Dr. Ja-Naé Duane is a creator, behavioral scientist, award-winning innovator, and 4x entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience guiding organizations, institutions, governments, and communities toward a new renaissance and a better future for humanity. For the past two decades, Ja-Naé has dedicated herself to one mission: make life better for one billion people. As an expert on global systems, she focuses on helping corporations, governments, and universities understand and develop systems of the future using emerging technology such as VR/AR, AI, and blockchain by guiding them forward, helping them get out of their own way to create exponential innovation and future forecasting. She has had the pleasure of working with companies such as PWC, Saudi Aramco, Yum Brands, Samsonite, Natixis, AIG, and Deloitte. A top-rated speaker and co-author of the best-selling The Startup Equation , Ja-Naé excels at helping both startups and multinational firms identify new business models and pathways on a global scale. Over the years, her work has caught the attention of The Associated Press, NPR, The Boston Globe, and BusinessWeek. Ja-Naé holds degrees from Brown University, I.E. Business School, Northeastern University, Carnegie University, Bentley University, and Boston University. Ja-Naé is a member of the Loomis Council at the Stimson Center, collaborator with the National Institute of Health, and holds appointments at Brown University and MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research. Her next book, SuperShifts , will be released in April 2025. Steve Fisher is a visionary futurist, innovation leader, and design strategist with over 30 years of experience driving transformational change. Passionate about reimagining business models, he leverages cutting-edge advancements—especially Generative AI—to empower organizations across industries to navigate complexity and seize future opportunities. As a leader in foresight and innovation, Steve has consistently spearheaded high-impact initiatives at renowned organizations. At McKinsey & Company, he co-founded the Futures Practice, integrating strategic foresight and speculative design to help businesses anticipate and adapt to an uncertain future. At FTI Consulting, he led the adoption of Generative AI for business model transformation, pioneering new AI-driven solutions that delivered measurable impact across industries. Beyond corporate leadership, Steve is the Managing Partner of Revolution Factory, a global innovation firm that fosters cutting-edge solutions through AI, strategic foresight, and design thinking. He also serves as Chief Futurist at the Human Frontier Institute (HFI), where he explores emerging trends, conducts research on future-oriented challenges, and mentors leaders in strategic foresight. A prolific thought leader and author, Steve co-authored the best-selling The Startup Equation and is releasing his next book, SuperShifts in April 2025 and Designing the Future the following year—which delve into the future of business, technology, and human adaptation. He shares his insights through keynotes, industry publications, and his podcasts—the Think Forward Show and Off World Podcast —which explore the intersection of innovation, AI, and humanity’s expansion beyond Earth. Committed to democratizing futures thinking, Steve believes that understanding human history and patterns of change are essential to building resilient, future-ready organizations. His expertise in Generative AI, strategic foresight, and design-led innovation enables him to help organizations anticipate challenges and seize opportunities with confidence.
