Highlights of Custom Projects
For close to 25 years, Jim has been motivating and inspiring audiences worldwide.
Some of his most recent events are covered below. This is but a sample of his work! Topics covered include keynotes on the future of self driving cars & trucks, agriculture & farming, banking and financial servics, food & retail, architecture and construction, and smart homes and the Internet of Things.
First off, can you tell you that Jim Carroll loves his job? Here’s a picture from when when was on stage for an event in London, England, for Godiva Chocolates worldwide. Never mind that with jet lag, it was the equivalent of 3:30AM in the morning!
He’s on, he’s wired, he’s inspired – that’s what he does!
The following includes commentary from Jim on the events.
The Future of Government, World Government Summit, Dubai, UAE
I was invited to speak at this massive global conference, with 3,400 attendees from 60+ countries worldwide. It’s sponsored and opened by the Prime Minster of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and tasked with the issue of examining the future role of government in solving some of the challenges of our time.
It was an absolutely fascinating event; I shared the agenda with other speakers such as Goldie Hawn, Robert deNiro and Forest Whittaker, the head of the International Monetary Fund, the Prime Ministers of France and India, and more!
My session description? “Futurist Jim Carroll takes a look at the key trends which will impact our future in an era that has change happening faster than ever before. Even today, we have a new vocabulary that didn’t exist just a few years ago: self-driving cars, 3d printing, crowdfunding, the sharing economy, blockchains, personal drones, swarmbots, smart dust, vertical farms, Internet of Things, cognitive computing, smart factories, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, quantum computing, intelligent farms, smart clothing! What seemed to be science fiction just a few short years ago has become a reality today, as time compresses and the future accelerates.”
Take a look at the brief highlight clip of my talk – it even comes with ‘epic music!’
Nikon 100th Anniversary Celebration, Tokyo, Japan
This was certainly a treat – they invited me in to headline a dinner with my observations on the future! I opened with a story on when NASA invited me in (twice!) for a talk on the disruption of the space industry, transformative leadership and fast paced trends. My audience consisted of people from 37 countries, with simultaneous translation into Japanese and Chinese. You don’t get to be a company with a 100 year history without constant, relentless innovation and reinvention, and so it was an honour to be invited in to headline this prestigious event.
The Future of the Automotive Industry: Mercedes Benz, Detroit, Michigan
Obviously, this is a HOT topic, and being invited in by one of the pre-eminent automative companies in the world to share my thoughts on these trends is certainly a career highlight! 2017 was characterized by an increased number of organizations looking for in depth insight to the massive disruption occurring in the industry – I spoke at automotive, trucking, hi-tech, finance and insurance conferences about the impact of self-driving, autonomous vehicles. Simply check out some of the posts in the automotive trends section of my blog – it’s over there on the right — for some insight into why companies like this are choosing to bring me in.
The Acceleration of Risk in the Era of Disruption, Baker McKenzie client conferences, Dallas and Chicago
It’s pretty cool when the top-ranked global legal firm — operating in 38 countries with 13,000+ legal staff — picks you to come in and speak to their most important clients about the future — and the unique legal issues that the future brings. That’s what Baker McKenzie did! The audience was pretty spectacular – key corporate legal counsel for a vast number of global Fortune 500 companies, individuals responsible for managing the accelerating complex legal issues of our time. My keynote took a look at fast new risks involving intellectual property, the Internet of Things, new careers, accelerated product innovation and so much more. I’m busy working on a blog post on my thoughts – stay tuned!
Manufacturing Trends and Disruption, Legrand, Connecticut
It was a busy year for keynotes in the manufacturing space! This talk was for Legrands North American leadership meeting, where the CEO and his team fine tune strategies and plans for the coming year. They’re big in the global tech industry, manufacturing a wide variety of component parts and cabling. My talk took a look at key trends providing opportunity in the manufacturing process, including the factory of the future, the Internet of Things, digitization, 3D printing, accelerated supply chains and much more.
Future of food, agriculture, retail and consumer behaviour, Simplot, Phoenix, Arizona
This agricultural company is the largest global supplier of French fries to McDonalds and other food companies, as well as being very active in other aspects of the industry. This was a team leadership meeting as well, with individuals from throughout the organization – marketing, product development, legal, finance and accounting, supply chain and more. They invited me in to speak to over 400 executives about key trends that will impact them in the future, including the accelerated pace of agricultural science, changing consumer behaviour, faster marketing and brand challenges, and other similar topics.
Future of utilities and energy, SAP Utilities conference, California
You have to love it when a client invites you back – and in this case, SAP was bringing me back in for about the 20th time since they first booked me in 2003! This conference had about 500 executives from the energy utility industry in the room, with a focus on future energy, water and wastewater trends. I delivered a barnburner of a speech in the morning for a small group of senior executives, and a repeat performance later in the afternoon for the entire group, with a focus on the massive, disruptive change occurring in the energy space, including issues around grid party, micro-grids and intelligent grids, the acceleration of renewable generation methodologies, battery storage technologies and more.
Future of customer interaction, SOMOS, Chicago, Illinois
This is a new group — 3 years old — that represents the 1-800 toll free service industry, and the invited me in for a keynote on trends and issues impacting consumer behaviour. I spoke to issues around mobile, increased and accelerated expectations for customer support, and how the Amazon effect is coming to affect the latter, to name just a few issues!
Disruption and innovation, McKay CEO Forum, Vancouver, Canada
Imagine a room full of 300 CEO’s and senior executives, and you get the McKay CEO Forum, one of the pre-eminent senior level events in Western Canada. I did a wide ranging talk on the theme of disruption and industry transformation, putting into perspective the stark trends that are impacting and reshaping every industry at a furious pace.
The Future of Financial Services, Finastra annual user group meeting, Orlando, Florida
This company is a software vendor to the community bank and credit union industry – and naturally, that’s what I zoned in on. With a little bit of the Jetsons to boot! (While all of my talks are highly customize to the audience and issues at hand, I also have 25 years of stage craft experience, and know how to have fun with a crowd!. In these days of mobile device obsessions, you need to know how to work an audience and engage them.)
Future of Food and Consumer Behaviour, National Coffee, Tea and Water Association, Dallas, Texas
The National Automatic Merchandising Association CEO saw me at an event, and told me she immediately determined that I should come in and headline one of their events — in this case, their annual Coffee, Tea & Water conference. Fast changing consumer behaviour, the rapid evolution of taste trends and brands, the impact of social media, intelligent packaging, the Internet of Things and more!
Future of the Global Economy, Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Oklahoma, OK
Over 700 local executives from throughout the city attended the event that I headlined, with a keynote that took a look at over 20 trends which are providing opportunity in the global economy. While much of the US is on the ropes with the never-ending political soap opera, senior executives are also eager to understand where the global economy is really head. OKC picked me to do this job, and the reports coming in are that they are thrilled with the job that I did!
That’s a few of the events from the fall! Stay tuned for 2018 – it begins with some excitement, when I headline the World Government Summit in Dubai, this February. Previous speakers have included Barak Obama, Prime Minister Abe of Japan, Elon Musk and others. It should be fun! And I am thrilled to have the opportunity to make an impact.
Global Economic Growth Trends, Nevada Economic Development Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada
Sadly, one week before the horrific Las Vegas shootings, I spoke at the University of Nevada Las Vegas for economic development officials from across the state, on key economic opportunist beyond the tourism and gaming sector. It covered issues related to renewables and energy, self driving cars and accelerating industries, workforce and skills issues and much more
The Future of Retail and Consumer Products – Pladis – Godiva Chocolates, McVities Biscuits Ulker, London, England
This was a huge amount of fun! I love overseas trips! And what an organization — Pladis is new, with three separate, distinct brands coming together with a focus on future opportunities. My keynote covered trends in fast-changing retail, consumer behaviour, store infrastructure, brand promotion and more. It must have gone well — since Godiva is having me back for a separate supply chain event in Ghent, Belgium in May!
Future of Banking/Financial Services – Scotiabank, Toronto, Canada
More disruption — business models, the rapid evolution of technology, new competitors with PayPal, Google and Apple. Just what is a bank anymore, and who is it? What do they do in terms of innovation with fast changing expectations, business model disruption, the relentless impact of mobile, the rapid acceleration of innovation from every perspective? Whatever the case may be, agility needs to be the core focus going forward — and that was the overall message within my keynote, which took a deep look at the trends sweeping this industry.
The Future of Architecture and Construction. -Alberici Group, St, Louis, Missouri
This was a smaller conference than the others, but equally important! It was a leadership meeting for this major American construction company. My keynote kicked off the event, and covered issues around the rapid emergence of new construction methodologies, new materials and design concepts, fast paced architectural trends, the acceleration of skills and knowledge. This keynote came on the heels of a talk I did in the fall on the same type of issues for the American Concrete Institute – read more here. One of my key goals – get them aligned to the trends in their industry, rather than shying away from them.
The Future Impact of the Internet of Things (#IoT) – Whirlpool, Chicago, Illinois
This is a company that is making a transition from being a company that sells appliances, to being a computer company that happens to sell hi-tech within appliances. The industry is speeding up as Moore’s law comes to take hold; the value proposition changes with the service-ification (Yup, I made that word up) of business models, and as big device architecture issues come into play. I’m doing a LOT of talks around the Internet of Things — and its nice to see that a senior leadership team in the forefront of what is happening here chose me to come in and share key insight on what’s next.
I used a brand new slide deck at this event — it’s two weeks old! — and I must say: it rocks. The material flows at a fascinating pace, the audience reaction was tremendous, and it does a great job of conveying our world of fast change. I’m adopting this deck for all keynotes going forward — and I will have some video from this presentation soon.
The Future of Insurance and Distribution Models – Gore Mutual, Toronto
This was certainly a highlight – I shared the stage with Astronaut Chris Hadfield (best known for his rendition of David Bowie’s Space Odyssey from the International Space Station, with 36 million+ Youtube views) and Environmentalist David Suzuki.
The event was arranged for insurance brokers and distributors, encouraging them to align themselves to the future trends that are reshaping their industry. My role was to speak to issues of disruption and change in the insurance industry, a topic I’ve covered for many major insurance conferences and companies worldwide.
The Acceleration of Medical Science – Genentech, San Francisco
This event was for 550 executives from this pharma-tech company — it’s owned by French pharmaceutical giant Roche. It’s also one of the global leaders in the business of pharmacogenetics : that is, the development of highly targeted drug therapies based on particular genetic profiles.
My keynote took a look at the future of healthcare and the big transformative opportunities that exist in a world of accelerated science. The topic strikes close to home for me : I’ve had my own genetic profile done (the news is all good!)
The Future of Golf – PGA Merchandise Show, Orlando
It’s not often you get invited in to open one of the most prestigious events in the world of golf, let along the world of sports. But there I found myself in January, opening this event. I was on stage after Lee Trevino and David Leadbetter, and then Bubba Watson was on stage after me! I spoke about the new opportunities that fast moving technology trends were bringing to the world’s largest working sport. It was a repeat engagement for the PGA – they previously had me in a few years to open their AGM.
The Future of Insurance – New York Life, New York
This was my final event of the year, just two days ago, and it was just plain fun! It was an end of year “town hall”, and the organization wanted an upbeat, optimistic view of the future. (Not surprising, given that so much went on during 2016!) . It was sort of a launch event for my newest keynote theme, The Jetsons’ Have Arrived 50 Years Early : What Are YOU Going to Do About It? Based on the vibes in the room, this is going to be a SMASH HIT topic into 2017!
The Future of the Trucking Industry – Volvo/ Mac Trucks, Greensboro, NC
A repeat engagement for this organization — in this case, an internal leadership meeting, whereas the first one was for dealers. Self-driving vehicles, autonomous technologies, intelligent highway infrastructure, prognostic diagnostics — the talk covered the gamut of trends occurring in the automotive space. I’m doing many events around the self-driving car theme and the revolution occurring in transportation, with several gigs already confirmed well into 2017.
The Future of Construction – American Concrete Institute, Philadelphia
I drove my family crazy with the lead-up to this keynote. It would take a lot of hard work. My keynote would require a solid foundation, and my message would take some time to settle. (They told me to stop it with the concrete jokes soon enough.) This was the first time this organization had a keynote speaker to open their conference, and it was obvious that there was some concern about bringing in an outsider to launch the event! That changed fast — feedback had me hitting a huge home run, with subsequent coverage in American Concrete Magazine and elsewhere. In this shot, I’m talking about how quickly the concept of 3D printing with concrete is becoming a reality.
The Future of Space and Transformational Leadership – NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
The agency invited Jim to speak to a group of senior leaders to speak on the issue of what leaders do to innovate during times of significant transition, and the transition of innovation throughout the world.
Consumer Electronics Association CEO Summit: Brand Innovation At the Speed of Twitter, Ojai, California
Jim put into perspective the impact of social networks upon branding, consumer relationships and marketing for this group of senior executives from some of the world’s largest technology companies.
The Future of Creative Thinking, Walt Disney Corporation, Pasadena, California
Considered as one of the most innovative organizations in the world, Disney invited Jim to address a senior leadership meeting, specifically for his insight on consumer trends, and the new innovation methodologies underway in the world of entertainment, retail and consumer goods. Management of this master storyteller made this comment after Jim’s talk: “ Jim’s storytelling approach really helps to get his points across!”
The GAP: The Future of Retail, The GAP, San Francisco, California
Jim was invited to speak to a group of senior executives at their global headquarters in San Francisco, with a look at the key trends that will redefine the world of retail in the future.
The Future of Food, Dining and Fast Casual, Burger King, Las Vegas, NV
. Jim was the opening speaker for the global franchise meeting of Burger King, speaking before an audience of 4,000 at PlanetHollywood in Las Vegas. Previous opening keynotes at this event have included George Bush, Marcus Buckingham, Bob Dole and Don Shula.
Innovation Strategies for Financial Advisors & Financial Organizations, National Australia Bank, Sydney, Australia.
A keynote that looked at the key trends and opportunities in the areas of personal financial planning, investment, mortgage and other financial services.
The Future of Recreation National Recreation and Parks Association: Salt Lake City, Utah
Jim was the opening keynote speaker for their annual conference in Salt Lake City, with an audience of over 4,000 sports, recreation and municipal professionals.
The Future of Consumer Behavior – Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut): Global Management Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada
Held in Las Vegas, Jim’s keynote focused on innovation and growth strategies in a challenging global economy, including rapid consumer change, retail and technology trends, and the impact of social networking on brand image. Yum! Brands is the largest restaurant company in the world.
The Future of Risk – The World Congress on Quality, Orlando, Florida
Jim provided an opening keynote to an audience of 3,000, opening with the observation that “the high velocity economy drives rapid (consumer / customer / business) change, increases their expectations, which requires faster innovation and a faster more complex economy – which perhaps requires a rethink of quality methodology.”
The Future of Recreation, The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, La Jolla, California.
Jim delivered a dinner keynote for dozens of CEOs of some of the world’s largest sporting goods companies, taking a look at the new consumer, the new media spend, and the rapidly changing world of sport and leisure markets.
The Future of Media, The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC): London, England.
The BBC had Jim in for two keynotes focused on the future of broadcasting and media.
GET IN TOUCH
Jim's Facebook page
You'll find Jim's latest videos on Youtube
Twitter. What's on Jim's mind? Check his feed!
LinkedIn - reach out to Jim for a professional connection!
Flickr! Get inspired! A massive archive of all of Jim's daily inspirational quotes!
Instagram - the home for Jim's motivational mind!