Speaker Reel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONYYKIpd3V0

Speaker Website - https://www.sineadbovell.com/

‍

Why Sinead for SlossTech

SlossTech isn’t just about what’s new — it’s about what’s next.

In a moment where AI headlines are overwhelming and geopolitical tensions are reshaping global markets, Sinead offers something rare: perspective. She doesn’t approach emerging technology as hype or inevitability. She approaches it as a strategic readiness challenge.

For founders, developers, investors, and civic leaders in Birmingham, her message is clarifying: the future isn’t random. It’s shaped by converging forces — technology, policy, education, generational behavior shifts — and leaders who understand those intersections will build smarter, more resilient organizations.

Sinead elevates the room. She connects macro trends to micro decisions. She reinforces SlossTech’s Tech for Good identity by emphasizing responsible innovation, long-term thinking, and inclusive design.

If SlossTech 2026 needs a keynote that intellectually anchors the conference, Sinead is that voice.

‍

Topics

Thriving in 2030 — What Leaders Must Know

Today’s challenges aren’t emerging in isolation—they’re the result of powerful global forces converging. In this talk, Sinead Bovell explores the intersection of emerging technologies, geopolitics, technopolitics, and other critical macro variables that are reshaping the strategic landscape.

Too often, companies respond to headlines instead of the deeper shifts driving them—reacting tactically instead of planning strategically. This talk equips leaders with an integrated lens to move beyond the noise, understand what’s really coming, and prepare with clarity and confidence for a more complex world.

‍

AI and The Future of Work

This keynote explores the rapid changes to the future of work expected over the next 2-10 years, delving into the influence of generative AI, the shift from jobs to skills, the rise of AI-first businesses, and the revolutionary role of digital twins. From jobs that have yet to be invented to the most important skills for the future, learn what businesses and employees need to know to prepare. Gain insights into how AI, as a general-purpose technology, will reshape industries and redefine the workforce, with a splash of what technology convergence means for the future of work.

‍

Highlights

• Expert on the Future of Technology — Sinead’s work spans artificial intelligence, blockchain, Web3, synthetic media, and technology convergence. She helps audiences move beyond buzzwords to understand what these shifts actually mean for business models, labor markets, and society. Her lens aligns seamlessly with SlossTech’s emphasis on real innovation with real-world implications.
• Global Stage, Local Relevance — As an 11-time United Nations speaker and current expert advisor to the UN AI Advisory Body, Sinead operates at the highest levels of global policy and strategy. Yet her strength lies in translating those macro forces into practical insights founders, developers, and operators can act on immediately.
• Champion of Accessible & Responsible Innovation — Sinead is deeply committed to ensuring emerging technologies benefit more than just a narrow segment of society. Her work consistently centers equity, inclusion, and long-term societal impact — directly reflecting SlossTech’s Tech for Good throughline.
• Actionable, Strategic Clarity — Known for cutting through hype cycles, Sinead equips audiences with tools and mental models to prepare — not panic. Leaders leave with frameworks for anticipating disruption, redesigning strategy, and building resilience in an AI-driven economy.
• Engaging, Visionary Storytelling — Sinead connects global tech shifts to everyday life in a way that feels both relatable and urgent. She bridges geopolitics, economics, and innovation into a cohesive narrative that energizes rooms of builders and decision-makers alike.
• Fresh, Forward-Looking Voice — As a millennial futurist advising presidents and Fortune 500 leaders, Sinead brings generational relevance to conversations about the future of work and education. Her perspective resonates strongly with tech-savvy audiences looking not just to predict the future — but to build it.

Speaker Website - https://nikolasbadminton.com/

‍

Why Nikolas for SlossTech

Nikolas brings energy — but more importantly, he brings structured foresight.

SlossTech has always celebrated imagination, but imagination without direction can feel abstract. Nikolas equips audiences with tools for scanning signals of change, anticipating risk, and designing bold long-term strategies.

His “Hope Engineer™” philosophy is especially powerful in 2026. As AI disruption accelerates, many leaders oscillate between hype and fear. Nikolas reframes hope not as optimism — but as disciplined action toward preferred futures.

For founders and investors in the room, his message reinforces proactive strategy over reactive adaptation. For developers, he expands thinking beyond immediate execution toward long-range industry shifts.

Nikolas doesn’t just ask the audience to imagine the future. He shows them how to build toward it.

‍
‍

Tailored Topic - _{*for further customization}‍

Hopeful Futures: Looking to 2035 and Beyond

What if we can build hope as an energy for change, ignite imaginations, and build anticipation to create better futures through leadership and providing vision and agency to the teams we lead?

Nikolas will deliver an energetic and inspiring keynote that helps you explore and see opportunities in the future of payments, and the exponential changes in society and the technologies shaping our world.

Nikolas will show you how to think like a futurist and shift your mindset from what is to what if… towards hopeful futures. You’ll see global megatrends are changing power dynamics (economic shifts, population growth, climate change, water-energy-food resiliency, sustainability), and explore the trends that will transform the payments – digital transformation, data growth, Artificial Intelligence and automation, spatial computing, banking and fintech,  healthcare, smart cities, construction, transportation and logistics,privacy and cybersecurity, and more.

• Adopt a Hope Engineer™ mindset - Ignite imagination, build anticipation, and a develop a deep sense of empathy for how change will impact companies and industries;

• See the hopeful futures ahead of us - Explore signals, trends and scenarios that show how industries will change in the next 5, 10, and 20+ years. Anticipate opportunities, challenges and risks;

• See high-hope leadership in action - Learn the  stories of how world-leading companies are applying futures thinking to supercharging our strategic thinking.

‍

Highlights

• World-Renowned Futurist & Strategic Advisor — With more than 30 years of experience, Nikolas has advised over 500 global organizations including NASA, Disney, Google, Microsoft, JP Morgan, the United Nations, and multiple government bodies on strategic foresight and technological disruption.
• Author & Recognized Thought Leader — His best-selling book Facing Our Futures was named among the Top-50 Business Books by The Next Big Idea Club and selected by JP Morgan Private Bank as a “Next Gen Pick” — reinforcing his credibility among executive and investor audiences.
• Trusted Voice Across Global Media — His research and insights have been featured by BBC, Fast Company, Forbes, Business Insider, and more. He also advised on the “Age of AI” documentary series — underscoring his depth in the AI and exponential technology landscape.
• Futures Literacy & Foresight Practitioner — Nikolas equips leaders with structured methodologies for scanning signals of change, anticipating risk, and building long-term resilience — directly relevant to SlossTech’s Emerging Tech and Funding the Future tracks.
• High-Energy, Imagination-Driven Delivery — Having delivered keynotes to over 200,000 attendees globally, Nikolas combines inspiration with practical foresight tools — empowering founders, developers, and funders to think beyond incremental growth toward transformative opportunity.

‍

Speaker Reel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNcTBfpuUJc

Gravity Speakers Profile - https://www.gravityspeakers.com/speakers/natalie-nixon

Speaker Website - https://www.figure8thinking.com/

‍

Why Natalie for SlossTech

If AI dominates the conversation, Natalie deepens it.

SlossTech’s Human Creativity track isn’t a side theme — it’s essential. As generative AI accelerates productivity and automation, the competitive edge shifts toward imagination, inquiry, and intuition.

Natalie reframes curiosity as infrastructure.

Her message resonates across the entire SlossTech audience:

• Developers: How do we ask better questions when building tools?
• Founders: How do we avoid solving the wrong problems?
• Investors: How do we identify companies thinking differently?

Natalie provides rigor to creativity. She doesn’t romanticize innovation — she systematizes it. Her research-backed approach to question culture, foresight, and human-centered innovation strengthens SlossTech’s Tech for Good narrative by reminding the room that technology is only as transformative as the questions guiding it.

She is especially strong when the goal is to ensure AI conversations don’t eclipse human capacity — but instead amplify it.

‍

Suggested Topic

Curiosity is the Currency of the Future

Your teams are drowning in answers but starving for breakthrough questions. In meetings across your organization, people rush to solutions before understanding problems, executives mistake certainty for leadership, and the pressure to appear knowledgeable suppresses the curiosity that drives genuine innovation. As a result, your business faces the same challenges repeatedly, strategic blind spots are growing, and opportunities for transformation go unrecognized.

This keynote confronts an uncomfortable truth: in an era where factual information is instantly accessible through AI, the real differentiator isn't what you know—it's what you ask. Natalie Nixon reveals why organizations with robust "question cultures" are outperforming those fixated on quick answers, experiencing 37% higher innovation success rates and 28% better adaptability during market shifts.

Beyond the increasingly basic ways we query AI tools like ChatGPT, discover why developing sophisticated questioning practices is essential for executing compelling strategy and fostering breakthrough thinking. Through interactive examples, learn to distinguish between different question typologies—from divergent questions that open possibilities to convergent questions that drive decisions, and from factual inquiries to the transformational questions that reframe entire industries.

Walk away with practical frameworks to revolutionize how your organization approaches challenges—including techniques for overcoming "expertise bias" that blocks curiosity, and strategies to normalize a culture where not knowing is valued as a starting point for discovery. In a business environment where yesterday's solutions create tomorrow's problems, your organization's questioning capacity isn't just a skill—it's the currency that will fund your future success.

‍

Other topics -

• Adapt and Disrupt: Building Creativity's Business ROI
• The New I in AI - Unleashing Human Creativity as your Competitive Advantage in the Imagination Era

‍

Highlights

• Recognized Global Authority on Creativity & Innovation — Named to the Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2024 and Real Leaders’ “Top 50 Keynote Speakers in the World,” Natalie is widely respected for advancing creativity as a strategic business advantage.
• Award-Winning Author & Innovation Scholar — Her book The Creativity Leap received recognition from Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards. Her work explores how curiosity and inquiry drive transformative business outcomes — a critical lens in an AI-driven era.
• Executive Advisor to Leading Organizations — Natalie has advised companies including Microsoft, Salesforce, Bloomberg, Comcast, and Citrix, helping leadership teams embed creativity and foresight into strategy and culture.
• Certified Foresight Practitioner — With certification from the Institute for the Future, Natalie integrates structured foresight practices into her creativity framework — directly aligning with SlossTech’s Future of Work and Emerging Tech themes.
• Human-Centered Innovation Focus — Natalie’s work emphasizes imagination, inquiry, and intuition as differentiators in an AI-accelerated world — reinforcing SlossTech’s Human Creativity track and its Tech for Good philosophy.

Speaker Reel - https://vimeo.com/1052840561?fl=pl&fe=vl

Gravity Speakers Profile - https://www.gravityspeakers.com/speakers/neil-redding

Speaker Website - https://neilredding.com/

‍

Why Neil for SlossTech

Neil speaks the language of builders.

Where many futurists focus on forecasting, Neil focuses on redesigning. His central idea — that organizations must evolve from static “machines” into adaptive ecosystems — resonates deeply with developers, startup teams, and product leaders who understand systems thinking.

For Sloss.Tech/Dev attendees, his ecosystem lens feels native. For founders and funders, it reframes AI not as a tool to bolt onto existing structures, but as a catalyst to rethink business architecture entirely.

And importantly, Neil brings optimism without naivety. His message reinforces that AI and spatial computing are not threats to humanity — they are amplifiers of it — if designed intentionally.

He works especially well when SlossTech wants to balance visionary insight with tangible operating models.

‍

Topic

AI as a Catalyst: From Machines to Ecosystems

The 20th-century model of business as a “well-oiled machine” is a dead end. The future is arriving at an unprecedented pace, and most businesses are failing to adapt. The next wave of AI will fundamentally change what business is, with agents enabling companies to evolve as dynamic ecosystems — adapting in real time, unlocking sustainable growth, and driving unprecedented productivity.

As we enter the Agentic Era, we’ll explore how AI and emerging technologies enable businesses to become living, responsive systems—integrated with their environments and even collaborating across species. Business leaders will leave with practical strategies to navigate and thrive in this rapidly shifting landscape.

‍

Highlights

• Near Futurist™ Bridging Vision and Execution — With over 30 years of experience as a computer scientist and innovation architect, Neil specializes in translating emerging technologies — including AI and spatial computing — into practical business strategy. His work focuses on helping organizations evolve their operating models in response to technological acceleration.
• Global Stage Credibility — Featured on stages such as SXSW and Dubai Future Forum, and trusted by brands including Visa, Nike, Apple, and Verizon, Neil brings credibility across both innovation ecosystems and enterprise leadership environments.
• Creator of the Near Future Framework — Neil’s proprietary framework helps leaders move beyond speculative foresight and instead design adaptive, ecosystem-centered business strategies that are resilient and sustainable — aligning directly with SlossTech’s Tech for Good orientation.
• Developer & Systems-Oriented Perspective — As a technologist by training, Neil’s thinking resonates strongly with technical audiences. His ecosystem lens speaks directly to Sloss.Tech/Dev attendees who understand architecture, systems, and integration at a structural level.
• Sustainable Growth + Ecosystem Design Focus — Rather than positioning AI as a standalone productivity tool, Neil frames it as a catalyst for long-term transformation, sustainable growth, and deeper environmental and organizational integration — themes that align with SlossTech’s emphasis on responsible innovation.

‍

‍

^{"Neil Redding's participation in the Meta Brazil activation during SXSW was incredibly valuable. His deep understanding of AI and spatial computing allowed him to effectively address the specific challenges and needs of our clients' businesses.”-Conrado Leister, VP & Managing Director, Meta}

^{"This session was truly remarkable, we had the presence of Neil Redding, a Near Futurist, who took us on an exciting journey about AI, Spatial Computing and co-creation of reality and challenged us to rethink concepts, and to a deep reflection on the transformative potential of AI in our organizations and in our lives!" -Manuel Dias, National Technology Officer & Executive Board Member, Microsoft}‍

Speaker Reel - https://vimeo.com/1104764662?fl=pl&fe=sh

‍Warsaw Growth Summit Event Reel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8SFyOqUOLc

Gravity Speakers Profile  - https://www.gravityspeakers.com/speakers/frankie-russo

Speaker Website - https://www.frankierusso.com/

‍

Why Frankie for SlossTech 2026

SlossTech has always celebrated builders — people who don’t just theorize growth, but create it.

Frankie Russo brings something distinctly powerful to a 2026 stage: proven entrepreneurial growth paired with cultural transformation. He’s not a futurist predicting what might happen — he’s a founder who has scaled companies through uncertainty, disruption, and reinvention.

As AI reshapes speed, efficiency, and competition, the differentiator becomes culture. Frankie’s message — authenticity, imagination, and generosity as drivers of sustained growth — reinforces SlossTech’s Tech for Good identity from the inside out.

His story of building and scaling companies (including 60X growth in three years before acquisition) provides credibility. His “Love Your Weird” movement provides a framework for unlocking creativity inside organizations — something founders, startup teams, and growth-stage leaders in the SlossTech audience can immediately apply.

If futurists expand how the room thinks about the future, Frankie activates how they build it.

‍

‍

Suggested Topic

Love Your Weird

Take your organization into a space where they feel free to dig into their early passions in order to foster authenticity, imagination, and, in turn, sustainable growth. Starting with a personalized dive into your unique organizational challenges, this keynote leaves your people inspired, poised to collaborate, ready to compete, and energized to create something new.

Audience Takeaways

• Harnessing Authenticity for Growth: Learn how encouraging employees to embrace their unique passions and talents drives authenticity, creativity, and sustainable growth.
• Fostering Imagination and Collaboration: Discover strategies for cultivating an environment where imagination thrives and collaboration becomes second nature.
• Building a Culture of Continuous Growth: Gain tailored insights into addressing cultural challenges and harnessing collective ingenuity to fuel innovation and long-term impact.

‍

Highlights

• 8 Consecutive Years on the Inc. 500/5000 List — Led multiple companies to recognition among America’s fastest-growing private organizations, demonstrating sustained and repeatable growth performance.
• 60X Growth & Successful Acquisition — Scaled his software company, 360º Intelligent Automation™, 60-fold in three years prior to acquisition by a Fortune 500 company. In 2020, the company was named the fastest-growing organization in Louisiana by Inc. Magazine.
• Founder in AI & Intelligent Automation — Founder of 360º Intelligent Automation™, a software product company focused on advanced marketing automation and intelligence solutions. Also Co-Founder of ORIGIN A.I., further reinforcing his involvement in artificial intelligence–driven growth platforms.
• Venture Capital & Portfolio Builder — Founder & CEO of Russo Capital™, a venture capital and private equity firm investing across multiple industries. Through this platform, he has built and supported companies in technology, marketing, music, automotive, agriculture, publishing, and finance.
• Future of Work Leader — Co-Founder of The New World of Work, a venture focused on navigating transformation in the evolving workplace — directly aligning with SlossTech’s Future of Work track.
• Recognized Entrepreneurial Leader — Named Entrepreneur of the Year, Top 20 Under 40, and Founders to Watch. Featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Time, CNBC, Bloomberg, and Inc.
• Two Best-Selling Books on Growth & Purpose — Author of The Art of WHY and Breaking WHY, focused on authenticity-driven leadership and unlocking sustainable organizational growth.
• Award-Winning Creative Executive — Earned multiple Addy and Telly awards for his work at Potenza, Inc., reinforcing his creative leadership and brand innovation background.

Tucker Bryant 2025 Speaking Reel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCcYBMMzG5o&t=2s

Gravity Speakers Profile - https://www.gravityspeakers.com/speakers/tucker-bryant

Website - https://www.tuckerbryantspeaks.com/

‍

Why Tucker for SlossTech 2026

SlossTech has always balanced technical depth with human imagination. In a year where AI will dominate conversation, Tucker brings something essential: a reminder that innovation is not just about speed — it’s about perspective.

After a decade inside Silicon Valley — studying at Stanford and leading product marketing at Google — Tucker learned that breakthrough innovation isn’t accidental. It’s structured. It’s constrained. It’s intentional. But what makes his work uniquely powerful is that he pairs that discipline with the craft of poetry — an art form built on pattern-breaking, reframing, and creative risk.

For SlossTech’s audience of developers, founders, and builders, Tucker delivers a message that resonates at two levels:

• Technically: He understands how innovation ecosystems function.
• Emotionally: He challenges the room to break the thinking patterns that limit what they build next.

As AI reshapes productivity and automation, Tucker reframes creativity as competitive advantage. His keynote becomes a powerful complement to futurists and technologists on the lineup — ensuring SlossTech’s Human Creativity track isn’t just discussed, but experienced.

He doesn’t just talk about bold thinking. He performs it.

‍

‍

Suggested Topic

Turn the Page: Bolder Thinking for Better Results

^{Key Themes - Innovation, Creativity}

As we enter the age of AI, competition is fierce, customer expectations are soaring, and the rules of the world are being rewritten in real time. Yet McKinsey reports that only 6% of leaders feel they’re fully unlocking their organizations’ potential to think originally and shape the future of their businesses. After a decade at Stanford and Google, Tucker discovered that the mindset of a poet—tested over millennia—provides leaders with powerful principles for breaking status quo thinking and writing the future with confidence.

Key Takeaways:

• Learn the Turn the Page™ principles—poetic tools that help leaders unlock creativity, adaptability, and innovation in business.
• Discover how to break free from outdated models and embrace bold, future-focused thinking.
• Build a culture of exploration and creative disruption to stay ahead of customer expectations.
• Equip teams with strategies to navigate uncertainty with confidence and resilience.
• Understand why the greatest competitive advantage in the AI era is the ability to think originally.

‍

Highlights

• Silicon Valley Foundation — Studied at Stanford University and spent a decade at Google as a Lead Product Marketing Manager, operating inside one of the world’s most influential technology ecosystems.
• Creator of Turn the Page™ & The Poet’s Keys™ — Developed structured frameworks that translate poetic principles into practical tools for leadership, creativity, and innovation. His work focuses on helping teams challenge assumptions and break status-quo thinking.
• Recognized National Speaker & Performer — Featured at TEDx and referenced by The New York Times. He has shared stages alongside leaders across business, sports, and media, demonstrating broad audience appeal and executive-stage credibility.
• Intersection of Art & Strategy — Combines hands-on corporate innovation experience with immersive poetic performance, offering audiences both intellectual rigor and creative disruption.
• Experiential Mainstage Presence — Known for engaging keynote experiences that integrate storytelling, live poetry, and structured business insight, creating memorable and emotionally resonant conference moments.
• Creativity as Competitive Advantage — Focuses on unlocking creativity, collaboration, and bold thinking in environments shaped by rapid technological change — a strong complement to SlossTech’s Human Creativity and Emerging Tech tracks.