David Smith is Chief Executive and Futurist at Global Futures and Foresight, a futures research firm, based in London, which he has led for the past 13 years. He has over 35 years of marketing, leadership, and strategy experience, in global IT and IT services firms and was responsible for the strategy of a $2bn global financial services business.
He is a regular speaker at Business Schools, associations, and industry events worldwide, addressing over 40 conferences a year. He publishes a number of forward-looking reports each year and this year published “The Intelligent Era” highlighting the impact of a range of increasingly powerful technologies, including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and immersive technologies and considers how we might respond.
He has helped many of the world’s largest organisations understand how the future will likely impact them and how to be better prepared to renew, thrive, and continue to examine it for themselves. For three years to 2023 GFF has been selected by the UK Government to deliver foresight services across all departments.
He is a member of the IT Lab of the US Professional Insurance Agents association, futures director at IORMA, the consumer organisation and member of the National Club.
We are leaving the Digital era and entering a new animated, intelligent, predictive, personalised and information rich era where everything that can be automated will be including work, buying, leisure, health, travel and learning. An era when virtualisation enables the metaVerse and breaks our relationship with location. An era of hybrid everything where we value engagement in person and apart in separate ways. It’s a time for those who have taken strides in engaging with the digital world to better understand what happens next, to extract value to ride the exponential growth the intelligent era brings.
New and emerging technology will make the current internet and our existing operations and data look miniscule. The scope, speed, volume, intelligence and impact of technology will redefine everything from health, work, leisure, entertainment, travel etc. as engagement become increasingly quantified, automated and predicted. Internet of Everything, Quantum computing, Artificial Intelligence, prescriptive analytics, satellites, Extended Reality, 3D and 4D fabrication, 5G and 6G, platforms and ecosystems are just some of the drivers that will reshape not just how you engage with your customers and markets but change the very essence of what you offer. Understanding this better gives you a head-start against others.
Being on top of the latest trends in meeting customer expectations has always been vital. But now we can see a seismic shift in what customers will want and how they will want to engage with us. In the past we have had time to adapt to new ways, using new technology through new processes, yet it’s always seemed frantic. Now, particularly through new technologies we are seeing rising demand for whole new, virtualised, hyper personalised offers. If you’re not on top of this others are and your customers will see this.
We’ve been forecasting the impact of new and emerging technologies on work and working for decades. But now we have arrived when existential change is being brough to sectors, roles, skills and careers. It’s a time of ultra-dynamic change and an exciting time to adapt to whole new methods and means of achieving outstanding productivity and goals. The future belongs to those who can blend new technology with human skills and add new and valuable growth to their organisations.
Show More
Contact us to get David A. Smith's fees and availability for your next event
One of our consultants will get back to you soon