Sheryl Connelly
- Legendary Chief Futurist at Ford Motor Company
- Named one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company magazine twice and listed among TechWeek's “Top 100 Innovators”
- Helps business leaders to think like a futurist to effectively track, analyze, and predict how global consumer and lifestyle trends will impact organizations across industries
In Person-Fee 🛈
Fee Range
$30,000 - $50,000
Virtual Fee:
$20,000 - $30,000
Travels From
Michigan
How we will get from A to B in 2026 | TEDxMelbourneSalon
Futurist at Ford Motor Company | TEDxOaklandUniversity
Sheryl Connelly Speaker Biography
With the unique ability to translate how consumer and lifestyle trends will affect organizations across industry sectors, Sheryl Connelly outlines how to develop a futuring mindset, to act decisively in high-stakes business environments.
As a corporate futurist for more than a decade, Sheryl is skilled at identifying what’s coming around the corner and the potential influences on customer attitudes and behavioral patterns that directly impact business strategy. The in-house futurist at Ford Motor Company, Sheryl was twice named by Fast Company as one of its “100 Most Creative People in Business,” while TechWeek listed her among its “Top 100 Innovators”.
Her insights into what’s next help audiences understand how STEEP factors – social, technological, economic, environmental and political trends – will affect business in the short- and long-term.
From population growth to the proliferation of technology, to mindfulness and the tiny home movement, Sheryl’s big picture outlook ensures that organizational leaders recognize and take advantage of the trends that shape the way we live. With a perspective that will revolutionize your approach to long-term planning and strategy, Sheryl provides audiences with the insights necessary to thrive, innovate and remain relevant in our constantly evolving world.
Confessions Of a Corporate Futurist: Coming Trends That Will Revolutionize Your Business. No one knows what the future holds and despite our best efforts to prepare for the unknown, the future plays out in unexpected ways. All too often, the success and failure of an organization comes down to its ability to manage uncertainty and effectively identify how external — and seemingly unrelated — trends could have significant impacts on business. In this compelling keynote talk, Sheryl Connelly reveals her secrets for how to think like a futurist, providing audiences with the expertise and strategies necessary for effectively anticipating change. From the 10 mega trends that could change the world as we know it before the year 2050 (which is a lot sooner than it seems), to perspective that will forever change approaches to long-term planning and strategy, Connelly delivers the insights necessary for organizations across industry sectors to thrive, innovate, and remain relevant in the face of disruption.
How to Apply Future Trends to Your Business Today. Sheryl Connelly offers audiences a look at the potential futures of their industries and offers tips for scenario planning at their organizations. From exploring aspects you can’t control to planning for multiple futures, she looks at how embracing the future, rather than fearing it, opens up immense opportunities for businesses to thrive.
Tracking changes across social, technological, economic, environmental, and political arenas and shifts in consumer attitudes and behaviors, she shares insights on the emerging trends that will most affect business in the years to come. Connelly begins by breaking down broad, “bird’s-eye view” trends like declining fertility rates, the global talent shortage, China and India, and the rising female frontier. She then moves to ground-level trends like ethical consumption and access versus ownership to assets. She takes these concepts and applies them to current patterns and predicted patterns in consumer behavior. Her unsurpassed grasp on the future of business proves invaluable as she helps audiences take advantage of what’s next.
Preparing for the Next Wave of Innovation. With a constant eye on the future and a keen grasp on the trends that will affect business in the coming years, futurist and global consumer trends expert Sheryl Connelly is a leading practitioner at the cutting edge of innovation. With the belief that if you are not innovating, you are falling behind, she shares insights on the disruptive ideas, technology, and trends that will disrupt businesses in the next five, ten, and twenty years and offers tips for how to match the rapid pace of change we see in the marketplace. Incorporating her immense expertise on future trends and scenario planning, she helps organizations understand and prepare for the next wave of innovation.
