Home / Keynote Speakers

Keynote Speakers

Saj Nicole

SAJ-NICOLE JONI, PH.D., INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED BUSINESS STRATEGIST
Saj-nicole helps leaders to think about context, judgment, complexity, and future possibilities and is highly regarded in the business world as a trusted, unbiased 'third opinion'. She is the author of two books, The Third Opinion and The Right Fight (with co-author Damon Beyer). A frequent speaker with a regular column featured on Forbes.com, Saj-nicole has appeared on National Public Radio Marketplace, and in publications including The Harvard Business Review, Strategy and Business and FastCompany.
Stuart
 
 STUART CRABB, HEAD OF LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT, FACEBOOK
Stuart is responsible for leadership and manager development, acculturation of new employees and supporting the growth and development of high performance teams. Prior to joining Facebook, Stuart was a Senior Consultant at The Marcus Buckingham Company, supporting strengths-based consulting and coaching assignments. Stuart is also the former Head Talent Development at Yahoo!. Originally a lawyer by education, Stuart has spent 20 years in the Human Resources field with Yahoo!, Oracle, HP and Siemens. He has lived in Australia, Germany, Scotland and now the United States, although he is a native of the UK.
Marina
 
 MARINA GORBIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR THE FUTURE
A native of Odessa, Ukraine, Marina is particularly suited to see things from a global perspective. She has directed international programs and led international development projects for SRI (formerly Stanford Research Institute) in China, Japan, Vietnam, India, and Eastern Europe. Marina has also authored publications on international business and economics, with anemphasis on regional innovation and competitiveness. In addition to serving as IFTF's Executive Director, Marina led the Technology Horizons Program for several years, focusing on the innovation at the intersection of new technologies and social organization. The Institute for the Future is a non-profit research center specializing in long-term forecasting and quantitative futures research methods.
Nilofer

Spotlight

NILOFER MERCHANT, INNOVATION EXPERT AND AUTHOR 
Nilofer is the author of the critically acclaimed book, The New How: Creating Business Solutions Through Collaborative Strategy. She combines strategic models and market insight with behavioral dynamics to provide practical advice that works. Having worked with many major corporate brands such as Adobe, Apple, Nokia, and others, Nilofer has honed a framework for solving tough problems called MurderBoarding™. Nilofer is a Business Week columnist on the innovation mindset and a collaboration expert with Fast Company. In addition, she's been quoted, profiled or published in major business publications such as MIT's Sloan Review, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fortune and The Wall Street Journal.