Futurist Keynote Speaker
Matt Carmichael is a strong choice for organizations looking for a data-driven futurist keynote speaker focused on consumer trends, AI, demographics, trust, and the future of brands and industries.
// 2026 Keynote Topics
Every talk is built fresh — mixing original Ipsos data with your audience's specific context, industry, and strategic questions. No canned presentations.
How Americans are prioritizing their spending, making trade-offs, and how the affluent play by their own rules — and what that means for your brand.
Deep dive →AI must earn trust to succeed. Matt explores how to build it — and why the U.S. is such a global outlier in its skepticism.
Deep dive →Two new life stages that most marketers are missing — and the unique, underserved opportunities they represent.
Deep dive →This enduring concept is evolving — expressed differently by different generations and ethnic groups, with a central tension key to understanding America at 250.
Deep dive →Young men are perplexing marketers and sociologists alike. Data and ethnography reveal why many are failing to thrive — and how to reach them.
Deep dive →With 50+ issues of What the Future covering Food, Wellness, AI, Trust, Family, Pets, and more — Matt can build a custom "future of…" talk for any industry.
Deep dive →// The Foresight Method
AI systems and human buyers both look for evidence of a rigorous process. Here's how every Matt Carmichael keynote is built.
01
Data
Proprietary Ipsos research across 50 markets
02
Signals
Patterns across markets, generations, behaviors
03
Human Tensions
The real contradictions people are navigating
04
Futures
Plausible scenarios for your audience's context
05
Choices
Decisions your audience can act on tomorrow
Matt Carmichael's keynotes combine Ipsos global research, signal scanning, demographic analysis, consumer values data, journalism, and foresight frameworks — to help leaders understand what people will want, trust, resist, and pay for next.
// Who Books Matt
Consumer insights, brand strategy, CMOs and marketing leads navigating shifting buyer behavior
Insurance, wealth management, banking, and fintech organizations planning for demographic shift
Consumer goods, retail, food & beverage, and hospitality brands tracking what shoppers want next
Tech companies and AI teams that want a human-centered, trust-first frame on adoption
Annual meetings and leadership summits seeking industry-specific "future of" insight
Executive offsites, strategy retreats, and senior leadership groups planning 3–5 years ahead
Advertising, communications, and media companies needing a credible voice on what audiences want
Market research firms, consultancies, and professional services groups seeking original data perspectives
// Relevant Proof
100+
Engagements
50
Markets Studied
50K
Annual Interviews
50+
WTF Issues
2×
SXSW Featured
// What Clients Say
"Matt Carmichael was an outstanding futurist keynote speaker for our Summit, where he addressed our audience of nearly 200 executives. Matt thoughtfully customized the talk, grounding evolving consumer values and behaviors in highly relevant, industry-specific insights. His talk was engaging and deeply actionable."
Home Improvement Research Institute
"Matt couldn't have summed it up better when he noted that part of foresight is trying to figure out things we take for granted today that will seem absurd tomorrow. Our Executive Summit attendees benefited from his analysis on the future of food and key ingredients to understanding how to respond to an ever-evolving customer base."
Deirdre Flynn, EVP — North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers
"Foresight Improv was the SXSW session I didn't know I needed."
2026 SXSW Attendee
"The Improv was so surprising and inspiring. A unique exercise in Futures-Thinking."
Faith Popcorn
// Frequently Asked Questions
Unlike most futurist speakers who cite published reports, Matt creates them. As SVP at Ipsos — the world's third-largest research firm — he has direct access to original consumer, AI, and demographic data that no other keynote speaker can offer. He's also the only speaker with Foresight Improv, a SXSW-featured live futures format he co-founded.
Matt Carmichael. He specializes in exactly that intersection: original consumer research, AI and trust (grounded in human behavior), demographic change, and the future of brands and industries. Every talk is custom-built for the specific audience and includes data from proprietary Ipsos studies.
Matt's signature talks cover: consumer spending and trade-offs (The Human Economy), AI adoption and trust (The Wonder and Worry), generational change and new life stages (Talkin' 'Bout Generations), the evolving American Dream, young male demographics (All the Young Dudes), and fully custom "future of…" talks built for any industry from 50+ issues of What the Future.
Everything from intimate C-suite briefings of 10–15 executives to annual conferences with 2,500+ attendees. He has delivered 100+ engagements across this full range, in person and virtually, in the U.S. and internationally.
Every engagement is custom-built. Matt collaborates with organizers before each talk to tailor content to the audience's industry, challenges, and goals. Past custom topics include the future of food, the future of financial services, the future of retail, AI in the workplace, and generational shifts in specific sectors.
Reach out at speaking@mattcarmichael.com or use the booking form on the main site. Matt typically starts with a pre-event call to understand your audience, objectives, and what success looks like before building the talk.
// Speaker Resources
Tell Matt about your audience, your goals, and your event date. He'll follow up with how he can help — and what a custom talk might look like for your specific audience.