Heather E McGowan

Future-of-work strategist, thought leader, researcher, and author Heather E McGowan is one of the leading voices on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. McGowan is a sense maker, a dot connector, a deep thinker, and a pattern matcher who sees things that others miss. Heather gives people the courage and insight that illuminates their path forward. She’s transforming mindsets and entire organizations around the globe with her message about how the next phase of work will focus on continuous learning, rather than simply learning once in order to work. McGowan has been described by NYT Columnist and Pulitzer Prize Winning Author, Thomas Freidman as the “oasis” when it comes to insights on the future of work. In 2017 LinkedIn ranked Heather their number one global voice for education and she was identified as a top female futurist by Forbes. McGowan has provided keynote addresses for audiences from start-ups to government organizations to universities to publicly traded Fortune 500 companies, including AMP Financial, Financial Times, Siemens, Microsoft, Biogen, Google, Facebook, Kaiser Permanente, JPMorgan Chase, Lockheed Martin, The US Army, Accor Hotels, AARP, Zendesk, Tableau, Fidelity, and The World Bank. Heather addresses audiences in person from small summits for C suite executives to large events in the tens of thousands. Her virtual talks have reached hundreds of thousands. McGowan’s academic work has included roles at Rhode Island School of Design, and Jefferson University, where she was the strategic architect of the first undergraduate college focused exclusively on innovation. In 2019 Heather was appointed as a faculty member of the Swinburne University Centre For the New Workforce in Melbourne, Australia. In 2022, McGowan was awarded an honorary doctorate from Pennsylvania College of Art and Design in addition to earning her MBA from Babson College and her BFA in Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design. McGowan is the co-editor and