BIOGRAPHY
Julia Hobsbawm, described as “our foremost futurist of the workplace” (Barbara Kellerman, Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University) is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, keynote speaker and consultant about the past, present and future of work.
Her landmark book, The Nowhere Office: Reinventing Work and the Workplace of the Future, in 2022 established her as an authority on work and workplace issues. Nicholas Bloom, William D.Eberle Professor of Economics, Stanford University says “Julia always seems to be three steps ahead in her thinking”.
Awarded an OBE ‘Honour’ for Services to Business by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2015, Julia was a founder of the US-led Workforce Institute, and launch Chair of the inaugural Demos Workshift Comission in the UK. She was the world’s first Honorary Visiting Professor in Networking and subsequently Honorary Visting Professor in Workplace Social Health at Bayes Business School, City University, and ran the groundbreaking networking company Editorial Intelligence before dedicating herself to writing and thought leadership.
Working Assumptions: What We Thought We Knew About Work Before Covid and Generative AI, is her latest book. Others include The Simplicity Principle which won two US awards in 2020; Fully Connected, which was shortlisted for the Management Book of the Year in the UK; and The See-Saw: 100 Ideas for Work-Life Balance. The Nowhere Office generated thousands of column inches, hundreds of interviews, and will be published in a worldwide Spanish language edition in November 2024.
Julia has a series of active and engaged subscribers, followers, readers and fans in the business community around the world, reaching approximately 50,000 across her social networks and mailing lists every month. She is the presenter of the popular podcast The Nowhere Office and regularly appears in the media, from columns for Bloomberg, to interviews across many major networks including the BBC, CNN, Forbes and Fortune.
For more information on Julia Hobsbawm’s speaking topics, availability and fees, contact VBQ Speakers founding agent Leo von Bülow-Quirk at leo@vbqspeakers.com.
JULIA HOBSBAWM: SPEAKER
The pandemic precipitated a wholesale re-think about the form and role of work in contemporary life.
Julia is one of the foremost analysts of contemporary work and connectivity, and how they affect our everyday lives. Her insights – generated from meticulous research and decades of acclaimed commentary – are critical for any organisation looking to boost productivity through their work culture.
Julia’s work addresses some of the key new stories which are affecting how we live and work, including:
- The threat to white collar workers due to generative AI
- Increasing culture wars in the workplace
- Flexible working law changes around the world
- The four-day week – whether it works and whether it will catch on
- Rapid changes to city centres as commuter patterns change
- Rising tensions between Gen Z and their elder managers
- America’s influence on the world of work, and whether it is waning
Julia Hobsbawm has extensive experience speaking for corporate events, international conferences and festivals. She is a regular speaker for Women Ahead/Moving Ahead, helping support leadership development in sport and business.
Julia Hobsbawm’s previous engagements include:
- CASE Europe Annual Conference
- The Drucker Forum (Vienna)
- Online Educa (Berlin)
- Accenture
- Barclays
- EY
- IKEA
- INFORMA
- Sony
- WPP
- Shell UK
TESTIMONIALS
“Julia was one of the most engaging and captivating speakers at Zoom’s first Work Transformation Summit, EMEA. With her extensive experience, she provided deep insight into how the way we work has transformed and shared compelling new ideas around the future of hybrid work with Senior-level/C-Suite executives in the enterprise space. The audience absolutely loved her session” — Nikhil Virmani,
Program Lead, Integrated Marketing, Zoom Platform, EMEA Zoom Video Communications
“Julia Hobsbawm is one of the most respected voices on the future of work.” — Bruce Daisley, bestselling author and podcaster, Eat, Sleep, Work Repeat and Fortitude