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Bio

One of Forbes’ Top Futurists, Heather E. McGowan brings fresh energy and actionable insights to the future of work. A sought-after strategist, keynote speaker, and 2x bestselling author, she equips organizations to navigate relentless change by activating their most critical resource: their people. McGowan’s audiences range from startups to publicly traded Fortune 500 companies, including Google, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, and Kaiser Permanente. Through data-driven insights and powerful visual frameworks, she helps leaders and teams transform their distinctly human capabilities—adaptability, empathy, and curiosity—into strategic advantages.

Often quoted in The New York Times, with Thomas Friedman calling her an “oasis” for her insights, McGowan’s bestselling books include The Adaptation Advantage and The Empathy Advantage, which was named a Top 10 Business Book of 2023.

By teaching people to ask better questions, she enables them to adapt at the speed of possibility to Solve Tomorrow’s Problems™.

Keynote Topics

Keynote #1 : Solve Tomorrow’s Problems: Harness Human Ingenuity to Navigate What’s Next

When naysayers said "it can't be done," humans accomplished the impossible—in weeks, not years. Each pivotal moment reminds us of humanity’s most underestimated asset: our ability to adapt in the face of seemingly impossible odds.

In this perspective-shifting keynote, Heather challenges the myth that we resist change using unforgettable stories about a mop, a burrito, and a hermit crab to demonstrate how we can tap into our natural curiosity and hardwired drive to collaborate to see and shape what’s next.

Drawing from her bestselling books The Adaptation Advantage and The Empathy Advantage, Heather reveals how leading organizations thrive when they place adaptability at their core, allowing them to find breakthrough opportunities where others least expect.

The audience will leave able to:
Frame challenges to spark innovation
Identify problems worth solving before competitors do
Apply design thinking to everyday decisions

Keynote #2: The Augmented Imperative: Unleashing Human Potential in the AI Era

Think you can't remember phone numbers like you used to?

YOU'RE NOT ALONE.

As we hand off more tasks to technology, some of our more-human capabilities will naturally fade—yet while automation may lead to atrophy in some areas, augmentation opens doors to entirely new human capabilities. The key isn’t only using AI to replace what we currently do by automating it, but transforming work as we know it.

In this eye-opening presentation, Heather cuts through the AI hype to demonstrate why thriving alongside AI isn't about having the right answers—it's about asking better questions, framing new challenges, and enhancing what makes us uniquely human.

The audience will leave able to:
Partner with AI to enhance—not erase—human value
Know what to automate vs. augment
Lead teams through technological transformation

Keynote #3: The Curiosity Advantage: Leading in the Age of Uncertainty

Remember when being a leader meant having all the answers? Today's most successful leaders are
ASKING BETTER
QUESTIONS.
In a world of economic volatility, AI advancement, cybersecurity challenges, and employee mental wellbeing responsibility, leadership has evolved beyond simple command-control tactics to drive productivity.

Today's exceptional leaders acknowledge complexity as a reality and leverage curiosity over unrealistic certainty, asking better questions amid constant change.

In this talk, Heather reveals how forward-thinking leaders succeed by unlocking their teams' natural capacity to adapt and innovate.

You'll discover practical frameworks to transform challenges into opportunities and evidence-based strategies replacing outdated leadership models. Through compelling research and real-world examples, learn how empowering teams, nurturing curiosity, building trust, and harnessing collective intelligence creates both agile organizations and fulfilled teams that thrive amid change.

The audience will leave able to:
Adapt with confidence instead of fear
Build cultures where unlearning accelerates growth
Use ambiguity as a competitive advantage

Call or text Neal at (720) 498 -3275 or email neal@infinitespeakers.com to schedule a pre booking call with Heather or book her for your upcoming event today.