- Reluctant futurist, provocative optimist
- Award-winning author of The Future Normal and Trend-Driven Innovation
- Creator of the 'multiplayer keynote', VisuAIse Futures
Henry Coutinho-Mason is a futurist, author, and social entrepreneur who helps organisations anticipate what customers and employees will expect next. Known for his human-centred approach and interactive keynote formats, he has delivered more than 200 talks in over 30 countries and has led his interactive AI session at SXSW.
Henry’s work centres on what he calls the Expectation Economy, exploring how rapidly evolving technologies, cultural shifts, and cross-industry innovation are reshaping standards of service, experience, and value. Drawing on global case studies and emerging trends, he translates complexity into practical strategic insight for senior leaders responsible for customer experience, digital transformation, and service operations across sectors.
Henry is the co-author of The Future Normal, written with Rohit Bhargava, and author of Trend-Driven Innovation, which helped shape TrendWatching’s research platform used by more than 100,000 B2C professionals worldwide. A three-time speaker at SXSW, Henry has worked with organisations including Amazon, Calvin Klein, Johnson and Johnson, Mastercard, MetLife, and Tata Group, as well as leading business schools such as HEC, NYU, and Hult Ashridge.
As co-founder of social enterprise 3Space, he has also been recognised for his work in urban innovation, with accolades from Fast Company World Changing Ideas, the FT Citi Urban Ingenuity Awards, and NESTA New Radicals. His insights have been featured in publications including The Guardian, the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, and The Economist. He has also appeared on the BBC and CNBC.
Through bespoke keynotes and his VisuAIse Futures format, Henry turns passive audiences into active participants, capturing their ideas live and transforming them into strategic insight that extends beyond the stage. His approach combines storytelling, data, and audience co-creation to reveal how teams perceive the future of customer and digital experience, highlighting both emerging opportunities and blind spots in real time.
Audiences gain clarity on emerging trends, confidence in navigating AI and innovation, and practical frameworks for designing experiences that meet rising expectations across every touchpoint.
Book Henry to help your organisation make sense of what is coming next and act on it with confidence.
Henry's Showreel and Videos
Topics, Sessions and Talks
The Future Normal: Key Emerging Trends
Henry Coutinho-Mason explores the emerging trends reshaping industries and redefining what customers and employees consider normal. Drawing on cross-sector case studies and fresh global examples, Henry reveals how expectations are evolving faster than most organisations realise. His bespoke approach ensures relevance to each audience, connecting signals from other sectors to their world, and equipping leaders with sharper foresight and practical ways to anticipate what comes next.
VisuAIse Futures: Interactive AI-Powered Experience
Henry Coutinho-Mason transforms the traditional keynote into a shared strategic experience. Using generative AI and live audience input, Henry invites participants to sketch ideas that are instantly visualised and analysed on stage. The result is a collective exploration of future possibilities, combining energy, technology, and insight to surface patterns in how teams see the future, and to reveal new perspectives in real time.
Designing A People-First AI Strategy
Henry Coutinho-Mason addresses the evolution of technology, from AI to the metaverse, emphasising a human-centric approach. With 15 years of experience, he encourages executives to focus not just on changing technologies but on the enduring human needs that drive customer engagement. His talks provide fresh insights into how organisations can strategically navigate the implications of AI. Attendees will leave empowered, inspired, and equipped with a clear framework and best practices to apply within their teams.
Innovation Mindset: Anticipate Customer Needs
In his talk, Henry Coutinho-Mason challenges conventional methods of predicting customer desires, arguing they fall short in today's unpredictable landscape. He emphasises the importance of observing disruptive startups and innovations to understand shifting customer expectations. Drawing from his book, Trend-Driven Innovation, Henry teaches attendees how to become proactive trendsetters rather than mere observers. Participants will gain insights into human needs, practical examples of global innovations, and actionable strategies to foster a culture of trend-driven innovation within their organisations.
Why We Recommend Booking Henry
Henry Coutinho-Mason delivers engaging, interactive keynotes that empower your team to anticipate and act on emerging trends with clarity and confidence. Book Henry to transform uncertainty into opportunity and gain practical strategies tailored to your industry’s future.
Thank you for bringing fresh and out-of-the-ordinary ideas to this team of smart, motivated people.
VP Executive Leadership Development
VP Executive Leadership Development, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
My go-to speaker for future-gazing grounded in reality is always Henry. He's a fantastic speaker who fills big rooms and gets high praise on feedback forms. It's refreshing to work with someone who puts so much time and effort into making a killer keynote that resonates with our audience and helps attendees to make sense of where the world is going – free from the BS and hype that's often prevalent in this space!
Doing a live demo where people’s ideas are brought to life in a rich, textured, bold and ambitious way is fantastic.
Tom Goodwin
Author, Digital Darwinism
