Tessa Finlev is a leading global futurist with over 15 years in the field. Her career began at the intersection of social change, peacebuilding, and futures thinking. For the past decade, Tessa has been teaching audiences around the world the art and science of strategic foresight. She has taught peacebuilders in Sudan and Kenya; international development professionals in Thailand, Ukraine, and Italy; and corporate professionals throughout the US.
Tessa has conducted research and spoken on topics as wide ranging as the future of youth employment in Saudi Arabia, government collaboration in the global south, mobile phone usage in Nigeria, future of wellbeing, entertainment, blockchains, mixed reality, criminal justice, labor rights, national identity, and much more.
Today, Tessa is focused on building organizational foresight to enable decisive leadership and decision-making for the 21st century, business mindsets anchored in long-term outcomes over short-term gains, disruptive innovation, and employee engagement. Her goal is to give clients the building blocks needed to successfully grow and run a foresight program or project and to put the power of strategic foresight in the hands of the people, companies, and organizations who build our collective future.
Tessa held the title of Dolby Lab's first ever in-house Foresight Strategist where she launched and (still) runs their Futures Council. She is a Research Affiliate with Institute for the Future and runs her own boutique futures firm, Facilitating Foresight, which you can read more about at www.veryfuture.xyz.
Tessa is a two-time immigrant; Denmark —> US —> Kenya. This is her strategic super-power. She is used to being an outsider and looking at opportunities and challenges from unusual angles. Tessa lives in lovely Nairobi with her husband and two kids. She travels to Denmark and California regularly, and is looking forward to driving around Africa with her boys as they grow a bit older.
