"#1 Ranked Futurist in the World." - Forbes
"The World's Leading Transformation Architect" - Harvard Business Review
Jonathan Brill is a world-renowned expert on strategic foresight and technology innovation, and a Futurist in Residence at Amazon. Determined to help audiences create, manage, and turn radical change into an advantage, he has become the proud author of the best-selling book ‘Rogue Waves’, and has also gained the opportunity to work with some of the most successful companies throughout the industry, including HP, CCD Innovation, and Frost & Sullivan. Now working as the Executive Chairman and Head of Strategic Innovation & Decision Science at the Center for Radical Change, and an Adjunct Faculty at Singularity University, Jonathan has become a leading authority in his field over recent years. When looking to hire a passionate futurism speaker to attend your next event, look no further than Jonathan today.
After graduating from Pratt Institute with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design, Jonathan began his professional career by becoming a Design Manager at Machines for Selling. Spending over eight years at the company, he developed his knowledge and industry experience before becoming an Executive Creative Director at Implied Science. A born leader, he spent many years of his career leading teams during complex projects before being selected to become the Chief Executive Officer and Partner for CCD Innovation. Admired throughout the corporate industry for his driven mindset and remarkable success, Jonathan became the proud Co-Founder of the Special Projects Agency in 2013 and has continued to take the industry by storm ever since.
In 2017, Jonathan secured the profound role of Global Futurist and Research Director at HP. During his time fulfilling this role, he led HP pioneers through new growth opportunities and functional strategies, whilst also gaining the opportunity to deliver keynote speeches at conferences for Singularity, TED Women, Harvard, and MIT. Passionate to share his specialist knowledge and experience with audiences globally, Jonathan has continued to focus his career on public speaking, whilst also working as a Board Director and Fellow for Frost & Sullivan, and the Head of Strategic Innovation and Decision Science at the Center for Radical Change. Alongside this, he also works as a Futurist in Residence at Territory Studio, Adjunct Faculty at Singularity University and Head of Invention at Deepinvent. An inspiration to audiences of all ages and backgrounds, Jonathon has become a must-see speaker over recent years.
A leading authority in his field, Jonathan Brill is now highly sought-after to attend speaking engagements internationally, and Champions Speakers is honoured to be an official speaker agent for Jonathan Brill. Alongside his remarkable corporate career, he has also become a respected author, most recently in 2025, publishing "AI and the Octopus Organization: Building the Superintelligent Firm". Having become the No.2 selling economics book in China, it has been described as ‘an actionable framework for driving change instead of being blindsided by it’ since its release. Jonathan has also recently published a white paper with Amazon Web Services, titled The AI-First Enterprise. Treasured for his vast industry knowledge, Jonathan is admired for regularly contributing to HBR, TED, Forbes, The Economist Global Business Report, Bloomberg, and many more industry-leading publications. If you are keen to educate audiences on the future of work at your upcoming events, do not hesitate to hire Jonathan today.
In October 2023, we sat down virtually with Jonathan Brill and discussed how you can introduce AI into the workplace. Watch our Exclusive Interview with Jonathan Brill.
Books
Rogue Waves: Future-Proof Your Business to Survive and Profit from Radical Change
AI & the Octopus Organization: Building the Superintelligent Firm
Jonathan Brill's official speaking topics are listed below:
AI & the Octopus Organization™ - The Gap Between Firms That Adopt AI Holistically & Those That Dabble at the Edges Will Be the Gap Between Survival & Extinction:
The age of AI is upon us. How can your business use it to grow?
Over the next five years, the gap between companies that integrate AI and those that merely experiment with it will spell the difference between survival and extinction. The companies that are willing to embrace change, fundamentally shift mindsets, and adapt at lightning speed will dominate.
In a world of constant change, resilience is no longer enough. Organisations must evolve beyond endurance to agility—developing the capacity to sense market changes early, respond intelligently to customer needs, and adapt faster than competitors. Agility is not about moving faster; it’s about thinking faster—through decentralised intelligence, AI-augmented decisions, and empowered teams at every level.
This means rethinking the traditional hierarchical model and imagining an organisation structured like an octopus. While it has a central brain for strategy and oversight, each arm has its own mini-brain—autonomous, responsive, and deeply aware of its market surroundings. A neural ring coordinates these nodes in real time, allowing the institution to make rapid, informed decisions across its entire system—often faster than the central brain could alone.
This isn't theory. Brill has studied organisations already moving in this direction, guided dozens of transformations, and drawn on over a million workforce surveys. What he found is clear: success comes not from simply automating tasks, but from reimagining how organisations function at every level.
By the end of this transformative keynote, you’ll know exactly how to:
- Understand how to redesign your organisation around adaptability, not control.
- Learn how to use AI to create autonomous SuperTeams that push creative boundaries and make better, faster decisions.
- Cultivate the vision, values, and goals your org & team needs to leverage AI effectively.
Strategic Luck - The Science of Thriving in Uncertainty:
Luck isn’t chance. It’s a science-based skill that you can enhance today.
Most people think luck is a coincidence, a twist of fate, or a gift that some are simply born with. Most people are wrong.
Instead, luck is a science-based skill that your audience can get dramatically better at in less than an hour.
As an international best-selling author, scholar on decision-making, and principal investigator of the largest study on luck, Jonathan Brill persuasively argues that luck isn’t an option; it’s perhaps the most impactful factor of success. It’s strategic in your business and in your life.
Merging an impactful blend of heartfelt personal experiences and hard data, this keynote experience takes audiences on a journey through the four science-based methods that transform uncertainty into opportunity in nearly everything you do. By the end of your time together, Jonathan Brill will show you how to find rainbows, dodge riptides, survive meteors, and make gold, one lucky move at a time.
Luck isn’t chance. It’s a choice.
- You and your team will be given an eye-opening look into:
- The reality of what luck is and how to create it for yourself.
- Why luck is a must for organisations looking to survive disruptions.
- Science-backed strategies for creating lucky opportunities, even out of thin air.
Win the Next Five Years - Spot, Lead, Win:
The future might be crazy, but your business doesn’t have to be.
Jonathan Brill helps you spot the societal, geopolitical, economic, and technological trends colliding and impacting your business. He will show you how to lead through the chaos and take action today to win the next five years.
Right now, geopolitics, economics, and AI are all colliding with social change to create chaos, and the reality is, by the time something makes news, it’s history. But this isn’t a threat—it’s an opportunity. This is your moment to spot, to lead, and to win your five-year future.
Why five? One year is too short. Ten is science fiction. We can act on the five-year future. It’s close enough to know a lot about AI, society, geopolitics and economics, yet it’s far enough to be able to pivot and reinvent.
It’s fine to plan just for this year, or year three—but when you get there, it sure helps to have prepared. The decisions you make now will determine how well you can adapt to the changes AI will bring in the next five years.
We can already spot the outlines of tomorrow in what’s happening today. Jonathan Brill will show you why your future is changing, what you can do about it, and the small actions you can take today to win the next five years.
By the end of this transformative keynote, you’ll know exactly:
- Why your future is changing: How AI, economics, social and geopolitical trends drive the next five years.
- What you can do about it: The science-based frameworks that will create the best outcomes for your business, your family and your life.
- How to start: The small actions you can take today, this year and in the next three to win the next five years.
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
"#1 Ranked Futurist in the World." - Forbes
"Jonathan spreads practical wonder." - Niki, Global Ambassador, TEDx
"Our executives walked away changed." - Anne, Head of Learning, JP Morgan Chase & Co
"The World’s Foremost Transformation Architect" - Harvard Business Review
"Our executives walked away changed.” - Anne, Head of Learning and Development, J.P. Morgan
"Jonathan Brill is your secret weapon" - Dorie Clark, Bestselling Author
"An actionable framework for driving change instead of being blindsided by it." - Adam Grant, #1 NYT Bestselling Author
“His rigorous, unifying message drives results.” - Doug, Head of Innovation, Amazon
- 2025 - Co-Author of "AI & The Octopus Organization: Building the Superintelligent Firm"
- 2022 - Executive Chairman, Head of Strategic Innovation & Decision Science at the Center for Radical Change
- 2021 - Published ‘Rogue Waves: Future-Proof Your Business to Survive and Profit from Radical Change’
- 2020 - Futurist In Residence at Territory Studio
- 2019 - Adjunct Faculty Member at Singularity University
- 2017 - Global Futurist & Research Director of TechVision & Megatrends at HP
- 2016 - Board Advisor & Fellow at Frost & Sullivan
- 2016 - Chief Executive Officer of CCD Innovation
- 2013 - Co-Founder of the Special Projects Agency
- 2013 - Creative Director of Frog Design
- 2010 - Executive Creative Director of Implied Sciences
- 2001 - Design Manager of Machines for Selling at IBM
How to hire Jonathan Brill
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Jonathan Brill for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
