Martina Olbert Keynote Speaker

Dr. Martina Olbert is a global thought-leader and expert on creating meaning in business, recognised by Forbes as the ‘global authority on brand meaning’. She is the Founder and CEO of a global consultancy firm, Meaning.Global, and a speaker, author and strategic advisor on the subjects of meaning, value creation, meaningful business, societal macrotrends, cultural foresight, brand strategy, sustainable growth, innovation, and consumer behaviour.

Martina brings an unusually rich, thorough and high-level perspective to the big problems of today and offers radically new ideas and breakthrough insights for conscious business change and humanised growth. She uses her unique perspective to help today’s leaders reframe how they see the world to create better and more meaningful futures.

As a strategist, sensemaker, futurist, social scientist, and consumer psychologist, she helps leaders read the early signals of change in a socio-cultural context, understand what they mean to their business and how they affect where business value is going to shift next. When leaders understand the world in context, they can unlock new opportunities for real change.

She founded Meaning.Global, a global human foresight and strategy consultancy, to help brands and organisations reconnect with meaning and humanity at the core to drive new relevance, real value creation and meaningful growth in today’s fast-changing world.

As a world-leading expert, she works with some of the world’s top consumer, corporate, luxury and lifestyle brands. Her clients include banking and finance, investment fund, private equity, social impact start-ups, NGOs, a presidential candidate, technology, luxury and fashion houses, professional services, medical, pharma, consumer goods, and more.

Martina is the author of the globally acclaimed ‘The Luxury Report: Redefining The Future Meaning Of Luxury’ and ‘Reimagining Consumerism As A Force For Good’. Her insights are regularly featured in leading global media publications such as Forbes, BBC, Newsweek, El País, WARC, Vogue Business, Luxury Daily, Jing Daily, amongst others.

She is an inspiring speaker with a bold vision on the future of commerce as a force for good and meaningful growth. She views commerce as a potent force for good in society. She believes that meaningful business is the path to humanised growth, social progress and cultural change. When businesses become conscious of their actions in the world, they can become powerful catalysts for real social change and global transformation.

She has spoken for clients globally at conferences in North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, and Asia. Her talks and guest lectures include Trinity College Dublin, Brand Week Istanbul, FashionTech Week Italy, Internal Communications Conference Berlin, Frame Awards in Amsterdam, Consumer Insighting in Manila, and more.

Her education includes Political Journalism at Georgetown University, The Science of Wellbeing at Yale, and Media and Consumer Cultures at the University of Glamorgan in the UK. She holds a doctorate in Media Studies from Charles University in Prague.

“Exceptional and highly valued perspective”, “seeing beyond the problems of today”, “reframing and refocusing worldviews for better understanding”, “real depth made accessible”, “astonishingly valuable”, “revolutionary thought leader”, “giving us a road map forward” are some of the reactions she received for her talks and published work.

Speaking Topics

• Reimagining Consumerism
• Business as a Force For Good
• The Human Revolution in Business
• Meaningful Business
• Meaning and Purpose
• Brand Leadership
• Sustainability and ESG
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Social Change and Cultural Transformation
• Consumer Psychology (why we buy what we buy)
• The Rise of Conscientious Consumption
• Post-Aspiration and The New Consumer
• The New Luxury and Meaningful Experiences
• Marketing, Communication and Culture
• Value Creation and Growth
• The Future of Business in COVID-19

Testimonials

“Astonishingly valuable.” – Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, TED speaker, author of Alchemy, UK

“Martina is a vibrant and unapologetic breath of fresh air. Her passion for branding, semiotics and the future of business is unparalleled. She has made me think in new ways and has elevated my own brand work.” – Hilton Barbour, Marketing, Culture & Change Management Consultant, Canada

“Martina is a true visionary. Fiercely intelligent, deeply spiritual and possessing a 360-degree view of humans, she is able to see the fundamental nature of human motivations for consumption. She is a revolutionary thought leader whose comments, ideas and insights are one of the few sources that actually matter.”  – John Hays, Lifestyle Luxury Expert, USA