Forbes Futurist, Forecaster, Speaker and Moderator
Entrepreneur-turned-publisher, columnist, television commentator, private investor and board director, Rich Karlgaard has a unique vantage point on the trends driving the business and investment climates. His insights help audiences see the global marketplace with new eyes.
Rich’s 2021-22 Speech Topics
Five Business and Investment Trends That Will Emerge From COVID-19
From technology transformation to taxes and regulations, from market volatility to geopolitical risks, Rich Karlgaard explores the post-COVID landscape on Wall Street, Washington, Silicon Valley, and beyond. In this timely speech, he tackles questions such as: What will recovery look like throughout 2021-22? What lasting impacts will COVID leave on work, location, teams, and collaboration? What new styles of leadership work best? What threats can stop the recovery, including government overreach and geopolitical miscalculation? Is inflation hiding in the recovery? How should CEOs, CFOs, boards, and investors assess the market-expanding and cost-saving potential of technologies like enterprise AI and blockchain?
Karlgaard engages C-level and financial audiences with a lively discussion connecting future probabilities with best practices today.
The Late Bloomer Revolution: The Secret of Attracting and Retaining Strong Talent in a Competitive and Inclusive Hiring Environment
Predicting the future is easy … getting it right is the hard part. A common mistake among business, investment, and government leaders is to overestimate change in the short-run (less than a year), but badly underestimate it in the long term (more than three years.)
Forbes publisher and futurist, and author of two acclaimed books on high-performance cultures, Rich Karlgaard cuts through the clutter. He forecasts the business and technology landscape as it is likely to unfold over the next two, three, and five years.
Karlgaard is uniquely positioned at the intersection of business, finance, economics, innovation, and technological trends. As such, he is able to see, weigh, and articulate the variables that will shape the future. He is a leader of the world’s best-read business and financial publication. He operates in the heart of Silicon Valley and is close to its business and technology leaders, as well as the investors and venture capitalists that keep it a hotbed of growth. Himself an entrepreneur, investor, board member – and past regional winner of the coveted EY “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” – Karlgaard travels frequently throughout Asia and India, and other spots around the world on behalf of Forbes, keeping his finger firmly on the global pulse.
Rich’s “Thriving in The Age of Smart Machines” speech shares with audiences the three megatrends and four best practices that will keep your organization in fighting trim.
Rich Karlgaard – Premier Moderator and Interviewer at Business and Financial Events
Rich Karlgaard is a premier onstage interviewer and panel moderator at business and financial events. He’s been the principal moderator at the Forbes Global CEO conference since 2001, and a popular moderator at the Milken Global Summit and TiEcon Summit. Since the pandemic, Karlgaard has moderated discussions with Accenture CEO Julie Sweet; Zoom founder Eric Yuan; Hong Kong stock exchange chairman Laura Cha; ServiceNow founder (Fred Luddy) and CEO (Bill McDermott), AT&T Business CEO Anne Chow; Qualcomm CEO Amon Cristiano; and Gilead Sciences CEO, Daniel O’Day, among others.
Karlgaard is known for his warm, engaging style that brings out the best in his interviewees and panelists. Conference hosts trust Karlgaard as a moderator and interviewer who prepares thoroughly and frames his virtual and onstage discussions for the needs of the hosts and attendees.
What Rich’s clients are saying
“Deeply insightful and tremendously impressive.”
– Temasek – Sovereign Wealth Fund of Singapore
“A fantastic keynote speaker!”
– National Petrochemical Refiners Association
“A major hit with the leadership team.”
– Lockheed Martin Corporation
“The best speaker we’ve ever had.”
– Economic Development Partnership of Alabama
“Loved your presentation style, the relevance of your topics, and your knowledge.”
– TriWest Capital Partners
“Always an outstanding moderator and speaker.”
– IBM
“I liked Rich Karlgaard’s book, The Soft Edge, so much that I read it twice. I knew we wanted him to speak about it to our company’s top 1,000 executives. He was great.”
– Kevin Turner, COO Microsoft
“Best speaker we’ve ever had.”
– Greater New Orleans Inc.
“He knocked it out of the park.”
– Illinois Bankers Association
Ready to get started?
Contact Rich now to check on his availability for speaking at your next meeting,
event, retreat or conference.