Nancy is an inspired futurist with one hand on the social compass and the other on the corporate light switch. If she had a third hand it would be using chopsticks to eat tofu.

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Nancy Giordano, as featured in:

Femme
Futurists
Society

A collection of compelling conversations with the thoughtful women actively shaping our world. Find out more here.

why

The future isn't happening to us; it IS us.

Biased in wonder and optimism, Nancy is a strategic futurist focused on building a safe, inclusive, thriving future. Believing we have a once in a generation opportunity to rethink, reimagine and reshape every industry and social construct we call life, she supports and champions those actively architecting bold solutions and guides the visionary leaders eager to meet this call. An active strategist working on horizon solutions, Nancy is eager to share her insights on emerging technologies and shifting cultural expectations in ways that get everyone deeply motivated by the possibilities…and confident to start building.

 


Described as endlessly optimistic, Nancy is a strategic futurist with a drive to help enterprise organizations and visionary leaders transform to meet the escalating expectations ahead.

Recognized as one of the world’s top female futurists, she has spent her career building, shaping and guiding a portfolio of $50 billion worth of major global brands.

With growing conviction of what will (and needs to) shift, executives value her unique abilities to sense and synthesize the terrain ahead and guide those ready to build more relevant and sustainable solutions.

who

Strategic Futurist,
Keynote Speaker,
Gatherer,
Advisor.

Nancy built a formidable career at several of the most influential ad agencies in NY, Chicago, and LA and for more than a decade has been the Founder/CEO of Play Big Inc., a strategic inspiration company. Her current work dives deeply into the emerging intersection of tech, business and society.

Nancy has a rich history of advising and learning with some of the top companies in the world, including Nestle, Brinker International, The Coca Cola Company, Sprint and Acumen. More recently, she has helped build the team for an artificial intelligence start-up, produced a conference on the seven most disruptive technologies for enterprise, is board member for a non-profit trade organization focused on the future of retail, and is working with a leading fintech/martech provider to ensure the survival of community banks and credit unions nationwide. She also helping usher in the world of distributed applications and computing by championing emergent cryptographic technologies Holochain + Holo.

A frequent panelist at South by Southwest, global keynote speaker, Singularity University guest lecture, and world’s first TEDx licensee, Nancy is committed to advancing societal structures and new mindsets necessary to effectively harness the significant technology innovations heading our way… and ensure a safe and thriving future for us all.

Nancy’s High-Res Headshots.

KeynoteTalks + StrategicWorkshops

"It is naïve — and even perilous — to believe the future is only good or bad. Hopefully none of us is that blindly optimistic nor cynically pessimistic. Searching for a single black or white answer often draws us to polarizing pundits and puts us at greater risk in a world of interdependency and growing complexity. Especially when we’re being asked to respond, react and innovate at a breathless pace".

media

Keynote Talks

Education Travel Consortium /

H D A| Distribution Management Conference /

South by Southwest /

Learning Solutions Conference and Expo /

Tennesse Valley Authority /

APQC /

Kansas State Wellness Summit /

Kansas State Wellness Summit /

Fidelity Client Summit /

Kronos Client Summit /

CU Drive Conference /

Golden Chick Owner Conference /

Straumann Digital Dentistry Summit /

Goodwill CEO Summit /

ALM | America's Claims Event /

Michigan Comm College Conference /

Straumann Digital Dentistry Summit /

IAMC Annual Conference /

Roche Genetech Leadership Event /

Global People Summit /

Who's Who Lux Real Estate Conference /

Advantage Solutions Retail Summit /

Kasasa Nation /

Fidelity Executive Offsite /

Singularity University|Enterpreneurs Organization Summit /

NY Bankers Conference /

AFP | Association of Financial Professionals Conference /

NAVEX 2018 Ethics & Compliance Virtual Conference /

Rockwell Automation /

Mercer Global Investment Forum /

TSYS Conference /

Aspen Financial Planners Event /

Newport News Shipbuilding Conference /

Channel Group /

IAEE /

HEB /

YPO | Young President Association /

SXSW Panels: AI in Your Organization + Write the Future Now Sci-fi panel /

SXSW /

Retail Tomorrow; Compelling retail experiences are built on powerful stories /

Oslo Business Forum /

SAP | Singularity University /

Economic Development Coalition /

Ivalua NOW /

America’s Apparel Producers Network /

Blue Cross Blue Shield /

Singularity University | Future of Work /

CUSO /

VeeamON 2019 /

IASA (Insurance Accounting & Systems Association) /

BWI GmbH - SU Disruption Workshop /

CPPIB /

Retail Tomorrow Immersion /

JLL Americas Finance Leadership Summit /

VMI (Virginia Military Institute); Opening Commencement Keynote /

Citrix - Future of Work + Working /

NSSF (National Sport Shooting Association); The Case For Audacious Leadering /

Prudential; Navigating Permanent Ambiguity /

GMDC, Selfcare Summit; The Rise Of The Anxiety Economy /

JFO Group /

Ceridian Insights /

ABF (Brazilian Franchise Association) + Singularity University /

DPRCG Convocation (Design Professionals Risk Control Group) /

Healthcare Business Women’s Association /

Household + Commercial Products Association /

PWC (Price Waterhouse Cooper) /

FSI, One Voice /

Financial Services Institute /

Publicis Health /

ABJ (Austin Business Journal) 2040 /

Retail Industry Leaders Association /

Global Foresight Summit /

TEDx UT Austin - Cancelled. /

digitalNow - postponed. Date TBD /

CONNEX - postponed. Date TBD /

Texas Association of School Boards - postponed. Date TBD /

Warsaw Executive Forum - postponed. Date TBD /

Pearl 'Whats Next?' Confluence - postponed. Date TBD /

Microsoft Brand Forum - Postponed. Date TBD /

National Association Of Clean Water Agencies - Postponed. Date TBD /

Cisco Executive Symposium - Postponed. Date TBD /

California Building Industry Association (CBIA) - Postponed. Date TBD /

Entrepreneurs Organization - Virtual Speakers Tour /

Ceridian: Intelligence At Work /

Clorox National Sales & Marketing Conference /

Verizon Linkedin Live /

Retail Tomorrow Brave New World Series. /

Dun & Bradstreet Revenue Acceleration Summit /

Retail Tomorrow /

University of Wisconsin Executive Business Consortium /

Vistage /

Conarec 2020 /

Association of Equipment Manufacturers /

Finovate /

Tiedemann Advisors /

digitalNow /

Publicis /

IREM /

Womble Bond Dickinson /

AT&T /

HCAA /

Belcorp /

TEDxUT /

NV Community Foundation /

CPP Investments /

Sage Global Services /

Telekom Austria /

CPPIB /

Dell Technologies /

GS1 Live /

GMDC /

LinkedIn /

Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science /

NACWA /

CONNEX /

Retail Tomorrow /

Red Hat /

McDonalds /

Great Lakes Women's Business Council /

ADSO /

Accenture /

American Portfolios /

ASQ /

PepsiCo /

Nancy has the unique ability to turn a room full of strangers into friends... The event was such a success that PBS has decided to make this one-time workshop an annual gathering... There is no one I trust more.

Shane Guiter - PBS

Nancy, just a quick note to say thanks for your participation in our most recent EmpowerU event. Your insight, energy, passion and humor are things that our employees continue to rave about a week later. Thanks so much again and I look forward to connecting in the future.

Doyle Beneby - CEO, CPS Energy

Hi Nancy, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your session on Audacious Leadering at SXSW. It was a perfect moment of unexpected discovery as they say in the brochure! Your's was the talk that gave my SXSW experience it's intellectual centre of gravity. Many thanks.

Rich Donovan - Creative Director at LIDA Australia

Nancy, The timing of your lecture was one of those sort of jaw-dropping life-affirming, this is just what I needed moments for me. And at a dental conference. Who would have thought, right? Thank you for what you do and for how you shared it. Your talk was inspiring and refreshing for me for a number of reasons, including how dynamic, engaging and articulate you were on a stage that is dominated by males in my industry. It was a real pleasure seeing you speak.

Attendee - Straumann Dental Symposium

Dear Nancy, Your energy, your intelligence and your being touched my soul. I feel awakened to a world of possibilities and also the need for optimism for our young people. Thank you. Thank you! I will be following you and truly hope our paths will cross again.

Abby Busdekker - Content Curator, Education Travel Consortium

Nancy, you were a great partner to work with from start to finish. Thank you for taking the time to talk through what I was looking for to make sure you understood the needs of our attendees and the message I was hoping her talk would send. That collaboration was evident in the talk you gave. It was very well received, with many of our attendees specifically commenting on the positive energy you brought to the room. I was looking you to inspire our attendees to think differently, and you definitely delivered on that. You were a fabulous addition to our event.

David Kelly - EVP & Executive Director, The eLearning Guild

Nancy has a unique ability to highlight the most innovative applications of technology on the market, while making them relevant to the audience and somehow making the true story about people.

Alex Saric - CMO, Invalua

I LOVED LOVED LOVED both of your presentations at the AAPN. Very inspiring and thought-provoking.

Stephanie (Wilhelm) Williamson - President, WWA Advisors LLC

"You gave a great WebEx yesterday on the future or work and working. It was like drinking from a firehouse. But I loved it! Thank you.

Marsha McVicker, Founder + CEO at Errand Solutions

Nancy—your speech: superb in content and providing inspiration for our future citizen soldier leaders!

Colonel David R. Gray, PhD, Director Center for Leadership and Ethics, Virginia Military Institute

Playbig Inc. says they ‘help leaders…play bigger’. But really, they actually help their clients THINK bigger, think better, think differently and help navigate the future in well considered and intelligently informed ways.

Seth Foster, Vice President - Project Administration

Nancy you were fantastic and I really appreciate your willingness to engage with folks after the session. It was meaningful and inspiring – what we all need these days.

Jill Shipley - Managing Director, Tiedemann Advisors

what

Welcome to the First Productivity Revolution

As we accelerate the transition from the mechanical Industrial Era to the cyber-digital Productivity Era, we need to rethink all the ways we create and distribute value. What new understandings are essential to allow your organization to embrace the significant opportunities ahead? Nancy’s keynote talks and Leadering workshops are strategically customized to the needs, questions and geography of each audience and discuss topics such as: The Mindset We Need To Build The Future We Want, The Five Forces Shaping the New Economy, The Promise of the Productivity Revolution and How to Prepare your Organization for AI. 

Is she the right fit for your next conference or event? 

connect

We help the visionary play bigger.

Playing big is a call to match what the future needs and expects with what you (and your team, your organization) are in a unique position to create. We are strategists, advisors and coaches for many of the world’s most visionary leaders who are committed to building a better next. How can we help you play bigger? 

Come find out more by heading over to playbiginc.com

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