Heather E. McGowan
Future-of-work strategist Heather E. McGowan helps leaders prepare their people and organizations for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Third Industrial Revolution was marked by computerization and automation of physical labor, laying the foundation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will be notable for the rapid advancement of technology tools into the domain of human knowledge work. In this world, humans must continuously learn and adapt, and with this transition comes information overload. Heather gives lucidity to this topic through her illuminating graphic frameworks and powerful metaphors, all backed by deep research. In 2017, LinkedIn ranked her as its number one global voice for education. Pulitzer Prize–winning NYTcolumnist Thomas Friedman frequently quotes Heather in his books and columns and describes her as “the oasis” when it comes to insights into the future of work. Heather’s sessions help employees and leaders alike prepare for and adapt to jobs that do not yet exist.
McGowan’s clients range from start-ups to publicly traded Fortune 500 companies, including AMP Financial, Autodesk, Biogen, Citi, Accor Hotels, AARP, The World Bank, and BD Medical. Often quoted in the media, notably in the New York Times, McGowan serves on the advisory board for Sparks & Honey, a New York–based culture-focused agency looking to the future for brands. McGowan’s academic work has included roles at Rhode Island School of Design, Becker College, and Jefferson University, where she was the strategic architect of the first undergraduate college focused exclusively on innovation. In 2019 Heather was appointed to the faculty at the Swinburne Centre for the New Workforce in Australia. Heather advises and gives keynote addresses for organizations all over the world and, with her colleagues, provides bespoke consulting to help organizations adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Her think tank is called Work to Learn because McGowan believes that in the Third Industrial Revolution, we learned (once) in order to work and now, in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we will work in order to learn (continuously). McGowan is the co-editor and author of the book Disrupt Together: How Teams Consistently Innovate and a Forbes contributor.
Chris Shipley
A leading technology analyst for more than 25 years, Chris is passionate about entrepreneurship as the driver of innovation, economic growth, and restorative sustainability. She has built a career identifying innovative startups that create market and drive positive and disruptive change. As the executive producer of the DEMO conference from 1996 to 2009, Chris helped more than 1,500 companies make their market debut. If those companies were a portfolio, they would have a combined market value of more than $60 Billion.
Chris began her career at Ziff-Davis, where she worked as a writer and editor for 12 years before joining International Data Group (IDG) to lead DEMO. Chris co-founded two companies, including the startup media and consulting firm Guidewire Group. She is currently a Fellow at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri where she is considering the impact of social media on the practice of journalism.
Her work has won numerous citations, including the prestigious SVForum Visionary Award in 2010. She sits on the board of Versaic, Inc. and is an advisor to a number of high-impact early stage companies. Chris serves as COO for Sparkt, a social story telling platform that connects communities to work together for a greater good. Chris holds BA degrees in Literature and Communication Arts from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.