Forbes Futurist, Forecaster, Speaker and Moderator
Entrepreneur-turned-publisher, columnist, television commentator, private investor and board director, Rich Karlgaard has a unique vantage point on the trends driving the business and investment climates. His insights help audiences see the global marketplace with new eyes.
Rich’s 2025-26 Speech Topics
In Search of Direction: The 2025-26 Economy and Markets
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, how long will it last? And which industries and regions will be hardest hit? 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 slow down – 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 a 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 the best course of action for your business and industry.
AI’s Radical Future: More Dangerous and Wonderful Than You Think
Generative AI and now Agentic AI have taken the world by storm. Open AI’s ChatGPT, introduced in 2022, is now at one billion weekly users. Competitors like Google, Meta, and Anthropic are not sitting still. In early 2025, China’s DeepSeek announced it had slashed AI’s core 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 questions: Which industries will be most transformed by AI in the next five years? How can you prepare your company for this AI’s pace, now moving at 3x the speed of the previous Internet revolution? 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 AI’s details. “Positioning your company in the right quadrant” of future possibilities, he says, is the key to success in the AI age.
The Late Bloomer Revolution: The Secret of Attracting and Retaining Strong Talent in a Competitive and Inclusive Hiring Environment
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.
Rich Karlgaard – Premier Moderator and Interviewer at Business and Financial Events
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.
What Rich’s clients are saying
“Deeply insightful and tremendously impressive.”
– Temasek – Sovereign Wealth Fund of Singapore
“A fantastic keynote speaker!”
– National Petrochemical Refiners Association
“A major hit with the leadership team.”
– Lockheed Martin Corporation
“The best speaker we’ve ever had.”
– Economic Development Partnership of Alabama
“Loved your presentation style, the relevance of your topics, and your knowledge.”
– TriWest Capital Partners
“Always an outstanding moderator and speaker.”
– IBM
“I liked Rich Karlgaard’s book, The Soft Edge, so much that I read it twice. I knew we wanted him to speak about it to our company’s top 1,000 executives. He was great.”
– Kevin Turner, COO Microsoft
“Best speaker we’ve ever had.”
– Greater New Orleans Inc.
“He knocked it out of the park.”
– Illinois Bankers Association
Ready to get started?
Contact Rich now to check on his availability for speaking at your next meeting,
event, retreat or conference.