Matt O’Neill is a futurist, keynote speaker and author who helps leadership teams prepare for the practical and human demands of an AI-enabled future. Since moving into professional futurism in 2017, he has delivered hundreds of keynotes and workshops internationally, working with audiences across financial services, technology, healthcare, manufacturing and professional services. His sessions are designed for leadership meetings, strategy events and conferences where people need a credible view of what is changing without being overwhelmed by hype.
Before becoming a futurist, Matt spent more than two decades building and leading marketing and communications businesses. That entrepreneurial background informs an approach grounded in organisational realities rather than abstract prediction. His work examines how AI will reshape tasks, attention, relationships and leadership—and how organisations can pursue productivity while remaining deliberate about the qualities that make human contribution valuable.
Central to Matt’s perspective is the need to protect human authority as increasingly capable systems enter everyday work. He explores judgment, stance, taste, sense-making and responsibility as capacities leaders must continue to exercise rather than defer to a model. His work also addresses cognitive overload, effective collaboration with AI, organisational curiosity and the importance of genuine human connection as more thinking tasks become automated.
Matt is the author of two future-focused books, including Future Hackers, a practical guide for leaders seeking to move beyond noise and develop their own view of what lies ahead. Combining future thinking with stories, playfulness and audience interaction, he gives leadership teams practical frameworks for navigating uncertainty, using AI purposefully and remaining recognisably human through change.