Travels from San Francisco, California, USA
Susan Etlinger's speaking fee falls within range: $20,000 to $25,000
Industry analyst and pioneer, Susan Etlinger teaches audiences how to contextualize data and use it in a smart way whether their company’s going through a crisis, disruption, or looking to take their business and employees to the next level. Recognized as one of the most knowledgeable experts on “Big Data,” she works at the intersection of people, processes, and technology, helping leading brands generate culture, strategies, and practices through a holistic interpretation of social and enterprise data.
As a mover and shaker in the Altimeter Group, a technology research firm, Susan conducts independent research on data strategy, analytics, and privacy. Her work is frequently referenced in major publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and the New York Times. She was one of a select few to be chosen as a speaker for the 2014 TED@IBM where she recorded her viral talk What do we do with all this big data?
Prior to joining Altimeter, Susan served as Senior Vice President at Horn Group where she pioneered the agency’s social strategy offering, advising start-ups to Fortune 500 companies on social media practices and strategic plan development. In addition to launching dozens of companies, she has counseled several businesses through crises, liquidity events, and large-scale organizational initiatives.
Susan Etlinger is an industry analyst with Altimeter Group, where she focuses on data strategy, analytics and ethical data use. She conducts independent research on these topics and is the author of several related research reports available for download at altimetergroup.com, on her blog, susanetlinger.com, and on SlideShare.
Susan works with global 2000 organizations to incorporate strategic and ethical data use into organizational culture and practice. She helps organizations develop frameworks and process that enable them to extract insights from multiple data streams and act on them in a practical, trustworthy and scalable manner. Susan also works with technology vendors to refine product road maps and strategies based on her independent research.
Susan is recognized as one of the most influential voices in the Big Data industry. Her TED talk on big data has been viewed nearly one million times. Additionally, she is a member of the board of The Big Boulder Initiative, an industry organization dedicated to promoting the successful and ethical use of social data.
She is regularly interviewed and asked to speak on data strategy and best practices for business, and has been quoted in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, The San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, the BBC and Fast Company.
She is a published translator and holds a B.A in Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley.
“[Just] because something happens after something doesn't mean it happened because of it.” Susan Etlinger calls for the need to strengthen and apply critical thinking skills to make sense of the overwhelming amount of data we have access to in today’s world. She refers to authors George Orwell and Aldous Huxley both of whom expressed fears that data would either be used to control us or “amuse us to death.”
She reminds us that we are not passive consumers and that data within itself does not create meaning. However, it is important that we pay close attention to the thought processes we are using to interpret what we read and hear on the Internet. “It means asking ourselves the hardest question of all,” she advises. “Did the data really show us this, or does this result make us feel more successful and more comfortable?”
One of the most knowledgeable experts in the data field and how it relates to businesses in the real world, Susan Etlinger draws on more than 20 years of experience helping a multitude of industries utilize technology-based research to support their company’s objectives. Frequently cited in mainstream news venues, Susan’s own investigations in areas like data analytics and social media make her an unrivaled authority in her area.
As a speaker, Susan breaks down her specialist knowledge into laymen’s terms through relatable stories and examples that demonstrate the challenges, opportunities, and necessary criteria to interpret social data smartly and apply it wisely.
The Age of AI: How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Organizations Seemingly overnight, Artificial Intelligence has moved from plot point in science fiction to major technology trend. In this talk, Susan Etlinger lays out the current state of AI for business, describes primary and emerging use cases, and states the risks, opportunities, and organizational considerations that businesses are facing. It concludes with a look at the business, legal, and technology trends that are likely to shape the future, and recommendations for leaders thinking about applying AI to their own organizations.
Attendees will learn: • Why and how AI will affect global business, and how to separate hype from reality • Use cases, design and CX principles, emerging best practices, risks and opportunities, and implications for business • Recommendations for leaders thinking about applying AI to their own organizations.
The Customer Experience of AI: Fostering Engagement, Innovation and Trust However we define it, whether we know it or not, most of us interact with AI daily. It is present in recommendation engines, search engines, word processing programs, messaging, personal digital assistants, social networks, and even everyday household items. In this talk, industry analyst Susan Etlinger explores how AI fundamentally changes the relationship between businesses and consumers, lays out its risks and opportunities and demonstrates emerging best practices for designing customer-centric and ethical products and services.
Attendees will learn: · Why and how AI changes the relationship between people and organizations · The biggest risks—and opportunities—for business in the age of AI · Operating principles, recommendations and best practices for designing innovative, engaging and ethical products, services and brand experiences.
The Conversational Business: Strategic Opportunities for Voice Agents and Chatbots In this talk, Susan Etlinger shares use cases, emerging best practices, and design and CX principles from organizations building and using chatbots and voice agents such as Alexa, Cortana and Siri. Etlinger will cover the opportunities and risks of conversational interfaces, and the strategic implications for customer experience, business models, brand strategy, and recent innovations.
Attendees will learn: · Why and how conversational interfaces are different from existing channels · Use cases, design and CX principles, emerging best practices, risks and opportunities, and implications for business · Recommendations for leaders thinking about applying conversational technologies to their own organizations.
SPEAKING.COM: What do you want people to learn/take away from your presentations?
ETLINGER: The most important thing to remember is that tech is a tool, and it’s our responsibility to decide how to use it.
The best feedback I get is from people who tell me they now feel confident and empowered to have conversations about technology strategy in their own organizations. Sometimes that’s a junior person, but many times it’s someone on the C-team who is trying to up their game.
SPEAKING.COM: What kind of special prep work do you do prior to an event? How do you prepare for your speaking engagements?
ETLINGER: I read like a fiend, I talk to people, and I rehearse. This isn’t hard for me because I genuinely love what I do so I always feel prepared and confident. I love the feeling of standing in front of a group of people and sharing what I’ve learned. In fact, my (half-joking) motto is, “I research this stuff so you don’t have to”.
SPEAKING.COM: Have you had any particularly memorable speaking engagements / unusual situations arise while on the road?
ETLINGER: Without getting into politics, let’s just say that I had to speak at a government agency on November 9, 2016, the morning after the election. Two of the other speakers didn’t show up, so we did a fireside chat instead. The topic was “Strategic Use of Data”, which was ironic given that the election result was a huge surprise to a lot of people.
What was the scapegoat? Bad data. The chat ended up being a great discussion on cognitive bias and the limits of data analysis.
SPEAKING.COM: What types of audiences would most benefit from your message?
ETLINGER: I love speaking with people who are novices at tech, but also love speaking with technologists too. I like to bring in examples from real life so people can relate. AI sounds big and scary, but almost everyone has had a weird experience with auto-correct. It’s fun to explain why that happens, and how to tie that to the types of issues we see in business.
SPEAKING.COM: Which of your keynote speaking topics are your favorites and why?
ETLINGER: I love talking about AI ethics, because it’s a hard topic,it’s political, and yet it’s so important. We have so many decisions to make, and it’s crucial to me that we focus on the ones that are the most meaningful and affect real people. It makes me really happy when I hear that I’ve helped put some structure around a tough topic so that a business can now have a productive conversation and make real decisions.
SPEAKING.COM: What inspired you to start doing speaking engagements?
ETLINGER: Necessity? Fear? It really is one of those terrifying experiences, at least at first. I knew, though, that if I were going to develop research, I needed to be able to present it to people. Ironically, one of my biggest fears now gives me so much joy; I love the work I do.
SPEAKING.COM: How do you keep your audience engaged and actively listening during your keynotes? Do you use case studies, personal stories and/or in your speeches?
ETLINGER: All of them. I listen to tons of speeches and have seen great and awful examples. Now that I myself have done dozens if not hundreds of talks, I am extremely sensitive to the audience. People want to see authenticity, energy and passion. They want to feel included and not talked down to. That’s why I am super-prepared, but also looser and more extemporaneous than I was when I started doing this. I’m not a lecturer. I want people to enjoy the time they spend with me. As speakers, we owe them that much.
SPEAKING.COM: What are some of the successes you’ve helped clients achieve?
ETLINGER: The best feedback I get is when I hear that clients are now thinking differently, and infusing that quality of thought into their strategies and execution. I’m not here to tell everyone what to do, but I do want to inspire people to connect the changes they’re seeing in their own lives with the work they do professionally. That’s really hard, but it feels extremely validating when it works on an organizational level.
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