can you create environments for ideas to flourish and create topline growth.

Customer – Creating Connected Experiences: What does a truly connected experience mean, and what are customers looking for?

In an era of hyper distraction, customers are bombarded with content across platforms and devices. Advertising just doesn’t connect with Gen Y, let alone even touch the surface with Generation Z. Being a successful and thriving business today requires a deeper understanding of your customer than ever before. Even more importantly, in today’s fast paced world, planning for the day after tomorrow is a key skill that is critical to survival.

Crafted storytelling, with a perfect blend of technology, experiences and people will be the hallmark of tomorrow’s business.

Industry – Growth and Transformation: What traditional industries are we seeing rapid future growth in, and what skills do we need? We are literally swimming in data, and have more insights into our lives than ever before. Deep, real-time learning to create adaptive experiences and build solutions for specific problems will set businesses ahead. Being able to ‘pull levers’ and embrace ‘liquid data’ is how we will see the power balance between large businesses and small ones change forever.

Technology – Human Impact and Mega Trends: Technology is fundamentally changing us as human beings, and we now live and operate in a world that is full of digital natives. Everything about our world is influenced by megatrends; slow moving large, social, economic, political, environmental or technological changes that impact us everywhere. Megatrends influence a wide range of activities, processes and perceptions, both in government and in society, and they last for decades. These are the forces that drive trends around the world. The most successful, innovative and forward thinking businesses are continually plugged into these movements, and use them to support their medium to long-term strategies.

Game Changers – AI, Machine Learning, Automation: Artificial intelligence (AI) has been changing our lives for decades, but never has it felt more ubiquitous than now. Automation and robotics has landed with a bang, driverless technology is now already yesterday’s news. Technology is a democratising force, empowering people through information, and we are set for a revolution like no other over the next five years.

The device’ as we know it will disappear almost entirely, and this will dramatically influence how we see our world, and the definition of what relationships mean. ‘Last mile’ decision-making and ethics are being challenged, and our ability to embrace this new era will be the defining point for innovators and trend setters alike.