Built for Turbulence

Raphael Gielgen has spent most of his professional life working on improving the office environment. Raphael is Trendscout Future of Work Life & Learn at the legendary design firm Vitra. His curiosity for architecture, technology, and social change in the context of working environments is his fuel — always connected to the question of how the global working world is changing and what impact it has on existing business models. In our conversation, we explore the future of work, the role of the office (and other spaces) in this future, and how leaders can best prepare themselves for the future — not just the future of our working world but all futures.

Barak is the founder of MarketCentrix, a consumer strategy consultancy for tech companies. Barak consults to start-ups, VCs, and large companies and serves as a board member or advisor to start-ups. Most recently, Barak was the Director of Operation and Strategy at the MIT Media Lab. Prior to the Media Lab, Barak was CEO of Evi, the virtual personal assistant acquired by Amazon, and is now the intelligence in Amazon Alexa. Over his 30 years + in consumer technology, Barak established a broad range of businesses. He was the founder or senior executive in many start-ups, including Wolfram Alpha, Six Apart, OmniSky, The Go Network, and Logitech. Before Logitech, Barak spent over nine years at Apple USA and Apple Japan in several roles leading consumer marketing, and he was the founding manager of Macy’s Computer Stores. In our conversation, Barak explores the leadership traits of successful disruptors, how organizations look like supporting those leaders, and the common pitfalls firms encounter along the way. We end our inspiring discussion with an outlook on the possible impact of (technological) change on humanity.

Natasha is the Chief Operating Officer of Signol. Natasha has a Masters of Sience in Global Crime, Justice, and Security from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to Signol, Natasha spent nine years working within the UK Ministry of Defence, specializing in intelligence. Her final role in Defence was as Chief Operating Officer of the MOD’s most successful innovation team, responsible for delivering novel technology in machine learning, data science, special operations, and sustainability to Defence through user-centered design and non-traditional suppliers. In our conversation, Natasha and I explore her approach to innovation in a highly complex and interdependent environment, why and how organizations fail and what to do about it.

Marques is a cyborg anthropologist, innovator, and world builder. Seeking to be globally impactful, he created the World Education Foundation in 2009 while writing his Master’s thesis for the Adult Learning and Global Change program at Linkoøping University in Sweden. The WE Foundation’s mission and aim focuses on bridging the gap between academia, technology, and implementation in local communities around the world. In our conversation, we explore the fascinating work of a cyborg anthropologist, ancestral wisdom, and how to integrate this into one’s work.

Hemali is an industry-agnostic Multipotentialite with 30+ years of experience with in-depth technical and business acumen across different organizations. She is known for her thought leadership in Strategic Execution which includes strategic assessment, planning, governance, and implementation of complex systems with robust technical competencies. Hemali currently works at NASA / JPL – Caltech in Project Development Leadership for NASA’s flight projects and mission success and is Chair of the AIAA Space Economy Committee working to bring industry, academia, and innovators together. Hemali has co-founded and been an advisor for various technology startups and owned/operated a business in hospitality. In our conversation we explore (no pun!) the future of space exploration, and what companies and leaders can learn from NASA.

Grant is the founder of Knotion Labs where he works with leaders to invent breakthough products and get them into the hands of customers. In our conversation we talk a about innovation best practices, the common pitfalls, and Grant’s anti-patterns of innovation and disruptive.

David is the founder of Idea Farm Ventures where he invests into and helps build mission-driven companies for the modern consumer. He started and designed the Wharton School of Business’s first course on Digital Marketing and E-Commerce and the author of the book “Location Is (Still) Everything”. In our conversation we dig into the wonderous world of direct-to-consumer businesses, what’s next for B2C companies, and the inner workings of disruptive innovation in the space.

David Siegel is the CEO of Meetup, the largest platform for finding and building local community. He has over 20 years of experience as a technology and digital media executive leading organizations through innovative product development, rapid revenue growth, and digital traffic acceleration. Prior to joining Meetup, David was CEO of Investopedia and before that, President of Seeking Alpha. David’s book, Decide and Conquer: 44 Decisions that will Make or Break All Leaders lays out the framework for decision-making that leaders can use to ensure organizational and personal success. In our conversation we talk about David’s approach to failing, learning, and the art of the pivot, how to stand the inevitable tensions with doing things on the edge, and how to create a winning culture.

Bruce Smith is the founder and CEO of hydrow, the fitness company which created the leading connected rowing machine. A former Head of the Charles winner, Bruce coached the US Lightweight Eight to a Bronze medal at the 2015 World Rowing Championships. In our conversation we explore the many disruptions and state changes happening in the fitness industry at large, how community becomes the cornerstone of personal transformation, the approach the hydrow team took to creating their revolutionary product in a category which hasn’t seen much change over the last couple of decades, and how this all translates into the world of business and leadership.

Riaz Shah is EY's Global Learning Leader and a long-term partner in the firm. Throughout his career he has had senior leadership and client roles at EY and Capgemini, in Assurance, Advisory, Operations and Global Talent. In our conversation we dig deep into the future of learning and work, how to prepare yourself and your team for the future and which skills are most needed today and tomorrow. It is a fascinating, deep dive into the ways one of the largest consulting firms in the world prepares itself and its workforce for the future — and what you can learn from it.