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Consumer Behavior Speakers

 

How are financial decisions made? What are the psychological, cognitive, and emotional forces driving the market? Our consumer behavior speakers study the deeply human motivations shaping enormous financial trends.

33
Consumer Behavior
Speakers
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Stephanie Mehta

Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company | Former Deputy Editor at Vanity Fair

What makes the world’s most creative people—and companies—tick? The most qualified person to answer the question is Stephanie Mehta. As Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company—the influential magazine championing creativity, innovation, and thriving workplace culture— Mehta is the rare editor who talks to pure creatives and corporate leaders in equal measure. In talks, she reveals how the world’s most successful leaders innovate—starting with a deep understanding of their consumer.
Nita Farahany

Legal Scholar & Ethicist | Director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society

Technologies like biometrics, cognitive enhancement, and surveillance are advancing like never before. When the World Economic Forum, the United States Court of Appeals, and the United States Congress want to know the benefits—and the risks—they ask Nita Farahany: a leading scholar on the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging tech. Farahany’s talks help companies get ahead of these issues, maximizing social benefits—while minimizing social harm.
Luke Burgis

Entrepreneur | Author of Wanting: Our Secret Economy of Desire

How can we create things that benefit us as people? That is the question that author, entrepreneur, and investor Luke Burgis asks. His people-first perspective stems from a lifetime of unique experiences: working on Wall Street, founding companies in Silicon Valley, even studying theology. Today, Burgis applies mimetic theory—the idea that desire is a social mechanism—to business. In talks, he shows us the hidden forces behind why we want things, how to break free from destructive desires, and how to cultivate the intentional desires that build a better world.
Markus Giesler

Consumer Sociologist | One of The 40 Best Business Professors Under 40

“Your view of life changes the moment you start looking left and right” says consumer sociologist and rebel marketing speaker Markus Giesler. What he means is that our innovations shouldn’t be created in a vacuum. In his vibrant, eye-opening talks, Giesler asks us to get out of our heads and look around when it comes to understanding consumers. 
Steve Martin

CEO of Influence At Work (UK) | Co-Author of Messengers and Yes! 50 Secrets of the Science of Persuasion

Why are some people in society listened to, and others ignored—regardless of the truth or wisdom of their message? In his groundbreaking book Messengers, behavioral science expert Steve Martin shows us why seemingly irrelevant details about a person—such as their financial status, or physical appearance—influence whether or not we listen to them. In today’s uncertain world, understanding who consumers trust and why is imperative for organizations, business leaders, and marketers in any industry.
Joseph Marks

Visiting Lecturer at University of London | Co-Author of Messengers

 Presidential Lies. Mass hysteria on Twitter. The surprising success of Brexit campaigners. In his revelatory book Messengers, Joseph Marks explains how the most infuriating phenomena of the modern age can be traced back to who’s delivering the message—and why they are believed, oftentimes regardless of the data. Marks offers us a profound understanding of trust and influence that any business leader can tap into to connect with their consumer in a more genuine way.
Maria Konnikova

Science Blogger for The New Yorker | New York Times Bestselling Author of The Confidence Game and Mastermind

A New Yorker science writer who rocketed to poker stardom, Maria Konnikova is a brilliant decoder of why we make decisions—and how we can make better ones. Author of the NYT-bestselling books The Confidence Game and Mastermind, Konnikova’s talks offer a fascinating lesson in how our performance at work can be improved by a deeper understanding of logical choices. 
Amber Mac

Relentless Adaptation & Digital Innovation Speaker | Co-Host of The AI Effect

Amber Mac talks about relentless adaptation and the accelerating pace of corporate culture in the digital economy. She helps companies adapt to, anticipate, and capitalize on lightning-quick changes—from AI to social media to the Internet of Things, from marketing to customer service to digital parenting and beyond. 
 
David Sax

Author of The Revenge of Analog, The Tastemakers, and Save the Deli

Digital was supposed to change the world. But the need for real things is greater than ever. This is the business story—and cultural shift—that David Sax broke in The Revenge of Analog, which shows how retailers and tech giants are fusing screens with analog processes to boost creativity and outsmart the competition. It’s time for a sense of balance, Sax says.
 
Doug Stephens

Retail and Consumer Futurist | Internationally Acclaimed Author and Founder of Retail Prophet

Doug Stephens is one of the most influential retail futurists on the planet. His talks are required listening for any company that orbits the retail world. In fully customized and thoroughly researched keynotes, Stephens shows you how to stay ahead of the changing mega-trends in demographics, economics, and technology...
 
Marc Weinstein

Consultant Featured in Netflix Documentary Fyre | Entrepreneur | Expert on Influencer Culture

Entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and start-up advisor Marc Weinstein is known as the voice of reason from Fyre, the Netflix documentary about the unparalleled disaster that was Fyre Festival. You can learn from mistakes before they’re made, engage ethically and meaningfully with the attention economy, and push back against the pressures of “toxic entrepreneurship.” 
Ashton Applewhite

Anti-Ageism Activist | Author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism

What if discrimination on the basis of age were as unacceptable as any other kind of prejudice? Ashton Applewhite is a leading voice in an emerging movement dedicated to dismantling ageism and making age a criterion for diversity. The author of This Chair Rocks and a TED2017 mainstage speaker, she reveals the untapped possibilities of late life—
 
Eric Klinenberg

Author of Palaces for the People and Going Solo

The future of cities and democratic societies rests not simply on shared values but on social infrastructure. In his talks, renowned sociologist and bestselling author Eric Klinenberg highlights innovative infrastructure projects that address challenges like climate change and crime while also building social cohesion. 
Lera Boroditsky

Cognitive Scientist | Expert in the Fields of Language and Cognition

“Do the languages that we speak shape the way that we think?” Lera Boroditsky’s TED Talk—on how people view the world differently, based on their linguistic backgrounds—has been viewed an astonishing 37 million times. Boroditsky is a celebrated cognitive scientist and one of the “25 Visionaries Changing the World” (Utne). 
 
Katherine Milkman

Expert in Behavioral Economics | Professor, The Wharton School at UPenn

How can we break bad habits and stick to tough goals? An expert in big data and behavioral economics, Katherine Milkman studies how human decision-making can be improved. In her engaging talks, she offers accessible insights into how we can encourage good choices: in ourselves, our customers, and our employees. 
Derek Thompson

Senior Editor at The Atlantic | Bestselling Author of Hit Makers

As Senior Editor at The Atlantic, Derek Thompson writes on economics and politics, media and money in America today—and always with an expert sense of what’s important. Whether he’s analyzing labor markets, entertainment, or government—or changes in generational spending and voting habits—Thompson offers sophisticated takes that people actually want to read. 
 
Justin Reves

Chief Storyteller at Pidgeon Social | Digital Marketing & Media Strategist

In our new digital world, everyone is a content producer. As an advertising creative director with a passion for social media, Justin Reves leapt headlong into that digital world, masterminding a series of viral platforms and a social media consultancy. Reves delivers practical, hilarious, and data-driven talks on how businesses can take creative risks—punching above their weight class with digital-age marketing and storytelling. 
Joe Jackman

Founder and CEO of Jackman Reinvents

Traditional retail is under siege—and if your company can’t adapt, you disappear. That’s why iconic brands are turning to Joe Jackman. This retail veteran works with major companies to reinvent success from the inside out.
 
Rahaf Harfoush

New York Times Bestselling Co-author of The Decoded Company

Rahaf Harfoush investigates the impacts of emerging technologies on our society. She focuses on understanding the deep behavioral shifts that are taking place within organizations and individuals as global digital infrastructures enable the unprecedented exchange of ideas, information, and opinions. 
Trend Hunter Team

The World’s #1 Trend Firm and Innovation Engine

With the Trend Hunter Team, you get a diversely talented group of speakers who will show you—individually or together—what the trends in tech, business, retail and more can do for you before they explode. These speakers are immersed in trends on a daily basis, advising the world’s most innovative people at Disney, Coca-Cola, even NASA, on their areas of opportunity, and crafting Trend Hunter’s world-class culture. 
 
Douglas Rushkoff

Author of Team Human, Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus, and Present Shock

Instead of trying to optimize human beings for the automated future, we should be optimizing technology for human beings, says Douglas Rushkoff. A world-renowned philosopher and futurist, Rushkoff’s funny, agile talks show how we can put human creativity at the heart of businesses, even as we embrace automation and all the change it ushers in.
 
Francesca Gino

Author of Sidetracked and Rebel Talent | Behavioral Scientist | Harvard Business School Professor

Small, simple, and seemingly irrelevant factors often have profound consequences on our behavior and ability to stick to our decisions. In her talks, Francesca Gino explains exactly why our decisions get derailed and what we can do to stick to the plan—at work, in our personal lives, and as organizations. 
Yancey Strickler

Co-founder & Former CEO of Kickstarter | Author of This Could Be Our Future (Oct. 29)

Our current society is trapped by three assumptions, says writer and Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler: that the point of life is to maximize self-interest and wealth; that we’re individuals trapped in an adversarial world; and that this is natural. In his talks, Strickler urges us to discard these three alienating assumptions that limit our ability to innovate a new future. 
 
Adam Alter

New York Times Bestselling Author of Drunk Tank Pink and Irresistible

Adam Alter is a bestselling author who studies how we think and decide—how consumers spend, doctors diagnose, judges punish, and investors invest. In his book, Irresistible, he explores how tech companies and marketers design games, apps, and experiences with predictable human psychology in mind—and how you can direct, and command, attention.  
Bianca Bosker

Author of Cork Dork, the Instant New York Times Bestseller | Contributing Editor at The Atlantic

Bianca Bosker is obsessed with obsession. It’s inspired her award-winning stories for outlets like The New Yorker and The Atlantic, as well as her New York Times bestseller Cork Dork, which traces her journey from tech reporter to sommelier. 
 
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Author of Everybody Lies | New York Times Op-Ed Writer | Former Google Data Scientist

In Everybody Lies—a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller—Seth Stephens-Davidowitz explores how Google searches open an unprecedented window into human behavior, choice, and decision-making. In talks, this former Google data scientist draws on his research to reveal what we really think.
 
Virginia Heffernan

Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art

In her book Magic and Loss, Virginia Heffernan treats the internet not merely as a new technology or business tool, but as a great masterpiece of civilization—a massive and collective work of art that radically revitalizes the way we see digital life. PBS calls Heffernan a “luminary” and “among the founding mothers of the digital revolution.” 
Christian Rudder

Co-Founder of OkCupid | New York Times Bestselling Author of Dataclysm

In the age of Big Data, Christian Rudder stands out. Rudder is in personal possession of one of the richest data sets in the world, accumulated from the dating site he co-founded, OkCupid, as well as Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and the like. In his book Dataclysm, he uses this data to show us the human behavior behind the numbers: a revolutionary look at who we truly are. 
 
Shlomo Benartzi

Co-Founder, Behavioral Decision-Making Group at UCLA | Author of The Smarter Screen

We live in a world of screens. Many of us spend the majority of our waking lives interacting with devices. Behavioral economist Shlomo Benartzi studies how we think and act differently on screens—responding to nudges and cues to make choices we wouldn’t make offline. The implications for educators, healthcare providers, retailers, and policy makers are profound. 
Chia-Jung Tsay

Expert the Psychology of Negotiations | Associate Professor, UCL School of Management

Are we ever really aware of why we choose the things we do? Psychologist Chia-Jung Tsay studies judgment biases: the non-conscious beliefs influencing our decisions. Her insights help experts, educators, and managers make wiser choices for recruitment, investment, and negotiations.
 
Jer Thorp

Author of Living in Data (Spring 2020) | Former Library of Congress Innovator in Residence | Former NYT Data Artist-in-Residence

When Twitter, Microsoft, and Facebook need an expert to analyze their data, who do they turn to? The answer is Jer Thorp—the most respected Data Artist in America (what he does goes far beyond analysis).
 
Ari Wallach

Founder of Fast Company’s Futures with Ari Wallach; Futurist & Social Innovation Strategist

Futurist and innovation strategist Ari Wallach is the founder of Longpath Labs and an expert on long-term thinking and behavioral strategies for individuals, communities, and society. Using his grasp of economic, political, social, and cultural megatrends, Wallach equips leaders and organizations to seize the opportunities of this moment and build futures in which we collectively thrive.
 
Joe Mimran

Founder, Joe Fresh | Co-Founder and Chairman of Gibralter & Company

Joe Mimran is a true innovator—of retail, design, business, manufacturing—he disrupted the fashion industry before people even had a word for it. In his keynotes he details the methods he used to grow Joe Fresh, Club Monaco, and Alfred Sung—some of the industry’s best-known brands, into global successes.