David Rowan

Last Updated on 9 January 2020 by Jan-Paul Steggerda

David was the founding editor-in-chief of WIRED magazine in the UK (2008-17), and is the author of Non-Bullshit Innovation: Radical Ideas from the World’s Smartest Minds (Transworld, 2019), a global quest for bold corporate innovation in the face of technology-led disruption.

A former technology columnist for The Times, The Sunday Times, British GQ and Condé Nast Traveller,  David travels the world to meet the entrepreneurs and innovators creating the future — from the Silicon Valley founders of Google and WhatsApp to the entrepreneurs building world-changing technology businesses in China.  He has taken 130 flights in the past year to understand from the front line how everything from genomics to machine learning are changing the way businesses and consumers will operate.

As a speaker and event moderator, he brings his extensive experience as a newspaper and magazine editor, and television broadcaster, to communicating complex trends in clear, accessible ways that give audiences that “Aha” moment of understanding.  His presentations are fast-paced, energetic, visually stimulating, packed with concrete examples, and infused with wit.

Some recent audiences include leading global banks (Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Barclays); real-estate professionals (CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield); consulting firms (McKinsey, Tata, Capgemini); manufacturing and retail businesses (Castrol, Technogym, Panasonic); and governments.

David also moderates events for clients such as the World Economic Forum and the UK and French governments. Despite his heavy speaking schedule — recent engagements ranged from Brazil to Mumbai — he takes pride in custom-researching every presentation for that particular audience.

David is also an early-stage investor in 50 tech companies and founder of a non-profit which takes amazing people for weekend adventures in the world’s most extraordinary locations.

Recent talk subjects include:

• Lessons from my global quest for non-bullshit innovation
• How to create a culture of innovation
• How artificial intelligence and automation can boost your business
• The new rules of business
• How to profit from digital disruption
• What startups can teach your business
• How emerging technologies will impact financial services / recruitment / real estate / healthcare / agriculture / travel etc
• Why the world will never move this slowly again
• The future of the workplace
• Ten technologies shaping our future
• Ten lessons I’ve learned from the world’s fastest innovators
• New business models that are redefining industries
• The future of the customer experience

David Rowan also does a lot of moderating, chairing and interviewing at events, including moderating for the World Economic Forum, the UK Government’s G8 Innovation Conference, the Duke of York’s startup pitch events, and WIRED’s conferences.