Before launching the DaVinci Institute, Thomas spent 15 years at IBM as an engineer and designer where he received over 270 awards, more than any other IBM engineer. He is also a past member of the Triple Nine Society (High I.Q. society over 99.9 percentile).

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Hi res photos here 

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Popular Keynote Topics

Over the past decade, Thomas Frey has built an enormous following around the world based on his ability to develop accurate visions of the future and describe the opportunities ahead.

His keynote talks on futurist topics have captivated people ranging from high level government officials to executives in Fortune 500 companies including NASA, IBM, AT&T, GE, Hewlett-Packard, Lucent Technologies, First Data, Boeing, Capital One, Bell Canada, Visa, Ford Motor Company, Qwest, Allied Signal, Hunter Douglas, Direct TV, International Council of Shopping Centers, National Association of Federal Credit Unions, Times of India, Leaders in Dubai, HSM ExpoManagement, and many more.es ahead. Having started seventeen businesses himself and assisting on the development of hundreds more, the understanding he brings to his audiences is a rare blend of reality-based thinking coupled with a clear-headed visualization of the world ahead.

Predicting the future has little value without understanding the driving forces behind the trends, subtle nuances that can be leveraged, and implications for both the people directly affected in the industry as well as others farther down the technological food change.

But his work is not just restricted to advances in technology. Rather, he takes a much larger view of the playing field including shifts in governance, system changes, evolving attitudes and human conditions, and much more.

Each year his talks touch the lives of tens of thousands of people. Here are some of his most popular topics, but don’t feel restricted by this list. Every year he designs dozens of custom presentation based specifically around the needs of a particular audience.

1.) When Ivory Towers Fall: The Emerging Education Marketplace

Throughout history, education has been formed around the concept of “place.” Build fancy buildings, attract world-renowned scholars, and you have a college or university. This model works well in a culture based on teaching. Over the coming years, with our hyper-connected world, we will be shifting to a leaning model. And while “place” will still matter, it will matter differently.

Teaching requires experts. Learning only requires coaches.

The two primary variables of time and money will drive the new education marketplace, and the four primary trend lines involve:

1. Shortening the distance between students and experts
2. People matter. Rewriting the social context of learning
3. The emerging courseware industry
4. Experimental emersion camps

Those who attend will begin to understand the shifting ground on which higher education stands and how the embryonic learning businesses of today are set to mushroom into the next-ed industries of tomorrow. Many of our existing colleges and universities will collapse, leaving great opportunities for those who specialize in rebirthing this great institution. - Keynote

• Accomplishment-Based Education (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• The Ivory Tower is Headed for a Fall (Published in ColoradoBiz Magazine)
• The Future of Colleges & Universities:  Blueprint for a Revolution
• Competing for Status (Published in ColoradoBiz)
• Systems Thinking and the Future of Education (Video)
• Colleges Face the Perfect Storm (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Next Generation Literacy (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Future of Education (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)

2.) The Future of Business – Major Trends and Driving Forces  in the Post Recession Economy

What will be the major driving forces over the next ten years? Will it be changes in technology, business practices, government or public policies? Or will it be a solution for a major problems such as a cure for cancer, environmental issues, global conflicts, or poverty?

As I started pulling my notes for a recent “future trends” talk, I instantly became overwhelmed by the sheer volume of changes currently in the works. The number of moving parts seems to exceed the number of stationary parts. All of our markets, systems, and technologies have become incredibly fluid, and much like a floating vessel, we are heading to parts unknown. To most, the chaotic nature of interconnecting trends and the extreme possibilities appear at times like a spinning compass needle. However, the disarray that we find ourselves in cries out for answers – some glimpse of the uncharted waters that lie beyond the horizon. Economic uncertainties create great opportunities for those who can spot them, and that’s where I come in.

This talk is be custom tailored to match the needs and interests of your specific audience. The overall goal is to take a probing look at the major forces behind today’s chaotic business environment and focus on where the opportunities lie. It is the perfect opening keynote for an event, setting a positive tone with a message of hope and inspiration for tomorrow’s business leaders. – Keynote

3.) Future Libraries and the Four Crossroads of Change

Traditionally, libraries have been the place where people go to find answers to difficult questions, but today libraries find themselves being the question.

The relationship between a user community and its library is changing. Library “customers” are beginning to view the “relevancy” of their institution through a different lens, and their perception of what a library is and how it can add value to its community is evolving.

With new information exploding from virtually every corner of society, libraries today find themselves at the intersection of four fundamental crossroads of change – literacy, books, education, and work.

Literacy involves much more than just reading and writing, it involves the constant flow of words in and out of our heads, and this flow of words is morphing, fragmenting, and changing.

Books are becoming increasingly digital in nature. As books continue to evolve, the notion of what a book is and how it will be used to convey its content, will be an evolutionary metamorphosis unlike anything we have ever seen.

Our education systems of today will soon be transitioning to hyper-individualized self-paced learning systems formed around the flow of organically generated courses synced specifically to the learning styles of each student.

Technology is rapidly eroding the idea that work has to occur in a certain place. Instead there is a diminishing value to proximity, and at the same time, a diminishing value to place. Work in the future will increasingly be formed around the momentary needs of the business. Workforce talent will be skills-based and matched automatically to suitable projects and micro-jobs.

At the heart of all these changes is the constantly evolving library, a library adept at reinventing its services to meet the changing needs of their constituencies. In the future, libraries will be defined far more by the journey they’ve taken rather than the brick and mortar they exist in today.

As a futurist, Thomas Frey sees inspiring opportunities being created inside the chaotic evolutions of change. The golden years of libraries are still ahead, and your library can be part of it. - Keynote

• The Future of Libraries: Interview with Thomas Frey (Published in American Libraries Magazine)
• The Fall of Book Publishing: The Rise of New E-Book Business Models
• Next Generation Literacy (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Trends to Watch in 2010 – Bookless Libraries
• Future Libraries: Once a Refuge, Now They Mean Business (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Future Libraries: Nerve Center of the Community (Published in Morning Calm)
• The Future of Library Series: Part 3 – The Electronic Outpost (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• The Future of Library Series:  Part 2 – The Search Command Center
• The Future of Library Series:  Part 1 – The Time Capsule Room
• Creating the Ultimate Information Experience: Planning Our Next Generation Libraries
• The Future of Libraries
  

4.) The Evolution of Work 

The average person that turns 30 years old in the U.S. today has worked 11 different jobs. In just 10 years, the average person who turns 30 will have worked 200-300 different projects.

Business is becoming very fluid in how it operates, and the driving force behind this liquefaction is a digital network that connects buyers with sellers faster and more efficiently than ever in the past.

But the effect of our flowing digital business world does not stop with how transactions are performed. Instead, it has begun to morph and change virtually every aspect of how business is conducted including the duration and permanency of work assignments, the employer-employee relationship, and the organizing principals around which work assignments and talent coalesce.

At the heart of the coming work revolution will be a new kind of business structure serving as an organizational magnet for work projects and the free-agent talent needed to complete the work. – Keynote

• Business Colonies: A study of structure, organization, and the evolution of work (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Power of 10 Interface (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)

5.) The Future of Innovation

If Steve Jobs had never lived, would we still have the iPhone and iPad today? Similarly, if Walt Disney, George Lucas, and Pete Diamandis had all taken jobs on Wall Street instead of living their lives as true innovators, would we still have Disneyland, Star Wars, and the X-Prize Foundation today?

To put it more succinctly, if the visionary never existed, would we still have the industry?

Certainly, if Edison hadn’t invented the light bulb, someone else would have. In many cases, inventors have lost out on a patent because of mere minutes separating the timestamp on a patent. So the invention was destined to happen regardless of whose name showed up on the patent, right?

Not so fast.

The systems we create help define the kind of people who will naturally rise to the top. And these leaders of innovation have decidedly different approaches for making things work. So what would a new system for innovation look like?

This talk helps listeners climb aboard a fascinating journey into the forces of change and how they will affect tomorrow’s world of innovation. – Keynote

• Visionaries Wanted – No Need to Apply, Just Do It (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• The Coming of the Terabyters (Published in The Futurist)
• Lessons from the Ancient World (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Messing with the Reality of Reality (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Manipulating Our Minds, One Fractal at a Time (Published in Morning Calm)
• Approaching Maximum Freud

6.) The City of the Future

Great communities are founded on great ideas. At the same time, our most admired communities become a magnet, attracting the brightest minds. The relational effect is clear: Bright minds make a community great, and great communities attract bright minds. With this in mind, the city of the future will be designed around eight dimensions of human connectedness, connecting great people with great ideas. A connected community is a vibrant community, Ideas are exchanged, energies are exchanged, and people become extremely loyal to the networks that connect them to the rest of the world. While it is now easy to communicate with people all over the world, we can only physically interact with people and places locally. Human connectedness involves much more than just communication. And its not just about business life, family life, or what we do for entertainment. It is all of that and much more. – Keynote

• The City of the Future – Part One (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• The City of the Future – Part Two (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Reinventing Sales Tax (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Turmoil Ahead for Housing (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• The Future of Retail (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• The Future of Automobile Transportation (Published in The Futurist)

7.) The Future of Transportation

Driverless cars are coming soon. Very soon. Consider the following:

• Mercedes is equipping its 2013 model S-Class cars with a system that can drive autonomously through city traffic at speeds up to 25 m.p.h.
• Google’s self-driving car fleet has already racked up over 200,000 driverless miles on highways.Google reports these cars have required intervention by a human co-pilot only about once every 1,000 miles and the goal is to reduce this rate to once in 1,000,000 miles.
• In 2010 VisLab ran VIAC (VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge), a 13,000 km test run of autonomous vehicles. In this competition, 4 driverless electric vans successfully drove from Italy to China, arriving at the Shanghai Expo on October 28, 2010. This was the first intercontinental trip ever completed by an autonomous vehicle.
• Many car companies including General Motors, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, and Volvo have begun early testing of driverless car systems.
• General Motors has stated that they will have a driverless model ready for final testing by 2015, going on sale officially in 2018.

Driverless vehicles will eliminate more jobs than any technology that we have seen so far. They will eliminate the drivers in all taxis, trucks, limos, shuttles, and buses to name just a few. Over time, they will eliminate gas stations, car washes, traffic cops, traffic courts, stoplights, and even parking lots. Personal car ownership will plummet, along with maintenance, insurance, tire shops, and more. They will also prove to be intense competition for the airlines as a 6-8 hour relaxing drive can eliminate nearly as much high-stress time in and between airports. And this is just touching the tip of the iceberg.

At the same time, driverless vehicles will be creating many new jobs. What are they, and will they replace more than a fraction of the total jobs lost? Are we about to drive off a huge economic cliff?  - Keynote

• Where’s My Flying Car?:  Before flying cars… flying delivery drones
• The Personal Mobility Explosion (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• The Future of Automobile Transportation (Published in The Futurist)
• 2050 and the Future of Transportation (Published in the Rocky Mountain News)

8.) 55 Jobs of the Future

As the musical chairs game of unemployment money runs out, and an increasingly large number of people are left without a seat at the jobs table, desperation begins to set in. They need to re-boot their life, but they don’t know how. Higher education today tends to prepare students for jobs of the past. The way a Midwesterner would phrase it, “they are constantly shooting behind the duck.”

The demand for new skills is changing quickly. Technology research firm IDC predicts the amount of data businesses will have access to will grow 50-fold over the next decade. As data becomes cheaper, faster, and more pervasive, the nature of our work will change as well.

The first wave of baby boomers has now turned 65. As this generation grays, their needs will change. Their growing numbers and increasing medical needs will require a different kind of health care professionals to take care of them.

As a rule of thumb, 60% of the jobs 10 years from now haven’t been invented yet. This talk is a mind expanding journey into the workforce of the future, looking at the emerging technologies that will create the industries who employ the workforce of tomorrow. - Keynote

• 55 Jobs of the Future (Published in ColoradoBiz)
• Visionaries Wanted: No Need to Apply, Just Do It (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Micro-Jobs and the Emerging Underground Economy (Published in ColoradoBiz)
• Building a Rapid Job-Creation Engine  (Published in ColoradoBiz)

9.) The Future of Agriculture – Soon to Become the Coolest Profession on Earth

Can better food create better people? Will a better food supply lead to healthier, stronger, better thinking people? This is exactly the premise that is driving many of the advances in farming today.To understand agribusiness

in the future, consider a model that conveniently exists right now – in the human-food interface. Metabolism is a term used to describe the various chemical reactions that take place in every cell of the body. Intermediary metabolism is a vast web of interconnected reactions by the constituent parts of the cell. Every metabolism is different. Gaining an ability to read and monitor a person’s metabolic reaction to the food eaten will cause the agriculture industry to evolve with great precision around the tiny niche demands of consumers.

• The Coming Food Printer Revolution (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Tapping into the Secret Language of Plants (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• The Coolest Profession on Earth – Next Generation Agriculture (Published in Top Producer Magazine)
• The Future of Agriculture
• The Coming Legal Marijuana Era

10.) The Future of Money – Altering Our Dependencies and its Affect on the Flow of Money

Every transaction involves two sides – the payer and the payee. Throughout history businesses have lived or died on the timing and flow of money and deal brokers place a huge emphasis on controlling both sides of a transaction. All non-cash money transactions in the past involved a time float to allow time for the money to clear their respective accounts, and even cash transactions involved delays in getting posted to a bank account. Future transactions will be real-time and this seemingly minor change will revolutionize the shape and tempo of business. – Keynote

• The Coming Collapse of BitCoin? (Published in FuturistSpeaker.com)
• Fractal Transactions (Published in The Futurist Magazine)
• The Global Infrastructure Bank (Published in ColoradoBiz)

Other Possible Topics

Thomas Frey Unplugged – Future Trend Briefings

Tom’s understanding of the world around us clearly shines through when he goes off-script and gets interactive with small groups and executive teams. Both his depth of knowledge on specific industries, coupled with a broader perspective on system, technology, and lifestyle trends makes each session a riveting experience. Gone are the vagaries and generalized outlooks that accompany most predictions. Instead, he has a way of opening the hood to reveal the inner workings of the real drivers powering the engines of change.

• When Smart Grid Meets Smart Home
• The Simplification Mandate (Published in ColoradoBiz)
• The Future of Influence (Published in ColoradoBiz)
• Empty Playgrounds: Global Populations in Decline (Published in ColoradoBiz)
• Declaring War on Human Death (Published in ColoradoBiz)

Nation State 2.0 – The Coming Age of Micronations

The ideas we have about what countries are and how they should function are on the verge of changing. Our newly created world with borderless economies is confusing issues of power and control, and even the sovereignty of nations. The Nation State, created in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia, is about to transition into something new with emerging global systems creating autonomous multi-trillion dollar economies, assuming much of the authority currently in the hands of our country leaders. This talk steps listeners through several possible scenarios. – Keynote

• Seven Predictions for the Coming Age of Micronations (Published in The Futurist)
• A Country of 90,000 Governments
• The Virtual Country: A Conceptual Study

Radio Interviews

Thomas Frey, Futurist – WGN Radio
Mike talks to Futurist Thomas Frey about Driverless Cars, and they take your calls

Tom Frey Peers Into The Future To Extract Eight Future Technologies That Will Define The World interview on Brainstormin’ w/Bill Frank

Listen in as Futurist Thomas Frey is interviewed by Brent Green on the Positive World Radio Network.

Videos (Additional videos here)

TEDxUChicago 2011 – “Communicating with the Future”

Futurist Thomas Frey Interviewed on Fox News

Futurist Thomas Frey appears on the Microsoft-produced
documentary “The Last Stand – Gears of War”

Futurist Thomas Frey at Bell Canada

Top 10 Photos

Unbeknownst to most, one of Thomas Frey’s favorite pastimes is collecting brilliant photos and writing captions for them. You can see some of these photos here.

Customized Programs

At the DaVinci Institute we use our own systems for forecasting the future. As we learn about your industry and apply our research methodologies, we are able to create a vision of the future that will specifically address the interests of your audience. Past examples include The Future of…

• Agriculture
• Global investing
• Water
• Food
• Information
• Global systems
• Media
• Entertainment
• Web 10.0
• Computers and the Internet
• Housing and real estate
• Banking and financial services
• Hyper-individuality
• Entertainment

The Thomas Frey Experience

When hiring a professional speaker, one of the key differentiators is the audience experience. Thomas not only comes to each talk loaded with provocative knowledge, but with just the right amount of humor, motivation, and tantalizing information bits that people can immediately put to use and gain a competitive edge.

Thomas Frey’s Life-Changing Audience Experience:

• Journey into the Future: The future is not a destination. It doesn’t end when we get there. Rather, each talk is a journey into the future that can best be described as a series of great stories told from resting points along the way.
• Engaging Delivery: The kind of thought-provoking dialog that Thomas brings to the stage requires an intense delivery that enables the audience to become immersed in the revelations, grasp the possibilities, and feel the salient touch points.
• Cutting Edge Thinking: While some speakers offer creative insight into the world around us, Thomas pushes far beyond the limits of conventional wisdom, often talking about extreme futures, building intriguing “what if” scenarios as a tool for discussing far reaching implications.
  
• Stretching the Imagination: Much like the way physical exercise strengthens the body, an “imagination workout” has a way of strengthening the mind. Tom’s presentations not only stretch the imagination, but have a way of making the brain sweat.
• Positive and Uplifting: It’s easy to wallow in the underbelly of life, finding all the things that can and will go wrong. But that is not the Thomas Frey Experience. Every problem creates an opportunity, and every opportunity is the dark cloud’s silver lining that can lead to a better future ahead.
• Energizing: New ideas have a way of infusing audiences with energy. He has an uncanny ability to find people’s raw nerve endings and teasing them with positron sparks designed to energize their minds.
  
• Challenging Assumptions: Too often our thinking gets stuck because it’s anchored in the stale old thinking of the past. Our ability to craft a better future stems from our capacity to break through these barriers and focus on the opportunities that lie ahead.
• Personable: We live in a world where, in spite of all our advanced communication technologies, people remain dreadfully detached from one another. So it is refreshing to find a speaker who cares about the people around him and enjoys their company.
• Custom Tailored: All talks are custom tailored to mesh well with the goals of the conference organizers as well as those who are attending.

   

  “The future is truly a magical place. I have been there and would love to have you join me on my next journey.” – Thomas Frey

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Event Testimonials

“Tom is very insightful and definitely an original thinker.” - Colorado Governor Bill Owens

“Your presentation was absolutely wonderful.” - Former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm

“Tom was great! We received high marks on his presentation! He was appealing and relevant to our audience and a dynamic speaker. It was truly a pleasure to meet him and a pleasure to work with you on getting him to our convention.” - Rozana Audisho, Public Relations Manager – FSCC Credit Union Retail Delivery Convention

“Thankyou for your excellent presentation in Jacksonville. It was a pleasure spending time with you, and your “Future of Education” speech was extremely well received. 84% of our attendees rated the presentation Good-Excellent. Powerful numbers indeed.” - Larry Fairman, Director, Florida Workforce Summit

“You are an amazing keynote speaker. Your experience and knowledge contributed in a huge way to the success of our Sales Rally. You have given us vision and clarity to the confusing world of technology emerging around us, showing us where our business is going, and because of that, many participants now see the urgency to act for our company to maintain its position as a leader in the ICT market.” - Martin Geoffroy, General Manager, Business Development, Bell Canada

“Tom is an exceedingly bright guy, a humorous speaker and a person who is quick to challenge conventional wisdom. He is a quick study who can develop an imaginative presentation around almost any conceivable topic.“ - George Sharpe, Founder of the Greenwood Group and former Vice President of Product Development for Hunter Douglas

“On behalf of the membership, I want to thank you for your presentation on future business trends. Our members rated your presentation “excellent.”They enjoyed hearing your thoughts on the future of business and where the creative minds of tomorrow will take us. Lively conversations.Thanks again for a most interesting presentation!” - Kristine Garland, Vice President, The Composite Can and Tube Institute

“One of the most thoughtful and entertaining talks I’ve ever been to! Tom is a very deep thinker, both motivational and inspirational with his ability to build creative insights into the world ahead.” - Steve Masias – Former EEOC Director, City of Colorado Springs

“Fascinating, idea-generating talk! Your delivery was very funny, but at the same time thought-provoking and inspiring.” - Gary Taylor – VP Coldwell Banker

“Your talk was wonderful! Very engaging. We were all still talking about it on Wednesday (two days later).” - Alison C. Ruger, Director, Standards Business Development, Information Handling Services

“You were the entire topic of discussion in each of my classes the rest of today.” - Daniel Sage, Teacher at William Smith High School, Aurora, Colorado

“Thomas, I really enjoyed your talk at ACLA in Pittsburgh. I have been using your library and education predictions to create some great discussions for the past 2 years.” - Brad Fish, Allegheny County Library Association Board Member

“Once in a while, an article comes along that makes you pause, think for a few moments, and say “Yeah, that’s brilliant.” I went through that process yesterday when I came across the latest article from renowned futurist Thomas Frey at the DaVinci Institute.” - Brian Enke, Writer for Examiner.com

“I love reading your vision for libraries. We actually went live with a digital archive in November 08. ( I read your article about the future of libraries a few years ago when we were just starting to think about the digital archive. I was convinced it was the right thing to pursue after reading your article on the future.) Response has been tremendous! In the first two months the images were viewed over 200,000 times..and we hadn’t posted but about 1500 items. We started out calling it the shoe box archive. Everyone has a box of photos and documents under the bed and this gives people from all walks of life a way to share with us their stories of the community. The beauty is that we don’t keep the material and we don’t have the space or resources to preserve and conserve it.. We have just started working on some oral histories although they aren’t on line yet.” - Nancy Sanford, Executive Director, Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Florence, AL

“Brilliant piece, Tom. I hope that world leaders can put aside their differences and act responsibly before it is too late to avert a global catastrophe. Thanks for your clear and persuasive analysis!” - Stephen B. Martin, Gifted Education Consultant, Thornton, CO

Your articles about the future of libraries are inspiring, knowledgeable and a bit frightening. The Literacy Advisory Council of Kurth Memorial Library in Lufkin, Texas is using your papers as a basis for future planning. - Peyton Walters, Lufkin, TX

See also:

Tom in the News
Papers, Columns, and other Writings

Creating the “new normal” – Tom Frey talks about a competitive edge through systems thinking

Please fill out this form if you wish to
Book Thomas Frey to speak at your event.

Or contact his manager Deb Frey directly at 303-666-4133 .