David A. Smith
Chief Executive, Global Feature and Foresight
Profile
David challenges, informs and engages his clients and audiences on the key issues of the near future, in order to stimulate ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking to help organizations generate new visions, strategies, products and services.
A futurologist, and Chief Executive of Global Futures and Foresight (GFF) – a strategic futures research organization, David’s 35-year diverse IT, marketing and business career has made him recognizable as one of the world’s leading futurists and strategic thinkers. GFF prepares views of the future on many topics to help organizations be better prepared to face the future and reduce their risk of being blindsided by change.
Since founding GFF, David has worked with many of the world’s largest organizations, and government bodies as well as academic institutions and industry associations. His insights have led many organizations to embrace change and prepare innovative strategies to renew themselves and generate new growth.
David does this through using the research capabilities of the GFF, through his insightful and inspiring speeches and through chairing and moderating meetings and conferences.
In his career he has held technological and senior management positions in both large and small organizations. He has been involved in public sector, commercial and financial markets and has held technical, sales, marketing and general management positions in companies such as the UK based DRG group and The US Unisys corporation. Whilst at Unisys he held the position of Strategic Marketing Director for their $2bn global financial services business.
He has advised the UK and EU governments on strategic research investment decisions.
With a client base made up some of largest and most prestigious firms around the world, David is a regular international keynote speaker and writer and a passionate believer that we are not victims of what the future might hold if we prepare ourselves in advance.