Heather McGowan is an extraordinary futurist, brimming with insight on the new ways organizations and individuals can work and thrive in today’s rapidly
McGowan shows audiences how technology and globalization are fundamentally reshaping how we live and work - and how we must continually learn and adapt. Blending work, culture, society and identity into her captivating presentation, McGowan helps leaders and employees understand how to prepare for jobs that do not yet exist. She provides audiences with useful takeaways to re-think and re-frame business models and organizational structures.
With illuminating graphic frameworks, powerful metaphors and deep research, McGowan discusses how to leave the computerization and automation of physical labor behind, what we know as the Third Industrial Revolution. She provides useful takeaways on surviving times of change by building a foundation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its rapid advancement of technology tools into the domain of human knowledge.
McGowan serves on the advisory board for Sparks & Honey, a culture-focused agency looking to the future for brands. She has held academic roles at Rhode Island School of Design, Becker College and Jefferson University. She is often called on by media outlets such as the New York Times for her expertise. Her think tank, Work to Learn, is devoted to helping people continuously learn and adapt. McGowan is the co-editor and author of the book Disrupt Together: How Teams Consistently Innovate and The Adaptation Advantage. In 2019, she was appointed to the faculty of the Centre for the New Workforce at Swinburne University.