Richard Watson is a writer, speaker and consultant who advises organisations on the future, focusing particularly on scenario planning and the impact of trends on long-term strategy.

He publishes the online magazine What’s Next and is the author of bestselling books Future Files (sixteen worldwide editions) and Future Minds, and writes for a number of leading business publications worldwide. His latest book, Future Minds looks at how the digital age is changing our minds, why this matters and what we can do about it. Richard has worked on scenario planning, horizon scanning and innovation projects with, amongst others, IBM, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Westfield, P&G, News Ltd, Nestlé, The Department of Education (UK and Australia) and Samsung.

Specific areas of expertise include newspapers, retail banking and food. His talks cover emerging trends, strategic foresight or scenario planning and he is an engaging and provocative futurist speaker.