Jonathan Brill

Why do some companies handle radical systemic changes better than others? They have a strategy in place for making sense of the future, says Jonathan Brill. During his time as the Global Futurist at HP, Brill helped the iconic company prepare for the possibility of a pandemic, a takeover attempt, and a sudden market decline. The result was an excellent 2020 in the face of all three, while their competitors suffered huge blows to their earnings. In his new book Rogue Waves, Brill draws from his experience, using an evidence-based framework to help you capitalize on the economic, technological, and social undercurrents most likely to collide and reshape the business world.

An actionable framework for driving change instead of being blindsided by it.Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

Every company, at one point or another, will be hit with a “rogue wave”, whether it be a financial crisis and a pandemic, or social chaos, trade wars, and the next frontier of AI. These rogue waves aren’t predictable, says innovation expert and business futurist Jonathan Brill. But they are forecastable. Brill spent years advising leadership at Hewlett-Packard on the company’s 10-year portfolio of opportunities and threats, and today, consults globally for organizations like Samsung, Microsoft, Verizon, PepsiCo, and the US government. In his must-read survival guide Rogue Waves, he draws from his experience to lay out an actionable plan for riding out the fiercest of storms, teaching you how to effectively future-proof your business. Timely, important, and essential, Rogue Waves equips you with the predictive tools you need to take advantage of uncertainty, turn chaos into profit, and control your future, so that your company thrives―while your competitors are washed away. Phil Zimbardo, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, declares it “a profound contribution to the science of decision making and the psychology of leadership.”

Prior to his role at HP, Brill has spent the last two decades building product innovation teams and developing growth pipelines for government, prestigious research institute MIT Media Lab, and top-tier brands. He founded the Special Projects Agency, a diverse group of designers, creators, engineers, and scientists, that have created unique experiences ranging from world’s fair pavilions to AI software to IoT devices. Brill is an imaginative thinker who helps companies delight customers at scale. To date, his companies have developed more than 325 products that have generated an astonishing $27 billion dollars in revenue for customers.

Brill is a board advisor at Frost & Sullivan, a market intelligence firm operating in 46 countries. He holds several patents for his inventions in display technology, augmented reality, and HVAC. National Geographic and Business Week have both featured his work, and he has contributed to work displayed in New York’s landmark Museum of Modern Art. He is an in-demand thought leader, speaker, and contributor to TED, Singularity University, Korn Ferry, JPMorgan, Forbes, and Harvard Business Review. Brill graduated from Pratt Institute, a leader in higher education for creative professionals, and has completed extensive executive training at Stanford.