Larry Downes

New York Times Best-Selling Author Technology, Strategy and the Law

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Larry Downes's Biography

Larry Downes is an expert on developing business strategies in an age of constant technological and legal disruption.Downes is author of the New York Times and Business Week business blockbuster, "Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance" (Harvard Business School Press), which has sold over 200,000 copies and was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the five most important books ever published on business and technology. His new book, now a best-seller, is "Big Bang Disruption: Strategy in an Age of Devastating Innovation" (Portfolio). Co-authored with Paul Nunes, "Big Bang Disruption" challenges the conventional wisdom of business strategy and disruptive innovation, arguing that exponential improvements in core technologies have created a new kind of disruptor enters the market better, cheaper, and more innovative than existing products. He writes regularly for The Harvard Business Review, Forbes, The Washington Post, and CNET, covering the intersection of technology, politics and business. He has written for a variety of other publications, including The New York Times, USA Today, Inc., The Economist, Wired, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Recode, The Hill, Congressional Quarterly, Slate, The European Business Review, The Boao Review, and The San Francisco Chronicle. Downes has held faculty appointments at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and the University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, where he was Associate Dean of the School of Information. From 2006-2010, he was a nonresident Fellow at the Stanford Law School Center for Internet & Society. He currently serves as Project Director at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy.

SPEAKING VIDEOS
PHOTOS
BOOKS

Big bang disruption: Larry Downes at TEDxBayArea

PIVOT TO THE FUTURE

Unleashing the Killer App

SPEAKER TOPICS

Disruptive Innovation Speakers

Cyber Security Speakers

Virtual Keynotes

Fintech Speakers

Conference Speakers

Business Speakers

Health Speakers

Technology Speakers

Larry Downes Keynote Topics

The Impact Of Disruptive Innovation On Business Strategy

In this keynote, our speaker Larry Downes explores how disruptive innovation reshapes competitive landscapes. He explains why traditional strategic models no longer work and how businesses must adapt to survive.

Audiences gain practical tools for rethinking strategy and positioning themselves for success in a world of rapid technological change.

Regulating Technology

In this talk, Larry Downes examines the complex relationship between regulation and technological progress. He highlights how laws often lag behind innovation, creating both risks and opportunities.

Our speaker equips leaders with insights on navigating regulatory challenges while continuing to innovate responsibly.

Big Bang Disruption

In this session, Larry Downes brings to life the ideas from his bestselling book Big Bang Disruption. He explains how new entrants can now enter markets better, cheaper, and faster than incumbents—and scale with unprecedented speed.

Audiences leave with strategies to anticipate devastating innovation and harness disruption as a competitive advantage.

Consumer Privacy

In this keynote, Larry Downes explores the growing importance of consumer privacy in the digital age. He explains how shifting attitudes, new regulations, and emerging technologies are reshaping customer trust.

Our speaker offers practical advice for building business models that protect privacy while enabling innovation and growth.

Emerging Technologies: AI, 5G, The Internet Of Things, 3D Printing, Virtual Reality, Big Data, Cybersecurity, Robotics

In this talk, Larry Downes provides a sweeping overview of today’s most transformative technologies. He explains how each is disrupting industries and what leaders need to understand to prepare for their impact.

Audiences gain a roadmap for leveraging these technologies to unlock new opportunities and mitigate risks.

Specific Industries Focus: Fintech (Financial Services), Communications, Media, Manufacturing, Energy, Insurance, Technology, Consumer Products, Professional Services, Health Care

In this session, Larry Downes tailors his disruptive innovation framework to specific industries. He shows how emerging technologies are reshaping sectors from finance and energy to healthcare and media.

Our speaker provides customised insights that help industry leaders anticipate challenges and seize opportunities unique to their fields.

Larry Downes's Biography

Larry Downes is an expert on developing business strategies in an age of constant technological and legal disruption.
Downes is author of the New York Times and Business Week business blockbuster, "Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance" (Harvard Business School Press), which has sold over 200,000 copies and was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the five most important books ever published on business and technology.

His new book, now a best-seller, is "Big Bang Disruption: Strategy in an Age of Devastating Innovation" (Portfolio). Co-authored with Paul Nunes, "Big Bang Disruption" challenges the conventional wisdom of business strategy and disruptive innovation, arguing that exponential improvements in core technologies have created a new kind of disruptor enters the market better, cheaper, and more innovative than existing products.

He writes regularly for The Harvard Business Review, Forbes, The Washington Post, and CNET, covering the intersection of technology, politics and business.

He has written for a variety of other publications, including The New York Times, USA Today, Inc., The Economist, Wired, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Recode, The Hill, Congressional Quarterly, Slate, The European Business Review, The Boao Review, and The San Francisco Chronicle.

Downes has held faculty appointments at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and the University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, where he was Associate Dean of the School of Information. From 2006-2010, he was a nonresident Fellow at the Stanford Law School Center for Internet & Society.

He currently serves as Project Director at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy.