Dr. Craig Wing

Dr.Craig Wing is a globally recognized futurist and entrepreneur who bridgesAI-driven analytics with strategic foresight, empowering organizations tonavigate uncertainty through his SaaS platform, WhatTheForesight (WTF). As theFounder and CEO of WhatTheForesight (WTF) (www.whattheforesight.com),he has pioneered an AI-powered sentiment and crowdsourced SaaS platform thatquantifies organizational “future fitness” through a 25-attribute radarframework. Used by organizations such as Deloitte USA, this platform analyzes50,000+ data points, uncovering leadership misalignment, market adaptabilitygaps, and resilience weaknesses, enabling executives to anticipate disruptionrather than react to it.

Aglobally sought-after speaker, he has delivered over 500 keynotes to 5,000+executives across 50+ countries, shaping strategy for Fortune 500 companies,governments, and industry leaders. He has moderated discussions at the 10thBRICS Summit with President Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, andCyril Ramaphosa, focusing on technology’s role in achieving globalsustainability goals. His insights have also guided decision-makers at Biban2024 (Saudi Arabia), Skolkovo (Russia), and the African Innovation Symposium(Egypt), helping them navigate geopolitical uncertainty, economictransformation, and digital disruption.

Witha PhD in Futures Strategy, one of the first in South Africa, he has introducedavant-garde frameworks leveraging Rumsfeld’s Unknown Unknowns and Johari’sWindow, helping global leaders not just predict the future but actively designit. His research has shaped global AI policy, including his presentation at theUnited Nations AI Conference in Macau on AI regulation, ethics, and equitableadoption. He has consulted for the United Nations on 2050 foresight scenariosfor the Nigerian government, led South Africa’s post-pandemic innovationstrategy as Head of Innovation for B4SA, and advised Google X, Alphabet’smoonshot innovation lab, as its first African advisor.

Dr. Wing’s PhD from theUniversity of Johannesburg includes pioneering frameworks like the FutureFitness Score that underpin his AI-driven SaaS platform, WhatTheForesight. His academic journey includes a MBA from Babson College (recipient of theprestigious Frederic C. Hamilton Scholarship), a MSc in Usability Engineering(University of Witwatersrand), and a BSc in Electrical Engineering, reflectinga multidisciplinary fusion of technology, strategy, and innovation.

HisFour Future Seasons (FFS) framework (www.fourfutureseasons.com),explored in depth in his upcoming third book, Four Future Seasons(public release: March 2025), has received international acclaim. Unliketraditional forecasting models, FFS is a categorizing the future into seasonal cycles:Summer (stability and expansion), Autumn (early warning signals), Winter(resilience and reinvention), and Spring (renewal and opportunity). He hascreated an online course to further deepen lesson. The 11-module online coursebased on this framework provides executives with backcasting tools, biasmitigation strategies, and AI-driven forecasting models, allowing them totranslate foresight into business impact.

Beyondresearch and thought leadership, Dr. Wing  is a serial entrepreneur, he has founded sixventures, including Africa’s first AI future-readiness tool, a Silicon Valleycleantech startup (profiled at TEDx), and Focal Point Engineering, anaward-winning software company for visually impaired users. As Google’s formerHead of Small Business Marketing, he launched South African Business WozaOnline, enabling 50,000 SMEs to create websites—one every 10 minutes. Hisleadership resulted in 82% YoY revenue growth, and alignment with Googles famedcorporate culture, the award of "African Googliest Googler" andrecognition as the first African advisor to Google X (Google’s innovationskunkworks).

Dr.Wing advises and spoken to executives at some of the world’s most influentialorganizations, helping them future-proof their strategies, including Microsoft,Huawei, Citi, Deloitte, Investec, the Indonesian Central Bank, Shell, Airbus,Anglo American, Nestlé, BMW, and Tata. Beyond corporate strategy, he is anactive investor and mentor, having mentored over 1,000 entrepreneurs anddeveloped a quantified future dashboard, providing predictive analytics forinvestors and policymakers.

Afellow at Babson College’s Institute for Social Innovation, he also serves asan adjunct professor at the Indian School of Business, Duke CorporateEducation, and associate at the University of the Witwatersrand’s TayarishaSchool of Governance. He lectures on foresight methodologies, technologyadoption, and strategic decision-making. His insights have been widelyrecognized in global media, and he has hosted the YouTube series The Edge ofNowhere, served as a radio futurist on Hot1027FM, and was invited to be aTV host for South Africa’s national broadcaster.

Dr.Wing’s contributions to business and innovation have earned him multipleprestigious accolades, including recognition as a WEF Global Shaper, Mail &Guardian Top 200 Under 35, and CIO Today’s “Most Inspirational Leader” (2024).He is a TEDx speaker and Clinton Global Initiative awardee, and he holds twoprovisional patents in vision systems and computer components, underscoring hisability to translate academic research into real-world solutions. He wasawarded Babson College’s prestigious Frederic C. Hamilton Scholarship forentrepreneurial achievement, recognizing his early leadership in technologycommercialization.

Anavid adventurer, he has travelled to 56 countries, shaping his globalperspective on innovation and resilience. He has swum in the Amazon, trekkedgorillas in Uganda, tracked tigers in India and snow leopards in the Himalayas,skydived in California, hiked Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China, andeven been tear-gassed during protests in Turkey. When not on stage or advisingglobal leaders, he is a self-taught guitarist, amateur photographer, andhome-trained casual sous chef, always exploring new creative pursuits.

Dr.Wing’s mission is to equip leaders with the tools to design resilient,future-ready businesses through AI-driven analytics, ethical foresight, andstrategic roadmaps—bridging cutting-edge technology and human-centricdecision-making for a more equitable and sustainable future.