Scott Smith
Principal


Image: G. Van Nispen With over 15 years as a thought leader, analyst, consultant, writer and futurist, Scott has traveled the globe
 monitoring and mapping the convergence of social, technological and economic change. He served as a futurist and director for a Washington, DC-based foresight firm, helping respected brands such as Nokia, Honda, P&G, Kellogg’s and McDonald’s understand and plan for new consumer behaviors and the technologies that will impact their lives in the future. Prior to this, Scott led consumer and business research and consulting practices for the Yankee Group, Current Analysis and Jupiter Communications, in London, Washington, DC and New York, respectively. In these roles, he learned and refined the analytical, pragmatic view of the world that makes Changeist's insights distinctive and valuable today.

Scott's straight-ahead analysis and resistance to industry hype has allowed him to maintain a clear and focused view of how technology has altered the face of ours lives as consumers globally -- and allowed him to better understand how it is really changing business -- looking past the smoke and mirrors to find evidence on the ground. He successfully forecasted such trends as the rise of interactive television in Europe, the growth of lifestyle-centered communication services, the convergence of health care, media and communications in new products and services and the greening of consumer technology. He has shared his vision at major conferences such as the recent ICE08 in Toronto, LIFT08 and LIFT07 in Geneva,  2007's SxSW, and EPIC 2006, and his opinions have been reported by Bloomberg, Le Monde, CNN, and CNBC. Scott is currently researching a book, Emotional Connectivity, about the next frontier of digital communication, which he plans to have published in 2009.

E-mail: ssmith @ changeist.com (no spaces)

Michele Perras
Foresight Consultant 

Michele is a foresight consultant, designer and behavioural researcher, specializing in innovation, craft and emerging systems. Her expertise in strategy and experience design was honed at the Beal Institute for Strategic Creativity, where she developed research, IP and scenario prototypes with clients such as Motorola, Creative Commons Canada, Bumptop Technologies and Firefly Foundation, as well as leading research on The Imagination Challenge: Strategic Foresight + Innovation in the Global Economy. Michele has programmed and produced conferences such as GameON: Finance (games industry + investment), ICE08 (interactive content + media) and Overlap08 (sustainable innovation). Other endeavours include creating community platforms for public sector + cultural consultation, and serious games/alternative reality games development. Michele sits on the board for Wireless Toronto, a municipal wireless advocacy network, and holds a BFA from the Ontario College of Art & Design.

Susan Cox-Smith
Creative Director

Susan brings experience of nearly 20 years as a designer, art director and creative director to the visualization of change, and has lived and worked in global capitals such as Washington, DC, New York and London. With many years directing the photographer’s eye, she has led or assisted creative development in communications for clients such as British Airways, The Irish Tourist Board, Carlson Hospitality Group, TIAA-CREF, Amtrak, and Turner Broadcasting (CNN, TNT).

Susan is responsible for the clean, modern and highly visual style in all of Changeist's communication work. She recently turned her creative eye to the future, developing a unique experiential environment to help employees of a global Fortune 500 consumer brand gain better insight into the trends affecting the lives of their most important customer segments. She contributes to Changeist’s work with media, experience design, and understanding change in consumer lifestyles.