William Higham Keynote Speaker

Will Higham Speaker Profile:

A global authority on Innovation and Strategy, Will predicts how future customers are going to behave, and recommends the best strategies clients should use to reach them.

He’s the man who championed Strictly Come Dancing to the BBC, warned the drinks industry about the New Sobriety, and saw the Wellbeing Consumer coming a mile off.

His engaging and inspiring talks leave audiences excited to face the future: armed with new, smarter ways to handle tomorrow’s consumers; and an arsenal of opportunities for innovation-led growth.

His keynote talks have inspired thousands globally: from conferences organised by the Financial Times and Harvard Business Review to corporate events for Walt Disney, Barclaycard and Primark.

Will runs strategic consultancy Next Big Thing, helping clients from Amazon to HSBC understand what their customers (and employees) will think, do, expect, demand and buy in future.

He wrote the first practical handbook for trend strategists: ‘The Next Big Thing: Forecasting Consumer Trends For Profit’ (Kogan Page, 2009), which has since been translated into five languages.

He’s been interviewed across media: BBC to Bloomberg TV, Fast Company to The Times. He presented a TV show for CNBC, and written for The Economist, Advertising Age and Huffington Post.

Will made his name in the Music industry. Working at Sony, Virgin and Universal, he marketed artists from Michael Jackson to The Rolling Stones. His fascination with music fans led him to the Research industry, as a consumer trends consultant for brands from Levis to BT: and later as managing director of research company OnePoll, whose clients include Kelloggs and Findus. 

Popular talks

• Building a Faster Horse: Five reasons why consumer-led innovation is the easiest way to boost your

bottom line.

• Three BIG Words: Why Control, Comfort and Community are what your customer will want tomorrow –

and what it means for your business.

• Securing the ‘Smart Employee’: How to hire, and retain, the right talent to make your company fit

for tomorrow.

• Culture Club: You can’t progress without innovation, and you can’t innovate without an Innovation Culture.

For availability and speaker fees, please contact William Higham’s speaking agent at Chartwell here, or call +1 972 385 1021 for U.S. inquiries or +44 207 293 0864 for international inquiries.