Thimon de Jong (The Netherlands)

Thimon de Jong is an expert in changing human behaviour, societal and cultural trends, and the effects they have for businesses and nations. He is the founder of Whetston, a strategic foresight think tank based in Amsterdam, which explores the future of human behaviour, societal trends, and generational change. He delivers strategic insight to all types of organisations, from Morgan Stanley to Land Securities to Microsoft, on the key trends that will affect people - be they customers or employees. He also lectures at the social psychology department of Utrecht University.

Formerly Director of Insight and Strategy at Dutch trends interpretation agency TrendsActive, Thimon looks at the changes in gender, society, and demographics to predict what organisations will have to deal with to stay ahead. He was also as researcher at FreedomLab Future Studies, and editor-in-chief of Reload Magazine.

Thimon examines how social trends, technology, and culture influence human behaviour and how this should influence and inform the behaviour of businesses whether looking at their consumers, their employees, or their overall strategy. Working with bespoke research, he incorporates information from a wide range of disciplines. He explores the latest academic research and ways of applying the information to assist client organisations achieve the best in marketing, strategy, and product design. Thimon also discusses how society is suffering from a mental health crisis and considers what it reveals about Western culture and modern generations. He looks at how our perception of wellbeing is changing the workplace, as well as possible solutions to the crisis.

He considers future proof leadership, the future of work, the future of the planet, the human side of technology, and how people who have experienced great anxiety, require leaders to adopt a nurse mentality.

Thimon's book Future Human Behavior: Understanding What People Are Going To Do Next, is an accessible examination of our challenging and unpredictable world and how we respond, react and shape it.

An energetic, enthusiastic speaker, Thimon has spoken for companies and at conferences all over the world. His speeches aim to provide a revealing insight into the future we all will live in. He also provides audiences with practical advice on how to utilise the trend information at their fingertips, enabling them to revolutionise their business.