BIOGRAPHY
David Rowan is a globally renowned speaker on how emerging technologies will impact business — and how leaders should prepare now.
He’s given more than 600 keynotes around the world, and has moderated events for the World Economic Forum, the biggest global companies, and governments. As founding Editor-in-Chief of WIRED magazine in the UK, David came to know the founders of WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Google, Didi, Spotify, Twitter and countless other ambitious startups from Tel Aviv to Shenzhen.
His best-selling book, “Non-Bullshit Innovation: 17 Proven Ways To Transform How You Work” (Penguin), is a 20-country quest to identify genuine innovation in the face of technology-led disruption. The book sets out 17 proven strategies for future-proofing a successful business — from “Turn products into services” to “Build an ecosystem”.
David spends his time at tech’s cutting edge: visiting university research labs and startup clusters to meet the people building the future. He’s invested in more than 150 early-stage tech companies, and runs venture funds that invest in health-tech and climate-tech. David has been a technology columnist for The Times, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller and The Sunday Times, and at WIRED he built a conference and a consulting business. And he is still searching for the future.
For more availability and booking information on David Rowan contact VBQ Speakers founding agent Leo von Bülow-Quirk on leo@vbqspeakers.com.
DAVID ROWAN: SPEAKER
David Rowan speaks about the most important issues facing the technology world, as well as discussing how these might impact a wide range of other industries. His talks centre on themes such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, Web3, the metaverse and crypto. More recently, he has spoken about the Covid-19 pandemic, and how technology can be used to help companies grow despite rapidly changing economic outlooks.
An expert in technology trends and innovation, David Rowan is a speaker who is passionate about the future of tech. His talks are jam-packed with intriguing stories, engaging video content and inspiring examples from across industries.
All of David’s talks are customised to suit the audience in question, ensuring the content is always engaging and relevant to all those in attendance. In the past, he has talked about issues affecting sectors like finance, fashion, utilities, television, insurance, shipping, travel, real estate and business software, amongst many others.
David Rowan has also spoken in depth about business models and how these can be changed to help companies make the most of innovative new opportunities.
David is open to any tech-related brief. Some recent talks by David Rowan have included:
- Why this is AI’s “Netscape moment” — and what that means for your business
- What exponential technologies mean for the next five years in retail/real estate/finance/media/healthcare, etc
- What a 20-country quest taught me about building an authentic culture of innovation
- What carbon accounting will mean for every business
- How to understand the impact of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools
- Where AI, data analytics and blockchain should fit into your strategy planning
- What talent wants in the new world of work
- Why purpose plus profit is the new business mantra
TESTIMONIALS
Below is a small selection of testimonials for David’s speaking.
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“The team was blown away” — Google
“Truly inspirational” — Warner Bros
“Awesome” — Salesforce
“Just perfect” — Temasek
“You were a star and a dream to work with and the perfect speaker for this event. We could not have asked for more.”— Audi, Ingolstadt
“Your presentation went down a storm (I knew it would) and I was able to refer back to it repeatedly over the two days as a stimulus to help drive the need for change.” — Unilever CMO
“Your contribution at the event was terrific. The content was highly relevant & extremely interesting. We also appreciated that you took on board the detail discussed on the briefing call ahead of the event. Your talk received the highest audience review on the feedback application. The level of your professionalism is unrivalled.” — Mercer, Hong Kong
“We received nothing less than fantastic feedback on your session and the insightful contribution you made to the panel.” — BrainScape, Dubai
“David was fantastic. The content was perfect. David stuck to the brief we gave him and had clearly prepared materials that were bespoke to Sky. The talk was fast paced, interesting, relevant and accessible. It set up the innovation session of our agenda really well and I was delighted with the result.” — Sky