Travels from Sweden
Nicklas Bergman's speaking fee falls within range: $20,000 to $25,000
With over 20 major tech investments under his belt, Nicklas Bergman is one of the most sought-out advisers and speakers on emerging technologies and their business implications. Bergman spends extensive time with early-stage start-ups and keeping global businesses on par with the latest innovations so they can make the best decisions for their companies. He has extensive knowledge of AI, nanotechnology, new materials, genetics, web services, and computing.
Bergman is the Scandinavian adviser to the TechCast Technology Think Tank in Washington DC, where he focuses on how technology transforms society. He is the author of the book Surviving the Techstorm and has been awarded “International Speaker of the Year” by Speakers Forum, Finland.
Bergman’s first venture was building up Volvo’s presence in Romania. Some of his other investments include an electron microscopy company with a unique patented technology for movement and interaction on the atomic scale and a Scandinavian ski resort development that has gathered over $100 million USD in investments and revitalized a whole region in northern Sweden.
Nicklas Bergman has been labeled a serial entrepreneur, a venture capitalist, a futurist and even an author, although he’s not yet fully comfortable with the last one. He has worked as an entrepreneur and technology investor for more than 25 years. For most of these years, the primary focus has been on investments and business development in emerging markets, web services, nanotechnology, computing, new materials, and new media art. Currently, he is close to around 15 direct and indirect investments.
A couple of years ago, he got tired of endless meetings with bankers, lawyers, and boards of directors. He decided to take the technology bull by the horns, and find another approach. Once he cleared his schedule, he was able to embarked on this journey to understand where technology is taking us and if we are truly ready. Today, his time is divided between existing and new technology investments, a couple of his own skunkworks projects, and speaking and writing on the future of technology and business.
He’s the strategic advisor to European Commissioner Tibor Navracsics and to the European Institute of Technology on issues related to science, innovation and the commercialisation of technology. He’s also a Scandinavian representative of the TechCast Technology Think Tank in Washington DC, and member of both the World Future Society and the Long Now Foundation. These are all things he loves, and finds way more exciting than constant board meetings.
As a writer, he is very interested in the merger of technology, society, and business. He recently published a new book on how to deal with new technologies from a business perspective called Surviving the Tech Storm – Strategy in Times of Technological Uncertainty. The book is about technology being, probably, the strongest driver of change today and that anyone in a management position, or anyone with aspirations to eventually be in that position, must understand how technology is changing business from the ground up.
He is also part of “Nordic Ways”, the 2016 key project at the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University in Washington D.C., USA. The final result of the project was a book of essays on how Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are facing economic and social challenges through what has been known as the “Nordic Model”. Authored by people from all the Nordic countries, all the writers have backgrounds in politics, academia, design, arts, industry, and civil society. This game changing book was released in October of 2016.
Futurist and technology keynote speaker, Nicklas Bergman examines how we can assess when to adopt a new technology into our business or personal lives and leave the old behind. Organizations that excel at this, will ultimately benefit from tapping into opportunities, while those who don't, maybe writing the end of their company's legacy.
Kodak, he notes developed the first digital prototype camera in the 1970s, an initiative they failed to take up again decades later when society went digital. "Timing is of the essence," Bergman emphasizes, explaining that the critical time for a company to adopt a technology is after it emerges on society's radar but before early mainstream adoption.
Nicklas Bergman lays out his own test-driven guide to picking out opportunities in the massive storm of new technologies that seem to be constantly coming at us. In addition to sharing his personal methodology for deciding when it’s time to adopt a new technology or shed an old one, he offers your company a detailed look at the latest developments in artificial intelligence, algorithms, robots, nanotechnology, and genetics, and how these innovations will transform society, your industry, and business.
When Nicklas is about to speak in front of a group of people, he always enters the stage with the goal to inspire, entertain, and educate with the promise to give you a new perspective on technology as well as examples- of tools you will need for surviving the tech storm. He takes pride in always customizing his keynotes for the room he is about to speak to, because when looking at the impact of emerging technologies there are a number of perspectives that are relevant for your clientele. Some of those keynotes are:
Based on this, he has a couple of suggested keynotes below, but please let him know what exactly you're interested in, and he'll work with you on a matching setup for your event.
Surviving the Digital Tech Storm
In a time when established businesses are under constant pressure to innovate and stay ahead of the competition, it’s vital to understand that with technological development comes the need for business innovation. In this keynote, Nicklas will provide insights and tools for conquering the digital world, examples of how to identify opportunities and challenges in the rapidly changing technology landscape. This presentation is filled with examples of emerging technologies relevant to the audience, case studies from some of the best tech companies in the world, as well as tools for analyzing technologies, assessing the business implications, and adapting to a new uncertainty.
Key takeaways: • Overview of the latest digital development which all come from a perspective of business opportunities and challenges. • Inspiring examples of the use of technology from some of the most successful companies in the world. • Hands-on guide and tools so that the attendants can make their own technology and business assessments right after the event.
The Tech Storm 42 Briefing
Aided by images, graphics, and video clips, and based on my constantly updated list of the 42 most interesting emerging technologies to keep an eye on, Nicklas will present examples of the latest research, innovation, and business trends. Depending on the agenda, he’ll present as many graphics and videos as there’s time for either picking the ones the audience wants to hear about or the ones he finds the most relevant for you.
Key takeaways: • Overview of the most interesting, challenging, and thought-provoking emerging technologies that’s out there. • New perspective on how technology gets accepted into society. • Understanding how to relate to these technologies from a business perspective. • New insight on the ethical aspects of emerging technologies, and how to relate to these issues.
The Tech Storm Workshop
A deep dive into emerging technologies, the challenges and opportunities and the tools for analyzing technologies, assessing the business implications, and adapting to a new uncertainty is what I speak about in the Tech Storm Workshop. Based on the methodology of his most recent book Surviving the Tech Storm – Strategy in Times of Technological Uncertainty, this workshop is aided by the creative use of decks of cards and other tools for emerging technologies as well as for new business models.
Key takeaways: • An understanding of how new technologies are being accepted into society and adopted by businesses. • Tools for spotting emerging technology trends and understanding the time perspective; i.e. when a technology will break through. • Tools for assessing and understanding the business implications and acting on this new information. • Tools for looking at uncertainty in new ways, being comfortable with increasing change of pace and identifying opportunities in an ambiguous world.
The Tech Storm Paradigm A thought-provoking, philosophical, and entertaining journey into the world of emerging technologies is where Nicklas challenges the audience to think about the future in new ways, consider where we want technology to take us, and whether or not we’re ready for the approaching storm of technology.
Key takeaways: • What can we learn from history when looking at the rapidly changing world around us. • A deeper understanding of technology’s role in the development of our society. • A deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges of technological development. • New insights on the ethical aspects of emerging technologies, and how to relate to these issues.
“Nicklas is the ‘Malcolm Gladwell’ of technology! “ Peter M. Fannon, Panasonic SVP North America
“Nicklas skillfully blended his experiences as a high-technology investor, nanotechnology expert and entrepreneur to deliver a fascinating and inspiring keynote address on technology revolution.” Marie D’Iorio, Executive Director, National Institute for Nanotechnology, Canada
“Nicklas’ Inspirational and straight-forward talk about the tech storm was mind-blowing and one of the key takeaways from SXSW 2015 in Austin, TX.” Tomas Bennich, Senior Advisor, Swedish Venture Capital Association
“Nicklas’ visionary presentation on data and digitization had a perfect focus for the audience in the utilities industry. It was a great performance on stage and the delegates were really captivated by the insights he delivered.” Géraldine Trapp, Manager & Partner, Smart Energies Summit, France
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Surviving the Tech Storm Strategy in Times of Technological Uncertainty
The increasing speed of technological progress is creating a tech storm that will affect all aspects of running a business in the future.
This groundbreaking and highly visual book presents a framework for understanding these times of enormous technological uncertainties. Nicklas Bergman argues that by combining curiosity and understanding we can gain insight into and take advantage of the opportunities that will come from emerging technologies. This book offers a new perspective on the next technological paradigm, a clear view of the megatrends that are shaping our future and a complete toolbox on how to handle the upcoming technological revolution from a strategic perspective.
The book provides a step-by-step approach to the analysis of emerging technologies, assessing business implications, and adapting to a new and uncertain environment. In addition, there are unique insights into the works of leaders from the Swedish tabloid Expressen, furniture giant IKEA, music unicorn Spotify, and computational powerhouse Wolfram Research.
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