Mark Stevenson

'Reluctant Futurist’ Mark Stevenson is a strategic advisor to governments, NGOs and corporates, helping them face the grand systems challenges of our time and understand their (changed) role in meeting them, or dying gracefully if they need to.

Request price and availability Request price and availability

Top rated!

6 Client reviews

Non-binding request for Mark Stevenson

Call us

+1 347 223 5128 +44 20 3744 5675

“Mark spoke compellingly about future trends in energy and healthcare to a group of our clients, all senior London based asset managers. The audience of portfolio managers have access to the widest possible range of research providers, within and beyond the investment banking industry, yet the feedback on Mark’s talk made it clear that he had achieved real intellectual engagement. Mark’s speaking event for Daiwa was a resounding success.”

Meurig Williams

Managing Director, Head of Equity, Europe & the Middle East Daiwa Capital Markets Europe Ltd

Read all reviews

Why you should book Mark Stevenson for your next event

Though branded a ‘futurist’ by others Mark is more, as one client puts it, ‘Chief Annoying Question Asker’. He helps organisations change the way they feel, think, invest and operate in order to answer the intertwined questions the future is asking us - on climate change, inequality, the retreat of democracy and the failures of the markets to price risk properly (to name just four).

Read the full profile

Non-binding request for Mark Stevenson

Keynotes

Keynote by Mark Stevenson: The Future and what to do about it

Take a whistle stop tour of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of the next 20 years and why ‘business as usual’ is a recipe for disaster. Covid is really just the beginning of a ‘Long Emergency’ stretching over the next 30 years that will spell the death knell for organisations unable to get on with the business of playing their part in answering the grand questions the future is asking us. How is the landscape of society going to change in terms of technology, energy, governance, health and commerce? What questions should smart organisations be asking themselves? We’re in for a rocky ride, but future-literate organisations have a shot at greatness. Available as either a keynote or masterclass.

Request a quote

Keynote by Mark Stevenson: The 8 principles of successful optimists

Having spent 10 years working with and writing about some of the most innovative and extraordinary people and organisations in the world, Mark has distilled this learning down to his ‘eight principles for successful optimists’ that can be used at a personal, team and organisational level. What’s more, they can be implemented immediately with profound effects. Available as either a keynote or masterclass.

Request a quote

Keynote by Mark Stevenson: How to get people to change

How do you talk truth to power and get away with it? What does it take for change to go beyond good intentions and turn into action? How do you take people out of their comfort zones and have them thank you for it? The answers are unexpected, but surprisingly uncomplicated. Drawing on his experience advising organisations as diverse as Medecines Sans Frontiers and Virgin, Mark will take you through the theory and practice of moving the immovable, to make a different future. Available as either a keynote or masterclass.

Request a quote

Keynote by Mark Stevenson: Innovation in an age of chaos

How can an organisation maintain any kind of innovative edge when chaos abounds? Our increasingly VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world may seem almost impossible to navigate, and yet some organisations and individuals do, remaining relevant even as their competitors flail in the madness. While writing his last bestseller, We Do Things Differently, Mark spent four years in the company of some of the world’s most innovative people and organisations and he’ll distil what he learnt about the principles, techniques and skills they use to stay ahead - and how you can too. Available as either a keynote or masterclass.

Request a quote

Customer Reviews

Meurig Williams Managing Director, Head of Equity, Europe & the Middle East Daiwa Capital Markets Europe Ltd

“Mark Stevenson’s talk was eye opening, thought provoking and fascinating. It achieved our aim which is to enable our group to walk away as thought leaders; to make them more interesting people and to give them new and fresh perspectives on how much faster they may need to operate to stay alive. Despite his talk taking us on a walk through the wild side of what may happen in areas such as nanotechnology, he grounded the event by reminding us that our personal values are ultimately what will shape the future and we should evaluate and stick to those with vigour. We were impressed and there isn’t, in my view, a speaker in the futurology world that matches his content and extensive knowledge.”

Karen Jones Editor in Chief, Citywealth

“I invited Mark to give the closing keynote at the end of the international Club B conference for family offices held in Budapest. We always like to have something special for the final talk and we certainly got it. In fact, we invited him back to fill the final slot at the Club F philanthropy event later that year in Madrid, where he delivered an entirely different and equally compelling and inspiring presentation. I have no hesitation in recommending him for his thoughtful content and professional, but highly entertaining delivery.”

Peter Fletcher Managing Director, Parly Company SA, organiser of Club B and Club F conferences

“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!”

Elliot Pullman CEO, US Space Foundation

“Mark is a rare breed, able to combine scientific knowledge and insight with an engaging and informal style that captivates audiences of all generations. Mark is at ease with his topic providing an inspirational combination of knowledge and enthusiasm. Mark truly helped us to ‘wow’ the audience at our Meet the Future event, providing an insightful keynote that really set the tone for the day.”

Maria Schuett Marketing Manager, Central Hall Westminster

“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.”

Gaia Marcus Connected Communities, RSA

Mark Stevenson

Mark Stevenson - Global trends and innovation expert

He is Futurist Without Borders for Medicines Sans Frontiers (UK), Global Ambassador for Client Earth and a strategic advisor on peace, security and climate change to the UK Ministry of Defence.

Hiss two bestselling books, An Optimist’s Tour of the Future and the award - winning We Do Things Differently map out some existing and proven solutions to our current dilemmas.

TED curator, Chris Anderson remarks, “Stevenson wears no blindfold. His tools are curiosity, open-mindedness, clarity and reason.”He also enjoys a successful side career as a comedy writer and songwriter, which he regards as essential for maintaining key skills needed in his strategy work. “The brain does the PR for what the heart has already decided, if you can’t speak to the heart any systems change is dead in the water.” His hit podcast with comedian Jon Richardson and fellow systems change advocate Ed Gillespie is available on all major platforms.