Heather E. McGowan is a future-of-work strategist, keynote speaker, and two-time bestselling author recognised by Forbes as one of the world’s top futurists. She helps leaders and organisations navigate relentless change by activating their people—teaching them to ask better questions, adapt faster, and turn empathy and curiosity into strategic advantage.
Drawing on a career that spans industrial design, socially responsive investing, and award-winning academic innovation, Heather brings data-driven insight, powerful visual frameworks, and practical optimism to audiences at organisations like Google, JPMorgan Chase, Accenture, Mastercard, FedEx, AT&T, and Kaiser Permanente. Her books The Adaptation Advantage and The Empathy Advantage have been widely acclaimed, with the latter named a Top 10 Business Book of 2023. Her mission: help leaders Solve Tomorrow’s Problems™ by rethinking how we work, learn, and lead.



