Salim Ismail

A globally recognized technology entrepreneur and renowned futurist, Salim Ismail is a sought-after exponential strategist who advises organizations of all sizes and across industries, as well as heads of state, on how they can turn cutting-edge ideas into viable business opportunities and apply inventive thinking to drive innovation and achieve their desired futures sooner. He is the Founder and Chair of OpenExO, a team of innovation experts who create customized solutions for corporations and organizations seeking to emulate the world’s fastest growing organizations.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Ismail shares a global perspective on the impact of breakthrough technologies and how organizations can leverage these disruptions to grow 10 times faster than the other players in their industries. His talks have been described as jaw-dropping, educational, and even mind-blowing, as he shares five internal and five external characteristics that exponential organizations have in common and walks audiences through how any company, from a startup to a multinational firm, can streamline its performance and grow to the next level. Audiences walk away with a tailored action plan for moving forward, a new process for leading-edge thinking, and an understanding of what emerging technology trends mean for the future.

At OpenExO, Ismail and his team inspire leaders and their teams to replace incremental innovation with 10x improvements, implement groundbreaking technologies (such as artificial intelligence), and profitably achieve large-scale social impact. The company has created billions of dollars in ROI for clients including Proctor & Gamble, HP, Visa, and Stanley Black & Decker. Salim is a serial entrepreneur, having founded several technology companies including Ångströ, which was acquired by Google. As a VP at Yahoo, he led Brickhouse, Yahoo’s internal incubator. He was also the Founding Executive Director of Singularity University and serves on the Board of the XPRIZE Foundation. These associations give him extraordinary access to the most influential innovators of our time, plus technologies and business ideas while they are in stealth mode.

As one of the thought leaders at the forefront of solving humanity’s challenges, Ismail consults with governments and the world’s top Fortune 500 companies on innovation and growth, and his work has been featured in premier media outlets, such as The New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, WIRED, Vogue, and the BBC. He is also the author of Exponential Organizations, which is considered by many to be the go-to guide for leading successful 21^st century organizations. The data shows that corporations that follow the ExO attributes deliver 40x shareholder returns compared to those that don’t. The much anticipated second edition, Exponential Organizations 2.0, was released in 2023. Both books are global bestsellers.

Salim’s breadth of work experience combined with his global outlook give him a uniquely macro vision of how the institutions that underpin our society and economy are broken and should be fixed. His epiphany-inducing presentations are known for impressing even the most skeptical listeners.