Biography

Chris Kutarna is a two-time Governor General’s Medallist from Canada, a Commonwealth Scholar and a Fellow of the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford.

In 2006 Kutarna moved to Beijing, started a business, sold it, then paid himself for five years to do a doctorate in politics at Oxford and to write Age of Discovery. Prior to that, he spent time with the Boston Consulting Group in New Zealand and Australia.

Kutarna’s open letters, posted weekly, are deemed required reading by some of the world’s smartest people and shape debate in media, boardrooms and classrooms around the world. In his best-selling debut book, Age of Discovery (with Ian Goldin), he drew upon Renaissance wisdom to predict both Brexit and Trump.

Kutarna demystifies the new Age of Discovery which is upon us. All the signs - social media, populism, globalisation, the rise of China, AI, genetic modification and more - herald its arrival. Kutarna tears up the outdated mental maps that have served us so poorly in recent years - maps that led us to think that Brexit was impossible, that Trump was unelectable and that globalisation was irreversible. He tears up the unconscious biases that obscure our understanding of present political, economic, technological and social trends.

Testimonials:

“At a recent event launching the International Business Festival, Chris gave a fascinating presentation on the ‘Future’. Such a broad concept would be difficult to explore over the course of several books, but Chris managed to do so in a matter of 15 minutes and in a way which was both enthralling and enlightening. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Chris as a speaker and look forward to welcoming him as one of the hosts of our Festival main stage this June.”
Chairman, The Riverside Group

“I attend and speak in a lot of conferences. I can say that yours was one of the most interesting and thought-provoking keynotes that I’ve seen recently. I personally have worked on the megatrends, and the way you presented takes people out of their comfort zone.”
Executive Board Member, EDP

“Chris was a huge hit. Our industry is very focused on the major trends you predicted and how we can better serve our customers. Thank you for your tremendous insights.”
President, Edison Electric Institute

“Chris was fantastic! We were really happy and his talk fit our conference theme perfectly.”
John West Seafood