To design for the future, we must first imagine it
Victoria Mulligan is a well-kept secret in the world of New Zealand business, working with CEOs, strategists and Executive teams to bring the future to life. She is a futurist and organisational designer recognised globally for providing key insights into the trends shaping our future. She is a thought leader, known for helping businesses and other organisations navigate uncertainty and embrace future thinking.
Originally trained as a psychologist, Victoria has worked around the world, from Africa to Papua New Guinea, including periods at the British Home Office and Queensland’s Crime and Misconduct Commission. Her early career working in crime and later health led to many years working across the Pacific, using innovative human solutions to tackle complex global and domestic challenges.
Victoria’s ability to challenge conventional thinking has made her a sought-after advisor and speaker. A regular panelist at international events, including the United Nations Summit of the Future and the Dubai Future Forum, she is a member of Global Futures Society and writes for consumer and academic publications worldwide - from Business Desk to the World Futures Review. She is creator and host of The Futures Workshop, an international podcast showcasing the world's leading futures tools.
She currently consults to a number of large businesses in New Zealand and around the world. Her specialty topics include futures and foresight, megatrends, human-centred design and new ways of working.
Talking Points
Futures 101 - How a futurist sees the world
Around the world, organisations are hiring futurists to help them find a pathway to success. Multinationals like McDonalds, Lego and Ikea all have a fulltime "director of foresight" or the equivalent to help them imagine the future they want and guide them on how to get there. In this session Victoria Mulligan, host of The Futures Workshop podcast, will run a beginner's guide to futurism and strategic foresight. She'll talk about why humans have so much trouble imagining things that haven't already happened, and share some useful tools for overcoming our "bias towards the present". Expect a creative session grounded in business thinking. You will leave with a strong vision of what you want your organisation's future to look like, and a clear roadmap to get there.
Futures 101 - How a futurist sees the world
Supercharge your Workplace - the world's best tools for a productive, happy team
It's easy to feel as though you're the only one struggling to manage hybrid working, staff burnout and a new generation of workers expecting more, for less. But these issues are being faced by leaders around the world right now. The pandemic accelerated change we were already seeing, leaving organisations stranded in a halfway house between old and new. In this session we'll look at how the best organisations have coped with these challenges and adapted their workplaces to thrive in the modern environment. With real world examples from Netflix to Microsoft to Atlassian, you'll explore and experiment with proven tools to get the most out of your staff, in a workplace that works for everyone. You'll look at all aspects of daily productivity, from zoom calls to meetings to report writing, and find out how the best thinkers in the world have turned these roadblocks into fast lanes.
Supercharge your Workplace - the world's best tools for a productive, happy team
Global Megatrends: Patterns of change reshaping New Zealand over coming decades
No matter what industry or sector you’re in, your survival will depend on how well you anticipate and respond to the significant changes ahead. Artificial Intelligence is on everyone’s radar - but it’s just one (high profile) example of a megatrend: a globally significant development that will upend the way we live and do business. In this presentation you’ll hear about the six biggest of these trends and how you can position your organisation to thrive in spite of (or perhaps because of) their influence.
Global Megatrends: Patterns of change reshaping New Zealand over coming decades
Using the Future: Shaping the Present through Foresight
Discover how foresight enables leaders to anticipate challenges, turn uncertainty into opportunity, and craft actionable strategies that thrive in uncertainty.Using the Future: Shaping the Present through Foresight
Discover how foresight can be embedded into organisational planning to stay ahead of emerging trends. How can we use the future as a tool to influence present decisions and create lasting impact?
Reimagining Work: Building Adaptive, Flexible Teams for the Future
In a world where the pace of change continues to accelerate, how we work must evolve to keep up. This keynote explores the future of work through the lens of adaptability and flexibility - looking at how organisations can build teams that thrive in uncertain environments by embracing flexible work structures, empowering employee autonomy, and cultivating agile, responsive decision-making processes to drive innovation and resilience. By reimagining work, we can create cultures that are not only more productive but also more engaged and ready to meet the challenges of the future.
Reimagining Work: Building Adaptive, Flexible Teams for the Future
