<p>Drawing on his nearly 30 years as Publisher of <em>Forbes,</em> Rich Karlgaard delivers real-time insights on the U.S. economy, from geopolitical crises to AI advancements, equipping businesses to succeed in a competitive global market.</p><p>Called “the Navigator to the Future” by the late thought leader Clayton Christensen and praised by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, Temasek, for his insights, Rich is a thought leader that Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and national associations turn to for a reliable roadmap of what’s to come. Drawing from his roles as the Silicon Valley-based futurist for<em> Forbes</em>, a columnist for <em>Forbes Asia</em>, host of the annual <em>Forbes Global</em> CEO Conference and semi-annual Forbes investor cruises, Rich’s business-consultant-like approach helps audiences gain a practical understanding of the events that are rapidly changing their world and the impacts on business, industry, and markets.</p><p>Rich is also an advisory board member of a publicly traded AI company and a major growth consultancy. He’s a past recipient of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.</p><p>Rich equips today’s leaders with timely insights that help them adapt to the era of technological, economic and political disruption and thrive in an increasingly complex U.S. and global marketplace.</p>
Futurist, Former Publisher of <i>Forbes</i>, Columnist for <i>Forbes</i> Asia
<ul><li><strong>Forecasting In The Fog of Uncertainty: 2025-26 Economy and Markets</strong></li><li>What is the likely outcome of President Trump’s tariffs – both in the coming months and for the remainder of his administration? Are investor fears overblown? Is a recession now likely, and if so, which industries and regions will it hit hardest? Will lawsuits challenging the president’s tariff authority succeed? What strategies are smart companies using to grow and thrive amidst all this uncertainty? Will tariffs hold back or accelerate AI’s “shock-transformation” of business? How will the U.S. economy in 2025-26 shape the elections in 2026? From his vantage point as former Forbes publisher and now futurist and American commentator for Forbes Asia, Rich has interviewed some of the top business and global leaders of our time. He shares his business and financial outlook for 2025 and beyond. Called “The Navigator to the Future” by the late Harvard Business School professor, Clayton Christensen, Rich charts a best course of action for your business and industry.</li><li><strong>AI’s Radical Future: More Dangerous and Wonderful Than You Think</strong></li><li>Generative AI has taken the world by storm. Open AI’s ChatGPT, introduced in 2022, is now at one billion users a week. Competitors like Google and Anthropic are not sitting still. In early 2025, China’s DeepSeek announced it had slashed AI’s operating costs by 90%. Executives such as Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella believe “agentic AI” – which transcends analysis and actually makes decisions – will be a replacement market for the world’s $7 trillion software industry by 2030. Huge question: Who will supply AI’s insatiable electricity consumption? From his vantage point as former Forbes publisher and now futurist and American commentator for Forbes Asia, Rich Karlgaard (based in Silicon Valley), forecasts the near and medium-term future of AI. When it comes to AI, Rich advises executive audiences to not get lost in the details. “Positioning your company in the right quadrant” of future possibilities, he says, is the key to success in the AI age</li><li><strong>The Late Bloomer Revolution: The Secret of Attracting and Retaining Strong Talent in a Competitive and Inclusive Hiring Environment</strong></li><li>Rich Karlgaard draws from his latest book, Late Bloomers: The Hidden Strengths of Learning and Succeeding at Your Own Pace, to suggest an alternative strategy to chasing talent with the highest salaries. Rich shows you how to identify, recruit, retain, and promote the undervalued “late bloomers” who didn’t enter the job market with perfect SAT scores and elite university status. “Companies will struggle to meet their diversity and inclusion goals without a comprehensive ‘late bloomer’ strategy,” says Karlgaard. Learn why CEOs prefer traits like curiosity, compassion, insight, resilience, grit, equanimity, and wisdom—all strengths of a “late-bloomer.” Learn how companies like Northwestern Mutual, KPMG, Nike and Google have discovered the power of late bloomers and age-diverse workforces. Late Bloomers was favorably reviewed by National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, The New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, and Financial Times. The Wall Street Journal chose Late Bloomers for its CEO book club.</li><li><strong>Rich Karlgaard – Premier Moderator and Interviewer at Business and Financial Events</strong></li><li>Rich Karlgaard is one of the world’s premier interviewers and panel moderators at business and financial events — in person and remote. He has been the principal moderator at the Forbes Global CEO conference since 2001, a popular moderator at the Milken Global Summit and TiEcon Annual Summit and many more. Karlgaard is known for his warm, engaging style that brings out the best in his interviewees and panelists. Conference hosts trust Karlgaard as an informed moderator and interviewer who prepares thoroughly and frames his virtual and onstage discussions for the needs of the hosts and attendees.</li></ul><p><br></p>