Mark Stevenson is one of the world’s most respected thinkers on technology and societal trends – helping you see where the world is going – and how to adapt.  He is the author of the internationally best-selling An Optimist’s Tour of the Future which has been translated into 12 languages and was described by Wired as “a very coherent and entertaining journey through the world of future technology”.  His follow up book We Do Things Differently: travels on the cutting edge of change is out in September 2016.

Stevenson has also written for The Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Intelligent Life, The Irish Times, The Irish Independent, The Daily Telegraph, and The New Statesman. His key skill is the ability to take complex or abstract concepts and make them understandable by non-specialists without trivialising the subject matter.

His many advisory roles include Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Earth Challenge, Civilised Bank, Comic Relief, Atlas of the Future and The Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

As founder of the cultural change agency wdtd.co.uk, he spends much of his life working across the globe with organisations of every hue, helping them see their role in creating a better future, or to die gracefully if they need to.  The company’s clients are a diverse mix of government agencies, NGOs, corporates and arts organisations.

TED curator Chris Anderson remarks, “Stevenson wears no blindfold.  His tools are curiosity, open-mindedness, clarity and reason”.

Stevenson is also an occasional comedy writer. His work has been performed on Radio 4 and his play (co-written with Jack Milner) Octopus Soup will tour internationally in 2017.
Testimonials:

“Mark did a spellbinding job. It was a tremendous speech met with a standing ovation. It is not often that you can hear a pin drop in a room that size – but the audience was enthralled. Wonderful!” – US Space Foundation

“Mark is an entertaining and engaging speaker, and has a rare gift for making complex subjects clear and accessible without straying into glibness. We were impressed that several audience members commented that his talk spoke directly to their own desire to create change. Mark is practical yet has the capacity to inspire – you don’t get both very often.” – RSA

“Mark was an excellent, thought provoking and highly entertaining speaker, opening the annual international conference for our profession. He was just the right mix of informative, humorous, challenging and engaging. He was well prepared, rehearsed and professional. We had only positive feedback. Mark was also very giving of his time throughout the remainder of the conference. I can highly recommend him.” – James & Wells Intellectual Property