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Jim Carroll is a globally recognised futurist, innovation expert, and keynote speaker renowned for his ability to help organisations navigate and capitalise on rapid technological and societal change.
With over 30 years of experience, he has delivered more than 1,500 customised presentations to over 2 million people worldwide, advising leaders across various industries on how to anticipate and prepare for future innovations and trend.
“I help CEOs, senior executives, and association leaders achieve their strategic objectives by aligning them with a disruptive, accelerating future. It’s actionable, powerful leadership insight based on detailed, specific industry trends.”
His clients have included everyone from Disney to NASA, Mercedez Benz to the PGA, the World Bank to Pfizer, Microsoft and Cisco, plus CEOs, senior executives, and government leaders.
Contact Great British Speakers today to book Jim Carroll for your next event.
Jim Carroll began his professional journey deeply immersed in the technology sector during the late 1980s and early 1990s, a period marked by rapid innovation and the rise of digital tools in business. Initially working within business advisory and accounting roles, he developed a keen interest in how emerging technologies could transform industries.
This curiosity led him to explore new media and digital platforms, where he became an early adopter and innovator in Canadian technology circles. His work included developing online content, experimenting with digital communication strategies, and helping organisations leverage technology to improve efficiency and competitiveness.
Transitioning from his accounting background, Jim ventured into the media industry during the 1990s. He became a pioneering figure in the Canadian new media landscape, recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2002 Canadian New Media Awards. His innovative work in this field led to his inclusion in the Online Journalism Review’s list of “50 International Names to Know.” Additionally, Jim hosted four national radio shows, further establishing his presence in the media sector.
Building on his background in technology and media, Jim has become a globally recognised futurist and innovation expert, advising organisations on how to anticipate and respond to rapid change. He specialises in identifying emerging trends, technological disruptions, and shifts in consumer behaviour, translating complex insights into actionable strategies for leaders and teams.
Over the past three decades, Jim has delivered thousands of keynote presentations to audiences around the world, working with clients ranging from NASA and Disney to the World Bank and global corporations across finance, healthcare, and automotive sectors.
Jim Carroll provides strategic trends and innovation insights that guide individuals, teams, and companies into the future. His insights, backed up by detailed research, has made him a trustworthy leader in his field.
Jim Carroll is the author of 43 books, many of which focus on technology and the Internet. His recent works include:
– Now What: Reinvention and the Role of Optimism in Finding Your New Future (2021)
– Embracing Mediocrity: How To Do Nothing Notable and Accomplish as Little as Possible (2025)
– Embracing Mediocrity: How to Accelerate Your Future and Achieve Breakthrough Results (2025)
– Dancing in the Rain: How Bold Leaders Grow Stronger in Stormy Times (2025)
– Being Unique: Turning Curiosity, Creativity, and Courage Into Your Competitive Edge (2025)

His expertise has seen him become a familiar face on television and in publications, including ABC News, CNBC, The South China Morning Post, CAPITAL Magazine, The Advertiser, and Dubai’s Capital Magazine.
Jim has been a practicing futurist since the 1990s, with his insight drawing the attention of everyone from Disney to NASA and Pfizer. He is known globally for his ability to provide concise, detailed insight for offsite CEO or CxO leadership events.
Jim is frequently booked for CEO events and leadership meetings, often providing opening and closing keynotes on bespoke, often niche, topics, including the future of healthcare, the transformation of infrastructure, hyperconnected medicine, consumers post-Covid, disruption of the energy industry, the future of agriculture, the sharing economy, and the Internet of Things.
In a complex and competitive landscape, positioning your product or service to your client has become more of a challenge than ever before. Which is why organisations continue to invest in customer-client events.
Dancing in the Rain: Leadership, Innovation, and Opportunity in Volatile Times: In a world rocked by economic uncertainty, relentless disruption, and market shifts, the default reaction is to retreat and wait it out. Jim challenges audiences to reject the pessimism that accompanies economic downturns, and instead to transform volatility from a threat into an advantage.
Key Takeaways
– Understand and cultivate a mindset of defiance
– Uncovering opportunities amidst chaos
– Mastering action frameworks for turbulent times
– Adopting future-ready leadership approaches
– Achieving organisational alignment for resilience
– Winning the recovery by building momentum
Unlocking Tomorrow: How to Get To Your Future, Faster: Jim helps organisations understand how to align their tomorrow, today; he does this by helping you accelerate your innovation efforts and deliver growth.
Key Takeaways
– Better understand disruptive trends
– Focus on opportunity and the trends that matter
– Shift your thinking to the actions that matter
– Unlock your creativity
– Achieve agility
– Enhance your speed
– Accelerate innovation
– Collaborate more
– Deliver on growth opportunities
Artificial Intelligence for Leadership Teams: Strategic Clarity for Forward-Oriented Management Groups: Jim provides leadership teams with customised presentations that will provide them with the deep insight into the impact of AI on a company or industry.
Key Takeaways
– You will understand more about Generative AI and AI Megatrends
– Overview of generative technology trends and their pros and cons
– Overview of the AI Megatrends already occurring
– Strategic opportunities that exist with AI within your industry
– Significant challenges and risks that exist in the same timeframe
– What leading innovators are doing to align with fast-moving trends
What Do Work Class Innovators Do That Others Don’t Do: Jim has spent 30 years studying what makes some organisations excel at the concept of innovation while others do not. He has catalogued their approaches, attitudes, leadership styles, and strategies into a concise overview that is the secret sauce of innovative thinking.
Key Takeaways
– Understand when it is a good time to do great things
– What are world-class organisations and high-calibre leaders doing
– How to manage the velocity of change
Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast: Aligning Yourself For the Era of Acceleration: We are living in a time of massive change and challenge, but also one of massive opportunity. Jim outlines his simple but transformative structure with deep insight into what it takes to master the new, complex volatile world by embracing the chaos, thinking transformation, masting the timing of trends, and accelerating forward-oriented growth opportunities.
Key Takeaways
– See times of change as a time of opportunity
– Manage upheaval successfully
– Discover the opportunities in trends and how to make the future a reality
– NASA booked him twice to give the keynote on the ‘future of space’ in the context of space privatisation and commercialisation
– The PGA of America booked him twice on the transformative trends that provide growth and innovation in the golf industry
– Pfizer booked him for an internal leadership keynote on the transformation of healthcare through virtual and telemedicine
– He delivered a keynote on the future of manufacturing and opportunities for growth in third-world economies for the World Bank
– He delivereda keynote for Disney on the key concepts related to leading-edge innovation and creativity
– KPMG: Multiple client-oriented events over the world on insurance, healthcare, and technology

Jim has a vast client list working with many global companies and organisations, including Alligntech, Baker McKenzie, Blackrock, Burger King, Cigna, Cisco, Computer Science Corporation, Disney, Ernest Young, Hitachi Ventura, HP Mexico, Johnson & Johnson, KOA Kampgrounds of America, McKinsey, Mercedes Benz, Microsoft, NASA, Nestle, Nikon Japan, Pfizer, PGA, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Swiss Innovation Forum, Syngenta, T. Rose Price, Toshiba Australia, Volvo, the Wall Street Journal, and the World Bank.
Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book Jim Carroll for your next corporate event.
We invited Jim Carroll in to give us an assessment of how our industry will change over the next ten years. We have never seen a more compelling, concise – and motivating – assessment.
Mercedes Benz
Wow! That’s all I can say. Thank you for coming in on short notice, and thank you for providing one of the most concise overviews of the future of the broadcasting industries that I have ever seen.
BBC
On behalf of the entire innovative technology partnerships office, thank you for your engaging and thought-provoking presentation at NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre. From the feedback we received, the event was a great success.
NASA
We were extremely pleased with Jim Caroll’s presentation…the content was bang-on and would hopefully prompt people to think about the rapidity of change going on in our world. Jim’s storytelling approach really helps to get his points across. He did a great job.
Disney
An amazing ability to put into perspective the trends and reality of the transformation of the transportation industry. We’ve heard a lot of speakers on the hype involving the industry, but have never seen one put into perspective the future in such a fun, motivating but most important, strategic fashion.
Volvo
An outstanding presentation for an industry and association that falls on its traditions so often. We learned that our tradition should not be something that holds us back, but rather the launching pad for innovation for the future.
PGA
Absolutely stunning. We knew that retail and consumer behaviour is changing fast, but you really put into perspective with detailed insight – it’s obvious you did your homework. Not to mention that you inspired, motivated, and energised those in the audience – all while ensuring they had a good laugh early in the morning. The best speaker we have ever had.
Godiva
We said we needed someone special to speak at out 100th anniversary dinner in Tokyo, and you delivered. The effort you put into preparing for your talk showed once you took the stage – and you commanded the room. We’ve worked with a lot of speakers over the years, but you certainly have something special.
Nikon