I speak to audiences about decoding the future
Forbes named Mitch Joel one of their “Speakers Worth Catching”
When brands like Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Cisco and Unilever want to understand what’s next - for them and their customers - they call Mitch Joel.
Every industry is wrestling with rapid transformation, new technologies and rising customer expectations. Organizations want to know how to innovate, stay relevant and rethink the future in ways that are meaningful… not theoretical. This is where Mitch brings clarity, direction and momentum.
Called “one of North America’s leading visionaries” by Strategy Magazine and honored with the prestigious Top 40 Under 40, Mitch has been on the front lines of media, culture and technology for more than thirty years. Since 2005, he has delivered thousands of keynote presentations to organizations around the world, across both B2B and B2C industries. His style is engaging, entertaining, thought-provoking and deeply customized, leaving audiences with practical insights they can use immediately.
Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, both published by Grand Central Publishing (Hachette Book Group). He also hosts Thinking With Mitch Joel (one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world) featuring weekly conversations with the world’s leading thinkers and business leaders. His articles, essays and weekly radio appearances explore the intersection of business transformation, technology, artificial intelligence and culture.
Mitch is Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class Thinkers into team meetings, events and off-sites in surprising and meaningful ways.
Before ThinkersOne, Mitch spent nearly three decades in technology and media as both an executive and entrepreneur. He published music magazines, launched a record label, built media sales for one of the first search engines (before Google), marketed early mobile content platforms (before smartphones) and ultimately built and sold his own global marketing agency to WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with close to 3,000 employees.
In 2019, Mitch was named to Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s “100 Coaches,” celebrating the world’s top leaders, thinkers and executive coaches. Thinkers50 included him in their Radar class of 2021, recognizing the thinkers set to shape the future of business.
If your next event is focused on understanding the future, embracing disruption, exploring the rise of AI or rethinking what leadership and marketing look like in an accelerated world, Mitch’s keynotes are designed to meet audiences where they are… and take them somewhere new.
Post-Keynote VIP Debate (L to R): Ron Tite, Simon Sinek, Malcolm Gladwell & Mitch Joel
Topics - updated & new for 2026!
Disrupting Disruption
How to build organizations that stay ahead of change… instead of chasing it.
Disruption used to be an event. Now it’s the environment. The real challenge for leaders isn’t reacting to change but learning how to disrupt the pattern of disruption itself… to stop being surprised by what’s next and start building systems, cultures and capabilities that can adapt in real time. From AI to automation to shifting customer expectations, the forces reshaping business are no longer episodic… they’re continuous. This keynote helps organizations move beyond urgency and into deliberate momentum, showing leaders how to decode emerging technologies without the hype, redesign workflows for an accelerated world and build teams that thrive in ambiguity rather than resist it. Drawing on the proprietary P.A.C.E. framework, Disrupting Disruption explores how to create a strategic operating system for change. You’ll learn why disruption is no longer a threat but a source of advantage, how to align people and technology around shared direction and how to turn uncertainty into opportunity before competitors even recognize it. This is a roadmap for organizations ready to lead the future instead of inherit it… and for leaders willing to rethink not just how they respond to disruption, but how they design for it.
Present Future
How smart leaders use AI to accelerate strategy, creativity and momentum.
AI is no longer an experiment… it’s the new infrastructure of business. The leaders who thrive in this next chapter aren’t the ones chasing tools, trends or productivity hacks but the ones building momentum… a clear direction for how AI amplifies their people, accelerates decision-making and reshapes what their organizations are capable of. Present Future takes audiences far beyond the hype, showing how AI is already transforming industries and what leaders can learn from those real-world shifts. Through industry-specific examples and live demonstrations, this keynote reveals how AI can elevate strategy, strengthen creativity, unlock a new “one-to-X” personalization and turn complexity into clarity. Drawing on the proprietary P.A.C.E. framework, Present Future gives teams a practical and repeatable way to integrate AI into their workflows without losing the human judgment, empathy and imagination that create true competitive advantage. You’ll learn how to use AI to pressure-test assumptions, reframe problems, streamline collaboration, generate better questions and accelerate innovation. This is a playbook for leaders ready to move beyond curiosity and toward an organization that is fully prepared for an AI-powered future.
Marketing Forward
How the next era of marketing moves beyond attention… into intimacy, intelligence, and impact.
Marketing is undergoing its most profound shift since digital began. We’re moving out of The Attention Economy - defined by reach, noise and volume - into The Intimacy Economy shaped by relevance, connection and meaning. The old one-to-many model can’t keep pace with consumers who now expect brands to understand them and adapt in real time. With AI, we’re entering a one-to-X world: the ability to communicate at scale with nuance, context and personalization that once seemed impossible. This keynote shows leaders how to escape the cycle of “more content, more channels, more speed” and shift toward momentum, clear direction, smarter decision-making and marketing systems built to thrive in an age of constant acceleration. Drawing on the proprietary P.A.C.E. framework, Marketing Forward redefines what modern marketing must become: intelligent, empathetic and deeply human. You’ll learn how AI will reshape creativity and storytelling, why intimacy is the new competitive advantage, and how to design teams and brand experiences that create value that compounds instead of content that disappears. This is the blueprint for marketing’s next chapter... deeper, smarter and built for leaders ready to rethink what truly connects.
Testimonials
“We were supposed to move right into the next section of our meeting, but you blew up the room (in a good way). People asked for a ten minute break to pull themselves together!”
Johnson & Johnson
"Congrats on the phenomenal session at the Gartner Conference! I just got the speaker scores, your scores exceeded most of the Gartner analyst scores! You received a 4.8 out of 5.”
GARTNER
“We have been inviting Mitch to present to our top clients and internal teams for close to ten years. His material is always fresh and cutting edge. As you can imagine, Google has a constant flow of speakers coming in and out of our global doors, Mitch’s ratings are always through the roof. He’s one of our top-rated speakers, because he delivers actionable content with amazing visuals and stories. He’s become a true friend to Google, and has helped out our B2B and B2C clients all over the world.”
Google
“Starbucks often invites inspirational leaders and subject-matter experts to come in and share their thoughts, insights, and ideas on how we can continue to connect with our consumers in a meaningful way, and Mitch Joel is one of the best speakers we’ve seen. Mitch brings a terrific perspective on how our organization engages with our consumers, and our team was extremely impressed by his extensive knowledge, entertaining delivery, and obvious passion for what he does. We would highly recommend Mitch as a speaker for any sized event, especially if you’re interested in learning not only what works today, but also what’s going to work tomorrow.”
Starbucks
“I am constantly trying to better understand how innovation, technology and marketing can help us be better - do more and do it faster. As such, I often host events for the tech community and our team members here at Shopify HQ. Mitch Joel is one of the best speakers we have had. Deep insights, packed with real and tangible skills that we all can use to become better business people. I can’t recommend him enough. I love Mitch!”
Shopify
Harley Finkelstein, President
“Whether it’s the National Retail Federation’s Big Show stage or a Shop.org keynote, Mitch Joel always delivers. We consistently get incredible audience feedback on how relevant, timely, inspiring and actionable his content is. Whether you need him to open an event as the morning keynote, wake an audience up in the sometimes dreaded after-lunch slot, or as your perfect closing keynote, Mitch will nail it each and every time. If you’re looking for someone to passionately deliver content about innovation, consumer behavior, and marketing, look no further. He also happens to be wonderful to work with, is always interested in hearing about your audience breakdown to customize the content, and that he is a rare, humble and authentic leader. I’m proud to know Mitch and call him a friend, and I am even luckier to have him on my go-to speaker list for top notch show education for the retail industry.”
National Retail Federation and Shop.org
Artemis Barry, Vice President, Digital Retail
“Mitch Joel’s presentation helped us to see that we needed to change the paradigm of how we interacted with our customers. His ideas and insights have led us to new concepts in the development of our brands.”
Pfizer
“We had really great feedback on your talk, spanning both our participants and our leadership team. Our teams all have rather high expectations for events like this – and you surpassed them.”
Accenture
“Mitch brings a musician’s timing and keen instincts to hold an audience mesmerized as he opens up their minds to where brands, marketing, and technology are going today. He was one of our top-rated keynote speakers at the BRITE conference, after 9 years in New York. I highly recommend him for any business event and audience!”
Columbia School of Business
David Rogers, founder, BRITE conference
“Mitch Joel thinks big. But he makes his bigger concepts feel accessible, which is a gift of any true teacher. Mitch is simply one of the best presenters I’ve ever hired — which is why I hire him again and again and again!”
MarketingProfs
Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer
“For the past five years we’ve consistently invited Mitch Joel to speak at Content Marketing World. Mitch delivers every time and always scores among the highest of our 200+ speakers every year. Always compelling, inspiring and actionable. As long as we have an in-person event, Mitch will be invited to speak.”
Content Marketing World
Joe Pulizzi, Founder
“We have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of world-class speakers, and Mitch Joel is definitely at the top of this list. Fascinating content. Dynamic delivery. Above all, Mitch is just a great person to work with. Whether it’s The Art of Marketing, The Art of Sales, The Art of Leadership or some of our other day-long programs, Mitch always makes his content relevant to our audiences.”
The Art Of...
Scott Kavanagh, Co-Founder
“Mitch Joel is one of CMA’s highest rated speakers. A dynamic and inspiring speaker, Mitch consistently delivers high-energy presentations with cutting-edge information that his audience can use!”
Canadian Marketing Association
“Mitch Joel is one of the very best in the business marketing world. When he walks on stage, the audience quickly slides to the edges of their seats. Not only did Mitch deliver what he promised when I asked him to join us as the closing keynote at nextMEDIA, he was also an incredibly supportive partner both before and after the event.”
nextMEDIA
Amber Mac, Executive ProduceR
“To be candid: I was beginning to despair just slightly - I’m afraid I found many of the earlier sessions really quite disappointing. I’d deliberately avoided getting too deep into the obvious topics in my opening remarks, thinking that the early speakers would cover all the basic ground for me. By the time we got to lunch, I was starting to think we had a complete flop on our hands. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that you pretty much saved the first day. In fact - the whole thing would have been a much different and much better event if we’d had you as keynote.”
Canadian Institute
Mitch in Action
Full speaking reel available by request.