Christina von Messling

Christina von Messling is a forward-thinking multi-industry thought leader and strategist whose methodology and insights are sought out by Fortune 100 businesses and world governments as they prepare to chart the path to the most successful futures for their organizations.

As Foresight Advisory Partner at Foresight Factory in London, Christina leverages her deep technological expertise to provide organizations with comprehensive strategies for emerging opportunities and risks. Working with leading global brands, she ensures businesses evolve and thrive in an increasingly complex world.

Von Messling has led cutting-edge teams across the world in the life sciences (pharma, health, food and agriculture, chemicals) and entertainment industries, and combines a global perspective with in-depth, holistic knowledge of technology, societal dynamics, and the other main drivers of change. Previously, as head of Europe and senior foresight manager at the Future Today Institute (FTI), she collaborated with clients to learn their organizations and industries inside-out, guiding them to untapped opportunities that existed, and could be created, to innovate their businesses and disrupt their industries.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, von Messling is a compelling voice who leads audiences on a riveting deep dive in which she helps them navigate the ever-evolving markets and spot — and adapt to — the signals of change that stand to reshape their industries. With a uniquely creative eye and a balanced focus on technology (especially AI, extended reality, and synthetic biology) and quantitative and qualitative global trends, von Messling walks audiences through exercises that empower each person to adopt the mindset of a futurist in order to envision strategic scenarios for their organizations, and trigger discussions on how to facilitate the change needed to turn ideal scenarios into tangible realities. Additionally, she draws upon her deep expertise in climate and energy innovation to talk through the potential impact on industries, as well as why organizations that prioritize sustainability are best positioned to thrive in this rapidly changing world.

Throughout her career, von Messling has operated at the intersection of digital transformation, creativity, and turning data into tangible business breakthroughs. She has created future scenarios for the world’s leading pharmaceutical and insurance organizations and led foresight research for one of the world’s leading food companies. She also has more than a decade of experience in the entertainment industry and advises on the effects of AI and extended reality on all aspects of entertainment production and consumption. Prior to joining Foresight Factory, she held roles at FTI and as an innovation consultant at TLGG (an Omnicom agency), where she advised Fortune 100 companies on how to utilize emerging technologies in support of their objectives. Before that, she was the VP of social media at a New York tech startup, where she created and led the global communications department, and was a creative director for advertising who spearheaded campaigns for leading brands, including Shiseido, Siemens, and JC Penney. Her strategic acumen has positioned her as a coveted mentor guiding the next generation of visionaries as a coach for an MBA-level graduate course on strategic foresight at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

A truly globally minded foresight practitioner, von Messling is fluent in German and splits her time between London, Berlin, and New York City — immersing herself in diverse cultures and driving the type of cross-cultural collaboration that creates boundless possibilities for organizations.

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