The Actionable Futurist Podcast

On this episode of the podcast, we spoke with Mark Schaefer, someone I’ve known for nearly a decade. We first met in 2012 after he published the best selling book “Return on Influence” while I was the CEO of influencer platform Kred. He’s also the author of the world's best-selling book on Twitter, The Tao of Twitter, as well as a raft of other books such as The Content Code about content marketing and “KNOWN” a book on personal branding. I was also fortunate to be featured in his “book...

In this episode, we spoke to Bret Greenstein who is Global Head of AI & Analytics for leading consulting firm Cognizant. Brett leads Cognizant’s Global Data Practice, focused on helping Chief Data Officers transform their businesses through Data Modernization. Prior to this, Bret lead IBM Watson’s Internet of Things Offerings, establishing new IoT products and services. He holds patents in the areas of collaboration systems, a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a master’s...

In this episode, we spoke to Sue Walter who is the CEO of Maggie and Rose, London's first and best-loved family members club. Sue is no stranger to Member’s clubs, having been the CEO of the Hospital Club where we met back in 2011. The Hospital Club was a club for creatives and was founded by Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen and Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics. It opened in 2004 and sadly closed in 2020. Sue has had a diverse and interesting career having started in HR with the...

Braintrust is the new model for how work gets done, says founder and Chief Revenue Officer Gabriel Luna-Ostaseki on this episode of the podcast. Braintrust is the first user-controlled talent network that connects organisations with highly skilled tech talent. In this fascinating discussion, we covered topics such as: Gabriel argues that the move to distributed work has been going on for 10 years but it just got accelerated by a decade in the last few months. One of the most interesting...

Today's guest is the founding member and drummer from 1980s pop sensation Scritti Politti - Tom Morley. We had a fascinating discussion about how Tom moved from being a bonafide rockstar to become a "Rockstar Activator", motivating audiences and driving teamwork at events around the world through the use of music, instruments and a healthy dose of fun. Tom's journey to corporate speaker is a great story in itself and helps set the scene for the 43-minute episode. For the last 20 years,...

Today's guest is Jeremy Thompson, who is Executive Vice President of Huawei UK, and oversees the development of Huawei's UK businesses. Jeremy joined Huawei UK in 2012 as deputy managing director with specific responsibility for carrier strategy, business change, and key customers. Prior to Huawei, Jeremy worked for 20 years in senior management roles, including product leadership and telecoms joint venture development for BT group in the UK and other parts of Europe, including Spain and the...

We spoke with James Cridland, Editor of leading podcast news site Podnews. Podcasting is on the rise, with 96,500 new podcasts in May 2020 alone. On this episode we discussed a number of topics related to podcasting, including: Quick fire round Three things to take advantage of podcasting More information on James can be found at jamescridland.net The podcasts and products mentioned on the podcast are listed below Podcast Festival - podcastfestival.events The Bugle Podcast Freenoter...

In this special edition of the Practical Futurist Podcast, we spoke with Dan Ziv, CEO of Touchnote, a digital company that is providing a creative way for personal communication which I think we’d all agree is needed even more during this very challenging 2020. Dan runs a small company of 50 people, and we looked at how his company runs remotely, how he runs a company remotely and how his staff have responded to the challenges presented by the lockdown. We also covered a range of topics...

In this time of extreme uncertainty, what can we do to to thrive and overcome an unprecedented time in our personal and business life? Dr Lynn Gribble based her PhD on the psychological underpinnings of the effects of retrenchment - that is thriving in uncertainty. We asked her back onto the show to look at some practical tips we can use during this uncertain time. Lynn last appeared on Season 1, Episode 8 of the show to look at the future of people management. On this special episode of...

So networking is all about going to events, collecting cards and connecting on LinkedIn right? Think again! Any Lopata provides some incredible advice about how to move beyond simple "networking" and develop strong professional relationships. On this episode you will learn: Professional Relationship WheelFind out more about Andy here Website: lopata.co.uk LinkedIn: Networking Strategy Twitter: @AndyLopata Your Host: ActionableFuturist Keynote Speaker Andrew Grill For more on Andrew -...

We've all heard about 5G or fifth generation mobile technologies but what is it all about and what does the future hold for 5G? To help answer this question, Practical Futurist Andrew Grill spoke to Paul Scanlan who is the CTO of Huawei's Carrier Business Group. In this episode, Paul discussed the 5 reasons to trust 5G. 1. No harmful electromagnetic fields 2. 5G is more secure than 4G 3. 5G will spur economic growth 4. 5G will produce less carbon than 4G 5. 5G increases trust in...

The Internet of Things or IoT is probably the most-hyped technology behind blockchain - but what does it really mean and what are the uses of the technology. Practical Futurist Andrew Grill spoke with the CEO and co-founder of Microshare, Ron Rock - one of the pioneers of IoT. In this wide-ranging chat we looked at what IoT is, why it has been misunderstood and how is can be best used in a corporate environment. If you've ever wondered what IoT is then this is the podcast for you. We...

With Podcasting now becoming mainstream, what is the future of this medium? To answer this question I spoke with one of the original B2B podcasters, Minter Dial who has produced a weekly show since 2010 with over 350 episodes to date. I first met Minter in 2012 and have been a guest on his show twice before. Minter first appeared on Series 1, episode 2 of the podcast to speak about Ethics and AI, so we were delighted to have him back as a veteran Podcaster to provide some excellent...

To kick off a new year and a new series of the Pragmatic Futurist Podcast, we spoke about a topic the World Economic Forum has identified as one of the top global threats - cyber attacks, This episode features Nick Coleman who is IBM’s Global Head of Cyber Security Risk where he specialises in evaluating risks from cyber adversaries, digital transformation and regulation. Before joining IBM he served as The UK Government’s National Reviewer of Security, and authored “The Coleman Report” for...

Do you think disruptively? In this episode we spoke with self-described "Rough Diamond", Nicole Yershon about what it means to think like a disruptor and how disruption can be turned into an advantage. Nicole is not new to disruption. When Nicole joined Ogilvy in 2000 she was given the simple brief of “bringing the agency into the 21st century”. She achieved this by building relationships with third party suppliers and embracing new technologies that saw Ogilvy digitise some 10,000 tapes...

Cryptocurrency and especially bitcoin has been one of the most over-hyped technologies this decade. To better understand the opportunity for cryptocurrencies and blockchain, I spoke with Jeremy Epstein, CEO of Never Stop Marketing, who has 20 years of international marketing experience. Most recently, Jeremy was VP, Marketing at Sprinklr which grew from a $20 million valuation and 30 people to $1.8 billion valuation and 1400 people in 4 years. Today, Jeremy is a highly sought-after...

Great content that cuts through the noise is key in a disrupted B2B world. In this episode of the podcast, I spoke with Eric Fulwiler who recently joined 11:FS - a financial services transformation company as CMO, overseeing their media and marketing teams across the group. He spent the last 10 years in digital advertising agencies, most recently as UK Managing Director for US-based VaynerMedia - a creative, media, and production agency. Before agency life, and as a side hustle along the...

With the rise and rise of online shopping can the high street survive? To answer this question and others on the future of retail I asked Julian Fisher, CEO of Retail platform Jisp for his expert views. Julian has enjoyed a varied background in technology, payments and new media, and in 1994 he launched the UK’s first internet exhibition. Since then his work has remained inexorably linked to the internet and improving sales, payment and issues with compliance together with information...

In episode 11 we speak with Dr Elaine Kasket who tells stories about the impact of the digital age on how we live and how we die, and helps others write and speak powerfully about what matters to them. She is the author of a fascinating book on the subject “All the Ghosts in the Machine” which I had the pleasure of reading ahead of our recording. In this podcast you will also learn · The ethics and privacy of family letters · The laws of data ownership · The deceased's right to...

In Episode 10 we speak with Lauren Walker, who at the time of recording was the Chief Operating & Data Officer in EMEA for leading agency Dentsu Aegis. She is now Managing Director at Accenture Interactive. Lauren joined Dentsu in 2017 from IBM and lead a team of more than 600 people across operations, market research, social science, digital and data science, and engineering. In May 2021 she moved to be Managing Director at Accenture Interactive. Prior to these roles, she spent a decade...