The Global Foresight Advisory Council supports TFX’s mission of ethically democratizing the future around the world. In addition to offering mentorship and guidance, the Council also serves as the accrediting body for The Futures School Professional Foresight Certification.
This international group of visionaries are redefining their industries, intrinsically guided by an innate futurist mindset. As multidisciplinary luminaries they are uniquely positioned to guide and expand this movement into the future with the right balance of practical experience and provocative thinking.
Guided by the framework of the competency domains and supported by the foundation of the core beliefs, the Global Foresight Advisory Council organizes its ongoing efforts in terms of the following three areas of focus:
Associate Professor- Engineering Technology and Science, Higher Colleges of Technology – UAE
Dr. Al-Wedyan has over 20 years of experience in teaching as well as a researcher with more than 20 journal and conference articles in the field of Fuzzy Logic Systems and Applied Mechanical Vibrations. He began his Futures journey with Kedge in 2017 and became a Certified Future Foresight Trainer over the course of two years. His background includes extensive experience in the creation of partnerships and alliances between public/private and university organizations to promote higher education and vocational training. He continues to incorporate Futures Thinking as a way of life in his professional life.
Head of Digital Strategy & Customer Transformation, IBM – Argentina
Julian is a senior executive specialized in Business Strategy, Marketing Consumer Experience and Digital Transformation. He also acts as an international speaker represented by the agency Thinking Heads, as a professor at Universidad de San Andres and is an active Foresight Ambassador within the Latin America region. Previously, he has held multiple positions and has been responsible for various businesses and geographic regions at The Walt Disney Company, IBM and WPP Group. Additionally, he has solid experience advising startups and the Argentinian government. Julian holds an MBA from the Universidad de San Andrés. Also has specialized studies in Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and in Positive Psychology at Yale University.
Independent Consultant – Philippines
Shiela is a social development professional, foresight practitioner, and climate advocate with 20 years of experience in the Philippines and Cambodia. She is an Associate of United Edge, a justice-based social enterprise. One of the co-founders of the Philippine Futures Thinking Society (PhilFutures), she is an Emerging Fellow of the Association of Professional Futurists (2021-2023). In 2017, she was awarded the Climate Reality Luntiang Dahon (Green Leaf) Award for Climate Leadership. A passionate environmentalist and animal rights activist, she also has eponymous blog on Medium where she writes about the futures of justice.
Senior Trainer and Consultant, LBL Strategies – USA
Robin Champ is a senior trainer and consultant with LBL Strategies focusing on strategic foresight and strategy management. She developed and teaches the Mastering Foresight: Scenario-Based Planning course, focusing on how to run a scenario-based planning workshop and tie the results to strategy. In addition, She is the Chief of the Enterprise Strategy Division at the United States Secret Service, where she leads both foresight and strategic planning for the organization. Robin also Co-Leads the Federal Foresight Community of Interest (FFCoI.org), a forum for foresight professionals in the US Government.
Senior Foresight Analyst, Policy Horizons Canada – Canada
Zan is a Senior Foresight Analyst with Policy Horizons Canada, the Government of Canada’s centre of expertise in Foresight. She has worked at the intersection of futures, systems and design thinking for the last decade on projects that have spanned arts and culture, post-secondary education, transportation, retail, the military, non-profit, and all levels of government. Committed to bringing foresight to new audiences, Zan complements her practice by teaching Foresight and Futures Thinking in both OCAD University’s Master of Design in Strategic Foresight and Innovation program and the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Whether working on behalf of employers, clients or communities of interest, her approach is grounded in empathy and justice.
Chief Marketing Officer, LocoNav – India
Seema is a Marketing Leader from India with over 20 years of experience across Entertainment, Consumer Goods and Consumer Tech businesses working with brands like Disney, Mattel, AJIO.com & Hotstar. She is currently VP Marketing at Hike – the world’s first, mobile-first avatar social world. She began her Futures journey with Kedge in 2014 while at The Walt Disney Company and became an Advanced Practitioner over the course of 2 years. She continues to incorporate Futures Thinking as a way of life in her professional life.
General Manager People and Culture, GNS Science – New Zealand
Diane’s career spans roles in a diverse range of positions including teaching, management, accounting, business reengineering, IT, L&D, HR, and change management. She has worked within multiple sectors and has overseas experience in the UK, USA, Australia, India and Tanzania. She is the recipient of multiple national and international awards in NZ and Australia.
Partner & Chief Foresight Officer, Memética – Chile
Bárbara operates in the integration between anticipatory thinking, strategy, psychology, systems thinking, and eco-social regeneration. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Engineering and a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from Adolfo Ibáñez University (Chile), also studied Ontological Coaching. Currently works as Foresight Director in Memética and host the podcast “Exploradores de Futuros”, which has the purpose of democratizing and spreading futures conversations in Spanish. She has worked as a consultant in corporations, ventures and NGOs based in Latin America and Europe on issues of foresight, strategy, strategic communication, and cultural transformation.
Global Head of Commercial Vehicles, Business Development, Luminar Technologies – USA
Lori started her career as an accountant, quickly realizing that she was more interested in delivering results than accounting for them. In her nearly 20 years at Daimler Trucks, she held executive roles in technology, strategy and innovation and developed a deep knowledge in the transportation industry. Currently she works with startups as an investor, advisor, board member and coach with a focus on commercialization, analytics, and strategy.
Managing Director, StrateDelta Nigeria Limited – Nigeria
Timothy has over nineteen (19) years of experience in the oil and gas industry and is currently the Managing Director of StrateDelta Nigeria Limited, a strategy and foresight consulting firm, with the aim of “Using Strategy to Improve Business Value”. He believes in “The Future of Human Potential, People and Organizational Transformation” using Strategic Foresight as the Operating System (worldview). He is an advocate of democratizing strategic foresight as the dominant paradigm and mindset, changing our perspective and perception for a resilient, adaptive, and transformative sustainable enterprise in the areas of social (people), environmental (planet), and economic (profit).
Vice President & General Manager, Walt Disney Studios – Ireland
Trish is Vice President & GM of Walt Disney Studios, Ireland and has held a variety of roles in Disney since 1994. She has core responsibility for WDS in Ireland, across Disney Animation Studios; Disney Live Action; Pixar; Marvel & Lucas Films plus Twentieth Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures. As part of the UK & Ireland Senior Leadership team, she helps identify and develop new business opportunities. She has a history in activism relating to Gender and social issues. Boards include: Irish Film and Television Academy; University of Limerick; Medicinema; Troy Film Studios.
Design Manager, Data and AI, IBM – USA
John has explored the intersection of design, technology, and education for more than two decades. He currently leads the development of enterprise-level digital experiences for IBM’s Data Fabric and AI division. Prior to IBM, he directed the development of Advanced Concepts for Branch Technology, a large-scale additive manufacturing company envisioning and producing solutions for off-world exploration. During the past 20 years, John has been recognized with 35 international awards for his contributions to university partnerships, research ventures, and multidisciplinary product development with BMW, NASA, IBM, Reebok, Disney, US DoD, Dell, Google, and many others.
GFAC Live! is an open-access webinar held seasonally that features thought leaders who are democratizing the future from around the globe. We are all doing our part to Discover the Future and Create it Today, and GFAC Live! showcases the diversity of talent that exists on the spectrum of futures thinking.
