RAMY NASSAR
Futurist, Former Head of Innovation at Mattel, and Author of The World After AI
About Ramy Nassar
Ramy Nassar helps leaders stop reacting to disruption and start designing the future.
As the former Head of Innovation for Mattel, he harnessed emerging technologies to reinvent one of the world's most iconic brands, building the company's first innovation lab and contributing to the production team for the Barbie movie, which grossed $1.5B worldwide. Today, he brings that same builder's mindset to leaders, helping them Navigate What's Next in AI and emerging technology with clarity and confidence.
Ramy doesn't watch the future unfold from the sidelines. He's on the court, shaping it. With 25+ years of experience and trusted by more than 250 organizations including Apple, Disney, TD Bank, TELUS, Verizon, New Balance, and the Government of Canada, he combines hands-on technical depth, strategic foresight, and powerful storytelling to turn complexity into clarity and disruption into opportunity.
Author of The World After AI and a faculty member at universities in Canada and Europe, Ramy equips leaders with practical frameworks to reimagine business models, rewire risk, and accelerate innovation. His work includes building enterprise AI agents, advising AI governance teams, and launching innovation labs focused on real-world implementation. Cutting through the hype, he helps leaders navigate responsible use, emerging risks, and governance implications.
For boards and leadership teams, Ramy brings a rare combination: the futurist and executive-strategy lens of someone who looks a decade ahead, from someone who still builds AI hands-on inside large organizations. A full-time speaker delivering 40 to 50 engagements a year, his keynotes and workshops leave audiences energized, empowered, and ready to build what comes next.
Based in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, about an hour from Toronto, Ramy is available for in-person engagements across North America and internationally, as well as virtual keynotes.
- Former Head of Innovation at Mattel, where he built the company's first innovation lab
- Production team contributor on the Barbie movie, $1.5B at the global box office
- Trusted by 250+ organizations including Apple, Disney, TD Bank, Verizon and the Government of Canada
- Author of the forthcoming book The World After AI
- Faculty member at universities in Canada and Europe
- 40 to 50 engagements a year as a full-time futurist and keynote speaker
Watch Ramy In Action
Speaking Topics
Artificial Intelligence • Executive Strategy • Governance.
AI is no longer a future bet. It's an executive priority, and most leadership teams are still trying to figure out where to start. Drawing on 25+ years building inside Mattel, Apple, TD Bank, and 250+ other organizations, Ramy tells the real story of AI, daring leaders to confront what matters now, what's coming next, and what guardrails are vital.
- AI Now maps the technologies driving real impact today: generative AI, agents, and the practical use cases inside enterprises that are actually moving the needle.
- AI Next equips leaders to scale investments past the pilot trap. The frameworks that turn proofs of concept into enterprise-grade value.
- AI Never draws the lines that protect trust, governance, and reputation. The strategic case for what to walk away from, even when the market is racing toward it.
Audiences Will Learn How To
- Identify AI use cases with measurable ROI and separate hype from reality
- Scale initiatives past the pilot trap with frameworks that turn proofs of concept into enterprise value
- Align their leadership team on what to pursue now, what to wait on, and what to walk away from entirely
This presentation can be delivered as a keynote or interactive workshop. Sessions often include live AI demonstrations and provide participants with a post-session toolkit (sample prompts, adoption frameworks, governance checklists) to inspire action the very next day.
Strategic Foresight • Leadership • Scenario Planning.
What if your biggest risks aren't today's challenges, but tomorrow's blind spots? Linear planning was built for a world that no longer exists. Drawing on his forthcoming book The World After AI, Ramy challenges leaders to confront a harder truth: the executives who win the next decade aren't the ones with the best plans, they're the ones willing to lead differently.
- Anticipate teaches leaders to spot the patterns hiding in industry noise: the weak signals, leading indicators, and trend convergences that competitors miss until it's too late.
- Adapt moves beyond static planning into multi-horizon thinking, equipping leaders to make strategic decisions that hold up across multiple possible futures rather than betting everything on one forecast.
- Lead translates foresight into the kind of proactive direction-setting that brings entire organizations along through ambiguity, replacing reactive crisis management with strategic confidence.
Audiences Will Learn How To
- Spot weak signals and trend convergences to anticipate disruption before competitors react
- Apply foresight methods (scenario planning, Janus Cones, horizon scanning) to decisions that hold up across multiple futures
- Lead their organization through ambiguity with proactive direction-setting instead of reactive crisis management
The presentation is tailored to each client's sector and includes in-depth research into industry-specific scenarios. Programs can be interactive (real-time foresight exercises, trend prioritization), and participants receive a post-session toolkit to bring learning back into their organizations.
Emerging Technology • Quantum • Innovation Strategy.
The technologies that will reshape your industry aren't theoretical, they're already here. AI dominates the headlines, but quantum, biotech, and even neuromorphic computing are quietly converging to reshape industries at unprecedented speed. Drawing on his forthcoming book The World After AI, Ramy dares executives to think past today's hype, mapping when to experiment, when to scale, and when to wait.
- Experiment maps the emerging technologies worth investing in now: where to place small bets, build optionality, and learn before competitors do.
- Scale equips leaders to commit when a technology has crossed from possibility to advantage. The frameworks that turn early bets into enterprise-grade capability before the window closes.
- Wait draws the strategic case for letting hype cycles complete, knowing which technologies are louder than they are ready, and standing back until infrastructure matures.
Audiences Will Learn How To
- Decode AI, quantum, and super computing without jargon, focusing only on strategic impact
- Time strategic bets: when to experiment, when to scale, and when to wait
- Build resilient strategies that adapt as technologies converge across industries
This keynote is always tailored to the audience, helping participants decide where to lean in, where to wait, and where to let technologies mature further.
Innovation • Culture • Change Leadership.
How can enterprises learn to innovate with the speed and agility of startups? In today's AI-powered economy, the ability to adapt quickly isn't a luxury, it's survival. Yet most organizations are slowed by silos, legacy processes, and risk aversion.
Futurist and former Head of Innovation at Mattel, Ramy Nassar, brings decades of experience helping global brands reimagine innovation. Drawing on lessons from both startups and Fortune 500s, he shows leaders how to cultivate cultures, systems, and strategies that unlock enterprise-scale innovation.
Through stories from the front lines and proven frameworks, he equips leaders to embrace risk, adopt an AI-first mindset, and leap from incremental improvements to bold reinvention.
Audiences Will Learn How To
- Build innovation systems that combine startup agility with enterprise scale
- Harness AI as a catalyst for creativity, speed, and competitive advantage
- Reframe culture, risk, and constraints as fuel for transformation and growth
This program can be delivered as a keynote or interactive workshop. It often includes startup-style design sprints, collaborative foresight activities, and tools leaders can use to rewire innovation practices the very next day.
Responsible AI • Risk • Governance.
Every enterprise wants the benefits of AI, but the risks are real. Hallucinations, bias, governance gaps, and lack of explainability can derail adoption, create reputational damage, and limit trust with customers and regulators. The organizations that win with AI won't be the fastest adopters, they'll be the most responsible.
Futurist and former Head of Innovation at Mattel, Ramy Nassar, equips leaders with the tools to adopt AI at scale, responsibly and sustainably. Drawing on years of hands-on experience guiding Fortune 500 companies, from global banks and healthcare organizations to energy providers and technology leaders, Ramy has helped design AI policies, launched governance committees, and established innovation labs that scale across the enterprise.
In this presentation, he introduces frameworks that balance innovation with governance, ensuring AI initiatives drive measurable impact without exposing the enterprise to unnecessary risk.
Audiences Will Learn How To
- Recognize and mitigate AI risks, such as bias, hallucinations, and misuse, that jeopardize adoption and trust
- Build responsible AI practices that align with governance and compliance needs
- Deploy AI responsibly while still accelerating growth and competitive advantage
This keynote is tailored to each organization's unique industry and context. Many organizations pair it with interactive workshops that map enterprise-specific risks and create practical governance roadmaps, ensuring teams leave with actions they can implement immediately.
Every program is customized to the industry, the event theme, and the other sessions on the agenda, and any topic can be delivered as a keynote, extended session, or workshop, in person or virtually.
Presentation Formats
Every session is built to be participatory and memorable. Formats combine well: a keynote followed by a next-morning workshop is a common package, and every format ends with a post-session toolkit so the learning continues after the event.
Keynotes
Interactive by design. Live audience activations, real-time input, and moments built for the room make each keynote something audiences take part in, not something they watch.
Extended Sessions (60 to 90 Minutes)
- Short table discussions
- Live AI demonstrations
- Futurist exercises on the future of the audience's own industry
- Light hands-on building with AI tools
Workshops & Masterclasses
- Vibe coding workshops: build working tools with AI, no technical background required
- AI hackathons and innovation sprints, from idea to working prototype in hours
- Strategic foresight labs applied to the client's own market
Optional for AI-focused programs: where it fits the brief, Ramy builds working AI proof-of-concepts live, from use cases the audience surfaces during the session. This isn't theory. It's proof.
What Clients Say
Ramy's energy & expertise when it comes to the role of emerging technology are unrivalled. He brought a passion & enthusiasm to my team that helped drive us to new heights in terms of data-driven digital transformation.
Rob Fodor, Chief Data Officer, InteracThis presentation was the first that helped our executive team understand how we drive AI initiatives forward and build the right metrics into our strategic technology roadmap. The outcomes will directly and positively impact the ROI of our investments into AI.
Robert Bricker, TD BankRamy's approach to introducing the complex topic of generative AI helped our team better understand where the key business opportunities exist, and gave us the tools to build our own internal AI investment strategy and roadmap.
Thomas Anderson, AppleRamy has a unique approach to presenting AI & emerging technologies that combines deep understanding of the topic with an undeniable enthusiasm that engages the audience in a meaningful and personal way.
Monica Radulescu, TELUSRamy's presentation on AI, generative AI, and emergent technologies was a fantastic way to kick off our first ever technology summit. He was collaborative before the event and ensured that his presentation not only aligned with our theme but called out other speakers coming later in the day to help set up their sessions. Besides having a world-class presentation, Ramy was fantastic to work with. Overall a 10 out of 10 experience.
Dave Richardson, VP of Sales, MicroserveThe presentation transformed how our leadership thinks about strategic planning. Ramy has a unique ability to uncover how the trends of today will shape the business environment of tomorrow. His framework helped us uncover ROI-driving opportunities.
Erica Sweeney, New BalancePast Clients
The Book
The World After AI
Optimism, Agency, and Our Next Chapter
For 300,000 years, every tool we built extended the body. The wheel extended the leg, the telescope the eye. AI is the first that extends the mind, and it arrived faster than anything before it.
The World After AI sets aside the tired debate over whether AI is good or bad and asks the harder question of who decides. The technology is not the variable. The choices are. The book follows one ordinary Tuesday in 2035, lived twice by the same five people: once in a future we designed on purpose, once in one we drifted into. It's a leader's guide to the choices that decide what AI becomes, written by someone building inside it, not watching from the outside.
Where Ramy Appears
Explore Ramy Nassar and more Amplify Speakers rosters for events like yours: