With the unique ability to translate how consumer and lifestyle trends will affect organizations across industry sectors, Sheryl Connelly outlines how to develop a futuring mindset, to act decisively in high-stakes business environments.

As a corporate futurist for more than a decade, Connelly is skilled at identifying what’s coming around the corner and the potential influences to customer attitudes and behavioral patterns that directly impact business strategy. The in-house futurist at Ford Motor Company, Connelly was twice named by Fast Company as one of its “100 Most Creative People in Business,” while TechWeek listed her among its “Top 100 Innovators”.

Her insights into 'what’s next', helps explain how STEEP factors – social, technological, economic, environmental and political trends – will affect business in the short- and long-term. From population growth to the proliferation of technology, to mindfulness and the tiny home movement, Connelly’s big picture outlook ensures organizational leaders recognize and take advantage of the trends that shape the way we live.

Connelly is a member of the Global Advisory Council on transportation for the World Economic Forum and has been a featured speaker at TED Global, appeared on CBS This Morning, CNBC’s Fast Money and NPR’s All Things Considered with Robert Siegel. Before working for Ford, she practiced law. In addition to a juris doctorate, Connelly holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s in business administration. When her schedule permits, she teaches design research at Center for Creative Studies in Detroit.

Innovation, Futurism, Business Leadership, Creativity, Automotive, Creative Thinking, Women in Leadership, Women in Business, Leadership, Technology, Business, Economy