Henry Coutinho-Mason

Henry’s signature talk is a fast-paced dive into the key trends that will present innovation opportunities for your audience in the near future. The current versions of this keynote draw from Henry’s new book, The Future Normal (written with 3-time WSJ bestselling author Rohit Bhargava and released in early 2023) While the title might have remained a constant during his 10-year stint as CEO of TrendWatching, every session is unique thanks to Henry’s ability to bring in the newest and most insightful local and industry-specific case studies. One event organizer who booked Henry to speak to 2,000 senior executives from a Fortune 500 company in Las Vegas described his keynote as “inspiring, energetic, and entertaining”–three words that are regularly reported on his feedback forms.

Audiences love Henry’s:

• Uniquely global and cross-category perspective and insight.
• Clarity and structure of the presentation–to connect what’s happening today with what it means for tomorrow.
• Ability to show examples that lie outside of their day-to-day yet are always highly relevant.
• Irreverent and accessible style.

People leave with:

• A notebook full of innovative ideas! Inspired by relevant, real-world innovation case studies to use with their teams or clients.
• Actionable insights into how those innovations will change what their customers will want next.
• Empowered to become a trend spotters themselves

This year it’s AI. Last year it was the metaverse, web3, and crypto. Before that, it was social media and mobile. For over a decade, Henry’s talks on how to think about new and fast-moving technologies have been enthusiastically received by executive audiences. Henry’s approach is a deceptively simple one–don’t only focus on what’s changing; instead, identify what won't change for your customers. What are the basic human needs and wants that your customers will still look to your organization to cater to a decade from now? So instead of talking solely about novel technologies themselves, Henry talks about the underlying relevant basic human needs they speak to. Generative AI and convenience, empowerment, and creativity; Web3 and community and ownership; the metaverse and identity and status. This deeply human-centric view of technology might seem obvious, but Henry’s talks present a view of the world that is both fresh and compelling. More importantly, it’s an accessible and practical approach that audiences can take back into their organizations in order to think strategically about the long-term implications and opportunities that technologies like AI, Web3, and the metaverse will present.

Audiences love Henry’s:

• Ability to cut through the BS! And show how to connect what’s happening today with a longer-term roadmap for their organization.
• Fresh perspectives on well-known topics–both the focus on basic human needs and the relevant innovation case studies.
• Down-to-earth and accessible style that engages the audience as equals.

People leave:

• Feeling empowered and inspired, rather than nervous!
• With a clear strategic framework to use with their teams.
• Armed with current best practices (and some entertaining stories about the most niche use cases, too!)