Theo Priestley
Tech (Anti)Futurist
There are tech boosters, and tech sceptics. But how often do you find someone with deep tech knowledge who can articulate its challenges? And someone literate in the lost futures, once predicted but that never came about? Theo Priestley has acquired a following for his witty takes on today’s tech stories, but his commentary comes from a position of knowledge, as an in-demand consultant, fractional CTO and futurist author.
Biography
Theo Priestley is a globally recognised and sought-after futurist and international speaker, who delves into the past to inform views of the future. He’s widely known for his forthright views on both the positive and the negative impacts of technology on society, working to inform political and business leaders of the risks and benefits of adoption.
Theo incorporates Retrofuturism and Hauntology - the idea of researching past predictions and the sense of loss for once-promised futures that never came about to show audiences what might have been and what might still emerge in the days ahead.
Theo Priestley has been listed as a T op 100 global technology influencer and thought leader on Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/ AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Fintech multiple years in a row. He has worked with some of the biggest names in tech and business, consulting, speaking for, and advising on strategic foresight and emerging technologies for companies including CapGemini, SAP, Siemens, Bosch, Software AG, AON, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. He has been a mentor on a number of startup accelerators, including the HTC ViveX VR incubator and Alchemist, one of Silicon Valley's T op 10. He is often invited to give guest lectures at Universities.
Theo has published more than 300 articles on topics including Web3, Artificial Intelligence, Space, Blockchain, Metaverse, and Mixed Reality, for Forbes, The European, WIRED, Huffington Post, and more. He has also contributed op-eds to VentureBeat, GigaOM, and The Times Raconteur, and has been interviewed for radio and national television news on technology trends.
Theo has delivered keynote talks to audiences across the World, from the USA, Peru, Australia, Dubai, and Germany, to Thailand, the UK, Sweden, China, and South Africa.
Speaking
Theo Informs and provokes with his deep knowledge and witty analysis.
Writing
Theo is an experienced analyst & commentator, with a track record writing for major publications.
Broadcast
Theo is an experienced on-air performer for radio, TV or corporate work.
Topics
Theo talks about futures, and futures past. He addresses emerging technologies from an industry-agnostic perspective but also has specific sector content for financial services, law, healthcare, government, space and more. One of his strengths is looking for the convergence of multiple trends and how they impact business and society - for example, the confluence of Web3, Metaverse and Spatial Computing, and Artificial Intelligence.
Theo is most often asked to deliver opening or closing keynote addresses that wake everyone up or leave people with something to ponder. But he is also asked to speak at Internal sales events, AGM's, GTM's and large annual client conferences. Or to smaller teams of people who need help with digital business transformation.
As well as trend-driven keynotes, Theo can deliver single-topic sessions, such as:
Enhancing innovation and creativity
How to best use AI
Hyperchange and accelerated transformation
Example Videos
Publications
In 2021, Theo published The Future Starts Now (Bloomsbury) with fellow futurist Bronwyn Williams. Featuring contributions from an international array of futurists, The Future Starts Now provides fascinating insights and guidance into how society and business will transform in the years to come.
What do you get when you book Theo to speak?
Theo is most commonly asked to keynote but he is happy to chair panels or interview other speakers on stage, while he is at the event. In fact, he has compered whole large conferences with more than 5,000 attendees and is happy to look at similar briefs. Theo is an experienced speaker with an audience of his own who is happy to work with you to help you promote your event.
This can include:
Pre-event video
Co-operation in pre-event PR and media interviews
Contributed articles for event blogs or programmes
Promotion on social media (~26,000 Twitter followers, 75000+ LinkedIn followers)
Feedback
“This is a tough recommendation to write, because it's going to come off sounding like a paid advertisement - but it simply reflects the incredible talent and experience that Theo brings to the table. I had the great pleasure of working with Theo on a number of projects where we needed someone visionary, pragmatic, technologically deep but at the same time able to communicate with clarity to the masses. Needless to say, he ticked all the boxes and them some..”
Paul M., Digital Disrupter Podcast
“Theo was a Key Note lecturer at two conferences organized by me for IDC. After the first presentation we already knew he's got to be our core guest for our next business and technology events. His assessment by the audience was best among all the rest of the speakers. He grabs the attention of delegates with highly professional content, combined with humour, great energy and outstanding presentation skills.”
Konrad Mroczek, IDC
“I had the privilege of hosting Theo on several occasions as a guest of our HPE Independent Influencer Program (a program that hosts a select group of influencers from around the globe at our largest technology event of the year, HPE Discover). He is not only extremely well versed in AI, AR, IoT, and many other tech topics, but he is also highly engaging and insightful. In fact, his perspective was so well received by our executives that he was also asked to participate as a technology evangelist in a video series discussing business insights, which performed very well with our external audience. I look forward to hosting Theo at future events and hearing his viewpoint on technology trends.”
Kristen Reyes, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
