John Straw

John is a serial tech entrepreneur, disruptive innovation expert and captivating speaker. With over 120 speeches delivered since 2015, he specialises in AI’s impact on various industries including insurance, banking, education, health and agriculture. His engaging and inspiring speaking style resonates with audiences, making him sought-after for events and conferences.

John has founded and exited three technology startups and funded twelve others. Until August 2022, he served as Senior Advisor on technology disruption for McKinsey & Company, a role he previously held at IBM, where he guided strategic initiatives on the Internet of Things.

John’s impact on the Interse Corporation in San Francisco, as VP of European Operations, was immense. Interse specialised in software products that measured a user’s path through a website and was significantly ahead of its time. The company was subsequently purchased by Microsoft in 1997 for $160m. John continued to drive change when he founded the SEO platform Linkdex. This brought together integrated workflow, tasks and link building CRM into one platform with hugely competitive information.

In 2016, John pioneered a cultural change programme at the former travel company, Thomas Cook, which focused on moving the business from analogue to digital. His unique initiatives helped the move towards a more agile IT development environment.

John Straw is a sought-after business speaker on disruptive innovation and technology, speaking at conferences and events all over the world.

As a serial tech entrepreneur and start-up investor, he appreciates firsthand what it’s like to run a business while trying to keep up with our fast-paced and ever-changing world. John has a deep understanding of what's happening in the world of technology and its likely impact on business, the economy and the human race in general.

Through his fascinating and thought-provoking keynote speeches, John educates businesses on change and disruption, helping them to navigate their short-term future challenges and understand the five pillars of disruptive innovation.

Known for his plain-speaking, straightforward and uncomplicated style, he shares his unique insights on AI, the Internet of Things, 3D printing and augmented reality. John makes subjects which are often complex, simple.

Since authoring iDisrupted in 2016, John has given well over 100 speeches exploring the effect and use cases of AI, chatbots, layered data, IoT, blockchain and VR/AR – his thinking has now evolved to the next level of technology disruption - TheConvergence - what happens when all of these advanced technologies integrate to the genesis of Industry 5.0. John takes a balanced view between the hype and reality and make real world predictions of how TheConvergence will emerge.

Business 5.0 - what does the (possibly final) generation of business look like?
This keynote speech is inspired by John's 2016 book on disruptive technology and provides an overview of the fully automatic business – the business that runs itself without intervention from humans – or the overhead from humans.

John explains everything you need to know about AI, IoT, big data, AI robots and API. He uses examples and stories that will bring Business 5.0 alive for the audience. You will leave inspired and excited for the future.

Real World Digital Transformation - lessons from the Thomas Cook digital transformation in 2016
Together with McKinsey & Co, John Straw led the digital transformation at the European travel agent Thomas Cook. In this keynote speech, he shares the lessons he learned from the politics, application and direction of travel of the transformation that became a case study for Harvard Business School.

Marketing 5.0 - How marketing will be reset by the end of 2020
This speech provides a strategic view of the dramatic forces coming to change the world of marketing from 2020. John dives into how AI will become the face of your brand and how experiential marketing will become a mass market reality next year.

John Straw’s keynotes are educational and highly relevant for all companies, whether you’re on the verge of transformation or have already transformed into a digital business.

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Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by John Straw. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.