Heather McGowan

Strategic Consultant, Amazon Best-Selling Author, Speaker, LinkedIn’s 2017 Top Influencer on Lifelong Learning & The Future of Work

One of Forbes’ Top Futurists, Heather E. McGowan is a globally recognized future-of-work strategist, keynote speaker, and 2x bestselling author who equips leaders and organizations to navigate relentless change by activating their most critical resource: their people. By teaching people to ask better questions, she empowers them to adapt at the speed of possibility to build exceptional cultures that Solve Tomorrow’s Problems™.

Heather McGowan Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type
Please Inquire
Languages Spoken
English
Travels From
Massachusetts, Florida,

Heather McGowan Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type
Please Inquire
Languages Spoken
English
Travels From
Massachusetts, Florida,

Why Heather?

From award-winning industrial designer to globally recognized futurist, Heather’s journey has been driven by relentless optimism that humans can solve any challenge. She has designed pioneering products that earned national recognition, revolutionized higher education through an award-winning curriculum, and now guides Fortune 500 leaders through seismic change—helping organizations adapt at the speed of possibility. McGowan believes organizations transform when they harness their distinctly human advantages: adaptability, empathy, and curiosity to turn unprecedented challenges into extraordinary opportunities. Heather brings clarity to complex topics through research-rich graphic frameworks and powerful metaphors. LinkedIn ranked her as its #1 global voice for education, and NYT columnist Thomas Friedman describes her as “the oasis” for insights into the future of work. McGowan is the coauthor of The Adaptation Advantage (2020) and The Empathy Advantage (2023).

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Suggested Keynote Speaker Programs

SOLVE TOMORROW’S PROBLEMS™ Harness Human Ingenuity to Navigate What's Next

Think organizations can’t change quickly? History proves otherwise. When naysayers said “it can’t be done,” humans accomplished the impossible—in weeks, not years. Each pivotal moment reminds us of humanity’s most underestimated asset: our ...

Think organizations can’t change quickly? History proves otherwise.

When naysayers said “it can’t be done,” humans accomplished the impossible—in weeks, not years. Each pivotal moment reminds us of humanity’s most underestimated asset: our ability to adapt in the face of seemingly impossible odds.

In this perspective-shifting keynote, Heather challenges the myth that we resist change using unforgettable stories about a mop, a burrito, and a hermit crab to demonstrate how we can tap into our natural curiosity and hardwired drive to collaborate to see and shape what’s next.

Drawing from her bestselling books “The Adaptation Advantage” and “The Empathy Advantage,” Heather reveals how leading organizations thrive when they place adaptability at their core, allowing them to find breakthrough opportunities where others least expect them.

The audience will leave with:

A powerful understanding of how to frame the right question
Practical approaches to optimize how they adapt to new realities
Clear frameworks for mapping the past to navigate the future
The leadership mindset shifts that guide team success in uncharted territories

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CLEAR ON PURPOSE: Turning Purpose into Performance Through a Shared Vision

In an era where success flows from meaningful connection, we thrive through deep listening, empathy that bridges divides, and dialogue that transforms conflict into ...

In an era where success flows from meaningful connection, we thrive through deep listening, empathy that bridges divides, and dialogue that transforms conflict into shared purpose. By nurturing psychological safety and bold ideas, we unlock our collective potential through the spark of hope that illuminates the path forward.

The ability to bridge divides through emotional intelligence and skilled communication may be our most valuable professional competency in today’s interconnected world. When organizational purpose aligns with human potential, extraordinary things happen.

In this inspirational keynote, Heather reveals how purpose can become your organization’s most powerful performance driver. Through compelling research and real-world examples, she demonstrates how a shared vision can create the trust, belonging, and motivation needed to transform individual potential into collective impact. By getting clear on purpose, we don’t just adapt to change—we shape the future.

The audience will leave with:

Practical tools for aligning teams around a shared vision
Proven strategies for turning purpose into measurable performance
Necessary leadership shifts to build shared vision
Real examples of organizations achieving the extraordinary through shared purpose

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The Augmented Imperative: Unleashing Human Potential in the AI Era

Think you can’t remember phone numbers like you used to? You’re not alone. As we hand off more tasks to technology, some of our more-human capabilities will naturally fade. Yet while automation may lead to atrophy in some areas, augmentation opens doors to entirely...

Think you can’t remember phone numbers like you used to? You’re not alone. As we hand off more tasks to technology, some of our more-human capabilities will naturally fade. Yet while automation may lead to atrophy in some areas, augmentation opens doors to entirely new human capabilities—if we are intentional. The key isn’t only using AI to replace what we currently do by automating it, but transforming work as we know it.

In this eye-opening presentation, Heather cuts through the AI hype to demonstrate why thriving alongside AI isn’t about having the right answers. Instead, it’s about asking better questions, framing new challenges, and treating AI as our partner—enhancing our capabilities and expanding our cognitive horizons.

The audience will leave with:

A clear understanding of what to automate vs. augment—and why it matters
Practical ways to learn from AI as a collaborative partner
Fresh insights on how to build on uniquely human advantages in an AI world
Necessary leadership shifts to drive optimal human performance

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START WITH TRUST: The Lifeblood of High-Performing Teams

Despite disruptions like technology shifts and social changes, businesses today have a unique opportunity to tap into measurable advantages when it comes to engagement...

Despite disruptions like technology shifts and social changes, businesses today have a unique opportunity to tap into measurable advantages when it comes to engagement, innovation, and profitability—and it all begins with trust.

Just as humanity’s greatest achievements arose from collective effort, cohesive teams innovate faster, adapt more effectively, and consistently outperform when they are grounded in trust.

In this powerful presentation, Heather shares proven tools audiences can use to activate their natural collaborative strengths so they can achieve extraordinary results, gain a competitive advantage, and drive sustainable growth.

The audience will leave with:

Tips to harness their innate collaborative strengths
Practical strategies to build cohesive, high-performing teams
Tools for maintaining focus and cohesion during rapid change
An empowered mindset to help them navigate challenging times

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LEADING IN THE AGE OF UNCERTAINTY: The Curiosity Advantage

Remember when being a leader meant having all the answers? Today’s most successful leaders are asking better questions. ...

Remember when being a leader meant having all the answers? Today’s most successful leaders are asking better questions.

In a world of economic volatility, AI advancement, cybersecurity challenges, and employee mental wellbeing responsibility, leadership has evolved beyond simple command-control tactics to drive productivity.

Today’s exceptional leaders acknowledge complexity as a reality and leverage curiosity over unrealistic certainty, asking better questions amid constant change.

In this talk, Heather reveals how forward-thinking leaders succeed by unlocking their teams’ natural capacity to adapt and innovate.

You’ll discover practical frameworks to transform challenges into opportunities and evidence-based strategies replacing outdated leadership models. Through compelling research and real-world examples, learn how empowering teams, nurturing curiosity, building trust, and harnessing collective intelligence creates both agile organizations and fulfilled teams that thrive amid change.

The audience will leave with:

Practical tactics to navigate uncertainty
Clear methods for building high-trust environments
Frameworks for transforming management into enablement
Real examples of how curious leadership drives results

Learn More

About Keynote Speaker Heather McGowan

One of Forbes’ Top Futurists, Heather E. McGowan is a sought-after future-of-work strategist, keynote speaker, and 2x bestselling author. She equips leaders and organizations to navigate relentless change by activating their most critical resource: their people. By teaching audiences to ask better questions, she enables them to adapt at the speed of possibility to Solve Tomorrow’s Problems™.

Heather’s audiences range from startups and government organizations to publicly traded Fortune 500 companies, including Google, JPMorgan Chase, Accenture, Mastercard, FedEx, AT&T, and Kaiser Permanente. Whether she’s engaging in intimate conversations with senior executives or delivering keynotes to thousands, she transforms perspectives through data-driven insights, powerful visual frameworks, and practical optimism. Her approach helps organizations turn their distinctly human capabilities—adaptability, empathy, and curiosity—into strategic advantages in times of rapid change.

Heather’s approach to innovation was shaped by her early career as an industrial designer. At Safety 1st, she helped transform the company known for its “Baby on Board” sign in to a comprehensive baby safety products’ leader, developing multiple top-selling products. Her success continued at Wilson Sporting Goods’, where she designed award-winning tennis footwear. Her innovative work extended to medical devices, where she designed surgical equipment controls, and sustainable consumer goods, creating a groundbreaking recyclable razor system that remains in production two decades later.

This hands-on experience taught her that true innovation isn’t just about finding solutions—it’s about asking better questions to Solve Tomorrow’s Problems. After earning her MBA from Babson College, Heather expanded into socially responsive investing and later led RISD’s Center for Design and Business, helping organizations integrate user-centric design thinking into business strategy.

As Strategic Architect at Philadelphia University (now Jefferson University), Heather created an award-winning, interdisciplinary college focused on innovation. Her achievements included integrating 18 existing programs into a new core curriculum and creating an immersive design thinking-based program. The curriculum won the Core 77 top National Design Award for Education.

Heather’s emergence as a global thought leader began with a viral LinkedIn series on the future of work—reaching 100,000 readers in 24 hours—which sparked speaking invitations worldwide. Often quoted in The New York Times, Pulitzer-prize winning columnist Thomas Friedman referred to Heather as an “oasis” for her insights into the future of work. Her bestselling books include The Adaptation Advantage, which became an accidental guide to the pandemic, and The Empathy Advantage, named a Top 10 Business Book of 2023.

Questions? Contact Us Any Time:

805.965.1400

info@bigspeak.com

Heather holds a BFA in Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design, an MBA from Babson College focused on Entrepreneurship, and was recently awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Pennsylvania College of Art and Design for her contributions to innovating education.

Personal experiences, like mobilizing 7,000 strangers to find a life-saving bone marrow donor for her brother, fuel Heather’s unwavering optimism and core belief: humans are wired to help each other achieve extraordinary things. This drives her mission: to help leaders Solve Tomorrow’s Problems™ by teaching them to ask better questions today.

Testimonials

“Heather has a unique ability to communicate complex information that is accessible to the public AND credible to the expert. She gave a superb online talk at the record breaking ‘Brainfood Marathon 2020’, which was not only the most watched of the 80+ sessions across the 24 hours, but ‘most requested’ by Read More

Hung Lee

Curator, Recruiting Brainfood; Founder and CEO of Workshape.io

“The power of a presenter is in their message, their knowledge, and their connection to their audience. I have had the distinct pleasure of hearing Heather McGowan address a large conference (CloseIt) and she did such an outstanding job that I asked her to keynote the CAEL conference (scheduled for Nov. 2020) Read More