Gerd Leonhard

Gerd Leonhard

• Swiss futurist who predicts what the future means for businesses.
• Sector expert speaker for Media, Communications, Technology, Environmentalism and the Digital Revolution.
• A truly global keynote speaker described by the WSJ as ‘one of the leading Media Futurists in the world.’

Gerd Leonard from Switzerland is regarded as one of the world’s leading futurists. His areas of expertise cover Media, Content, Publishing & Entertainment, Telecommunications and ICT, Technology and Software, Marketing, Branding, Advertising & Communications, Culture & Creative Industries, Energy, Environment and Sustainability.

Gerd is the CEO of TheFuturesAgency and Visiting Professor at the Fundacao Dom Cabral in Sao Paulo. He has authored five influential books, including; ‘The Future of Music’, ‘The End of Control’, ‘Music 2.0’, ‘Friction is Fiction’, ‘The Future of Content’ and  ‘From Ego to Eco.’

Gerd’s background is in music and the music business; in 1985 he won the esteemed Berkley College’s ‘Quincy Jones Award’ and subsequently spent 10 years working as a professional guitar player, composer and producer. He became a digital media entrepreneur and start-up Internet CEO, based in San Francisco, for 7 years.

In 2002 he returned to Europe and started his career as a Futurist, Keynote Speaker and Strategic Advisor. He now travels around the globe and speaks at many major conferences and events, company retreats, seminars and in-house trainings on the Future of Business, Sustainability, Environmental Policy and Climate Change, Media, Content and Entertainment, Technology, Marketing, Advertising & Branding, Telecommunications and many more topics. In 2011, Gerd widened the scope of his work to include some of the most pressing ‘green’ issues such as sustainability and sustainable capitalism, renewable energy, climate change and global warming (see GreenFuturist.com)

Gerd is considered a leading expert on topics such as digitally-native business models, the networked society, a sustainable business ecology, social media, social business and So-Lo-Mo communications, TV & Radio 2.0, mobile content, innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship, consumer trends, UGC and peer production, copyright and IPR issues, next-generation advertising, marketing and branding, and recently the development of ‘green futures‘ scenarios. In 2006, The Wall Street Journal called Gerd ‘one of the leading Media Futurists in the World’.

Speaking

Gerd’s keynotes, speeches and presentations are renowned for his hard-hitting and provocative yet inspiring personal and intense motivational style. With over 1,300 engagements in 47 countries since 2002, Gerd has addressed over 350,000 executives and professionals and is considered a key influencer. His diverse client list includes Consumers International, Youtube, Nokia, SAP, Motorola, Rhodia, SES Asra, the WWF, The Guardian, Google, Sony Music, Telkom Indonesia, Siemens, RTL, ITV, the BBC, France Telecom, Orange, Deutsche Telekom, MTN, The Financial Times, DDB / TribalDDB, Ogilvy, Omnicom, the European Commission, the Government of New Zealand and many others.