Experts in the art of what is next
Dr. Heather Collins
Dr. Heather CollinsClaim to Fame: I am a cognitive neuroscientist and keynote speaker who helps leaders and organizations understand the brain systems behind attention, decision-making, memory, confidence, creativity, stress and human performance. With more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, including work in The New England Journal of Medicine and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, I bring rare scientific credibility to the stage. I translate complex neuroscience into elegant, practical and unforgettable keynote experiences that help audiences think more clearly in an age of overload, disruption and AI. I am also a tap-dancing neuroscientist who once appeared on stage with Madonna.
Proudest Moment: One of my proudest moments as a speaker was standing on the SXSW stage and watching a room full of people experience their brains change in real time. I was not simply explaining the brain; I was helping the audience feel how quickly perception, attention, memory and bias shape the way we see ourselves and each other. That moment captured why I do this work. I spent years inside laboratories studying the brain with MRI, data and peer-reviewed research. Now I get to take that science out into the world and make it useful for leaders, teams, educators and organizations. The proudest part was not what happened on the stage. It was hearing people say afterward, “I will never think about my brain, my work or my choices the same way again.” That is the kind of impact I want every keynote to create.
Enduring Message: Attention is finite and most organizations are burning through it. You can manage cognitive load, direct focus strategically and protect your teams’ attentional capacity from the forces draining it, from digital overload to poorly designed meetings and workflows.
Henry Coutinho-Mason
Claim to Fame: I created VisuAIse Futures, the world’s first ‘multiplayer’ keynote, to give people a visceral experience of how AI can transform what a keynote can deliver. Asking an entire audience to sketch their ideas and turning thousands of these quick doodles into valuable strategic insights, live on stage, is hugely fun. It’s also reinforced my belief that, used well, AI can amplify human creativity–both individually and collectively. I’m also hoping that my next book–“Future Words: A Non-Obvious Glossary of Terms That Don’t Exist (But Soon Will)” out October 2026, will be another claim to fame!
Proudest Moment: Personally, I’m still amazed and delighted that I persuaded such a remarkable and brilliant woman to build a family with me! Professionally, my proudest achievement is rebuilding my career after having to abruptly shut down my previous company during Covid. I’ve spent 15 years writing and speaking about trends and innovation–now I’m living it, doing something on stage that literally wasn’t possible a year ago.
Enduring Message: The common thread across all my books and my talks is that we should embrace the future, rather than fear it. I want people to leave with a deeply practical way of seeing the world that helps them spot emerging opportunities before everyone else does. With VisuAIse Futures, my interactive keynote, people leave transformed on two levels. Personally, they experience how AI can accelerate and expand their ideas–which leaves them excited and inspired. More broadly, they also have a tangible demonstration of how AI will transform their organization–making future thinking and innovation culture radically faster and far more inclusive.
Julie Holmes
Claim to Fame: I don’t just talk about AI, I build it. I’m an inventor and tech founder with more than 20 years building and selling technology. As a Hall of Fame speaker (CSP, FPSA, PSAE), I’ve taken AI to audiences of 5 to 5,000, aligning boardrooms and energizing ballrooms. Even when the room’s AI emotion and expertise are all over the place, I can move the group forward, whether it’s talking strategy or delivering hands-on AI adventures. Ask thousands of my audience members to describe my programs, and they’ll say engaging and actionable. I make AI make sense, and I make it fun.
Proudest Moment: I love the moment someone goes from arms crossed to leaning in, from AI-reluctant to AI-excited, right there in the room. But the moments I’m most proud of usually come weeks later, when I hear that something I shared has shown up in a room I was never in. Not long ago, a global banking client told me the 20-60-20 AI Collaboration Equation I shared with their leaders was being repeated in hallways and used by tens of thousands of employees, even people who hadn’t seen me speak (yet!). To me, that’s the whole point. It’s nice to change how someone feels for an hour, but applause fades by the parking lot. It’s even better to change how people think and work every single day.
Enduring Message: Everyone has AI now. You, your clients, your competition. AI is raising the floor, and being good has never been easier, or less impressive. So good is no longer the goal. Great is. The best won’t use AI just to keep up; they’ll use it to stand out. That’s what my research-backed Second Story Strategy is built for: not just adopting AI, but reimagining and extending what your business can do with it. The leaders and teams who win build something no competitor can copy. They know when to lean in, when to stay human, and how to make the two work as one.
Back to 2026 Smart Speakers homepage.
