Roger Spitz

Consistently Ranked Among the World’s Top Futurists(Global Gurus) and a Global Top Voice in Management Leadership (Thinkers360). Founder of Disruptive Futures Institute (San Francisco), recognized for Top 10 Education and 50 Global Innovation (Thinkers360). Author of Five Bestselling Books, including Multi-Award-WinningDisrupt With Impact (Winner: CIBA Harvey Chute, Foreword Indies, Readers’ Favorite) Global #1 Amazon Bestseller:Disrupt With Impact topped 6 Categories including AI across the USA, UK, Brazil, India, France, and Germany. Hailed on CNNas the “leading futurist on disruption,” appointed to the World Economic Forum’s AI Global Alliance, and delivered 500+ keynotes to the world’s most prestigious companies across 40+ countries. Roger Spitz is a top-ranked futurist and global authority on strategic foresight, artificial intelligence, and systemic disruption. As President of Techistential and Chair of the Disruptive Futures Institute in San Francisco, he advises CEOs, institutional investors, and government leaders on anticipating and navigating disruption. Roger is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Foresight Network and a Global Top Voice in Management Leadership (Thinkers360). His foresight is grounded in a career at the sharpest edge of finance and frontier technology. As Global Head of Technology M&A at BNP Paribas, Roger led 50+ transactions worth $25 billion, built the bank’s U.S. M&A platform in San Francisco, and launched its European Digital Corporate Finance practices. Signaling his evolution from an elite advisor into a leading public voice, Roger translates complex systemic disruption into narratives that shape both industry strategy and mainstream media. Hailed on CNN and an AI columnist for MIT Technology Review, he coined the term “Techistentialism” to address human agency in the age of intelligent machines. A deep-tech venture capital partner (Berkeley SkyDeck, Vektor Partners) and appointed to the WEF’s AI Global Alliance, Roger is also the bestselling author of five books, including the multi-award-winning Disrupt With Impact. To help leaders action his insights, he developed the widely adopted AAA Framework (Antifragility, Anticipatory, Agility) - a go-to model for executives navigating volatility. Applying deep futures work to global instability, Roger’s DFI Geopolitics Center for Grand Strategy equips decision-makers to address the systemic convergence of the “Three Gs” - Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Geotechnology. Born in South Africa and fluent in English and French, Roger has lived in 10 cities across three continents. Translating this global perspective into clear strategies, he reaches millions worldwide through keynotes, media appearances, and executive advisory work. Whether guiding Fortune 500 leaders through existential pivots or advising policymakers on the future of risk, AI, and geoeconomics, Roger empowers organizations to gain clarity and resilience in an increasingly unpredictable world. Keynote Details: The Visionary Trilogy Rewire Your Mindset. Reclaim Intelligence. Reinvent Leadership. In a world of relentless complexity, the old rules no longer apply. Trusted by CEOs worldwide, Roger Spitz’s Visionary Trilogy delivers three transformative, standalone keynotes that rewire how we think, decide, and lead: 01: THE MINDSET SHIFT – Become Visionary in an Unpredictable World 02: THE INTELLIGENCE SHIFT – Upgrade Human Decision-Making in the Age of AI 03: THE LEADERSHIP SHIFT – Foresight to Inspire Transformational Futures Roger equips audiences to rethink their worldviews, reclaim human intelligence, and reinvent leadership for unpredictable futures. Each keynote from The Visionary Trilogy is actionable and high-impact, designed to unlock the capabilities you need to thrive amid uncertainty. THE MINDSET SHIFT: Become Visionary in an Unpredictable World Geopolitical shocks, cyberattacks, intelligent systems, pandemics, and climate shifts are reshaping the global economy overnight. Change is slow, until it isn’t. Hyperconnectivity now amplifies disruption far beyond the cyclical upheavals of the past. In this nonlinear environment, the stakes are enormous – unprecedented challenges and extraordinary opportunities. Yet, traditional assumptions and backward-looking analysis have become liabilities. We have entered the era of Metaruptions – selected as the 2026 Word of the Year by the Disruptive Futures Institute to describe the complex, self-reinforcing forces that transcend mere trends, redefine industries, and rewrite rules. Navigating this changing world demands a fundamental Mindset Shift from fear to foresight. We must move beyond the false comfort of prediction to reclaim our agency as builders and creators. When even data and AI cannot foresee what’s coming, the future belongs not to the best analysts, but to the visionaries who challenge assumptions and reframe what’s possible. By abandoning outdated playbooks and adopting a new operating system for uncertainty, we become shapers of tomorrow rather than its victims. Together, we’ll explore uncharted waters guided by a compass built for unpredictability. THE INTELLIGENCE SHIFT: Upgrade Human Decision-Making in the Age of AI Artificial intelligence is redefining domains once considered uniquely human. Augmentation, automation, and cognification are transforming business. What higher-order functions will machines soon perform? And where will human judgment retain its edge? This brings us to the Techistential era – a term coined by Roger Spitz to describe the collision of technological capabilities and existential challenges. As algorithms increasingly drive our choices, the risk lies not just in trusting machines, but in surrendering our agency, freedom, and choice. The greatest danger is not AI achieving superintelligence, but rather superstupidity – where humans think like idle machines, relying on data that cannot navigate our complex, unpredictable futures. After all, there is no data on the future. Staying relevant in this hybrid future demands a fundamental Intelligence Shift. We must embrace shoshin (a beginner’s mind) to fuel curiosity, navigate uncertainty, and challenge every assumption. With a continuous cycle of learning, unlearning, and relearning, we foster the experimentation required to unlock creativity. To thrive, we must reclaim our decision-making edge. While algorithms can calculate the probable, only humans can invent the impossible. THE LEADERSHIP SHIFT: Foresight to Inspire Transformational Futures Systemic disruptions – from geoeconomic shocks to emerging technologies – are redistributing trillions of dollars. How can you leverage our deeply uncertain world to create sustainable value? The answer lies not in prediction, but in preparation. Roger Spitz introduces his acclaimed AAA Framework, enabling leaders to build Antifragile foundations that grow stronger with shocks, develop an Anticipatory mindset, and use Agility to bridge today’s choices with tomorrow’s possibilities. The winners will be those who anticipate and adapt. The rest risk irrelevance.  As Mike Tyson famously noted, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” In a world of relentless punches – from cyber threats to energy transitions – thriving requires us to become AAA. We are witnessing a Greenaissance – a green revolution powered by massive innovation, capital flows, and systems-level reinvention. As sustainable becomes the new digital, it is driving fundamental shifts in business models. Leaders can unlock hidden value as industry boundaries blur and new fields emerge. Value is created or destroyed by change. By adopting Anticipatory Leadership, you can leverage this era of interconnection. Ultimately, disruption’s impact depends on your perspective, preparation, and response. Special Edition Keynotes: The Future of Predictability, Risk & Finance Designed for the world’s global financial stages, this high-demand keynote series explores the future of risk, investments, geofinance, and insurance in an era defined by the collapse of predictability. Roger decodes the paradigm shifts emerging across the boardrooms of asset managers, family offices, banks, and insurers – and the next-order implications shaping the future of global finance. Special Edition Keynotes: Black Swans and Golden Geese: Risks & Returns in the Era of Unpredictability The Future of Risk Management: Build Resilience for AI & Turbulence Futures of Finance and Investment: Systemic Paradigm Shifts Adaptive Frameworks for Uncertainty: Strategies for a Disrupted World Futures of Boards and Governance: Anticipatory Leadership in Deep Uncertainty The Future of Insurability: Insuring the Uninsurable Critical Frontier Series: “The Futures of…” From algorithmic intelligence and quantum horizons to synthetic biology, the next energy supercycle, and the new space economy, Roger Spitz explores the frontier domains catalyzing systemic transitions across industries and economies – redefining work and shaping the long-term trajectories of humanity. In this popular series, Roger brings deep foresight and venture capital experience to SEEING INTO THE FUTURE – delivering landmark talks on the world’s most critical frontiers with THE FUTURES OF... Critical Frontier Keynotes: The Futures of... TECHNOLOGY, AI & SOCIETY: Decode the reprogramming of work, truth, and social organization. The Futures of… DIGITAL DISRUPTION & HYBRID CONVERGENCE: Discover how industries blur, sectors transform, and new frontiers emerge. The Futures of… GEOPOLITICS, GOVERNANCE & GLOBAL ORDER: Anticipate power shifts and systemic fragmentation redefining global dynamics. The Futures of... PROFESSIONS, WORK & EDUCATION: Reimagine human capital, agency, and relevance in a world of ambient intelligence. The Futures of… PREDICTABILITY & SYSTEMIC CHANGE: Build resilience, agility, and foresight in an era of cascading shocks – from climate to cyber. The Futures of... LIFE, BIOLOGY & HUMANITY: Explore the frontiers of healthspan, bioengineering, and the future of the human condition.