Gerd Leonhard, Media Futurist and CEOof The Futures Agency

About this original series

Gerd Leonhard, Media Futurist & Author, CEO of The Futures Agency. The Wall Street Journal calls Gerd ‘one of the leading Media Futurists in the World’. He is the Co-Author of the influential book ‘The Future of Music’ (2005, Berklee Press), as well as the Author of 'The End of Control’ (2007), ‘Music 2.0’ (2008), ‘ and 'Friction is Fiction' (2009, Lulu Publishing). Gerd is currently working on a new book entitled 'Broadband Culture' which will be published primarily as a mobile device application. Gerd's background is in music; in 1985 he won the Quincy Jones Award and subsequently graduated from Boston's Berklee College of Music (1987). Since 2001, following a decade as digital media entrepreneur and start-up CEO, Gerd travels around the globe and speaks at conferences and events, company retreats and think-tanks on the Future of Business, Media & Content, Technology, Marketing, Advertising & Branding, Telecommunications, and Culture. Gerd is considered a leading expert on topics such as digital commerce models, tele-media, social media, TV & Radio 2.0, mobile content, innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship, consumer trends, UGC and peer production, copyright, licensing and IPR issues, next-generation advertising, marketing and branding, digital content strategies, and the development of next-generation business models in the content, communications & technology industries. Gerd's keynotes, speeches, presentations and think-tanks are renowned for his hard-hitting and provocative yet inspiring and motivational style. With over 750 engagements in 37 countries during the past 7 years, Gerd has addressed over 250.000 executives and professionals, and is considered a key influencer. His diverse client list includes Nokia, The Guardian, Google, Sony-BMG, Telkom Indonesia, Siemens, RTL, ITV, the BBC, France Telecom / Orange, Deutsche Telekom, The Financial Times, DDB, Ogilvy, Omnicom, the European Commission, Nokia Siemens Networks and many others. Gerd is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts (London), a member of the World Future Society, a visiting professor at the Fundacao Dom Cabral in Brazil (rated #6, worldwide), and resides in Basel, Switzerland. www.mediafuturist.com www.thefuturesagency.com www.twitter.com/gleonhard www.gerdtube.net