Robert Inspiring Leaders

Keynote Speaker

Inspiring Future Vision for Leaders

Turbocharge Your Innovative Thinking


A poster child for "out of the box" creativity. If you want to turbocharge your creative, innovative thinking, think seriously of contacting Robert. Besides, if he's good enough for Oprah, he's probably good enough for you!

Mark Goulston

Xtraordinary Outcomes

Chairman and Co-Founder

See More

back to top

TOP

Topics:

Artificial Intelligence : 5

Automation : 5

Big Data : 8

The Cloud : 6

Colonialism : 4

Decentralization : 1

Economics : 7

Education : 2

Gaming : 5

Gaming : 5

Identity : 5

Internet of Things : 4

Metaverse : 5

Mobile : 7

SaaS : 8

Social Media : 4

Television : 4

Web3 : 6

Decolonization : 3

5G : 1

Digital Twin : 1

See All

Video Tonality

Creativity : 10

Innovation : 9

Insightful : 15

Inspirational : 9

Vision : 0

Clarity : 14

See All

PUBLIC SPEAKING

Robert Tercek is a charismatic keynote speaker with a unique visual style. He is in constant demand for his original presentations on the topics of the future of media, society and collaborative creativity. He shares his vision of applied innovation at conferences, university symposia, and corporate events around the world.

Robert is represented by Jay Kemp of Provoke Management (www.provokemanagement.com) for public speaking engagements and private corporate events and workshops. Find out how Robert can make your event a success by contacting Jay @ provokemanagement.com

Currently Displaying: featured

null

How to Digitize The Whole World

The confluence of several now-mature technologies, including private 5G networks, real-time 3D tools, the Internet of Things, sensor networks, big data, and game engines, means that we can now build high-fidelity models of the real world. Around the world, cities and industrial concerns are launching digital twins of real-world infrastructure. Unlike the consumer Metaverse, which is designed as a platform for communication and entertainment, the Industrial Metaverse is a tool for obtaining greater efficiency and optimal performance from real-world operations in many fields: transportation, air travel, public safety, environment resource management, traffic planning, real estate development and construction, precision manufacturing, defense, energy and much more. Robert Tercek has been designing and building digital twin solutions for a decade. In this session, he will acquaint the audience with the state of the art.

People at the store

THE RISE OF DIGITAL SERVICES

Every person in this audience of 5000 small business owners is keenly aware of the challenges presented by digital transformation. The question is: what are you planning to do about it? Keynote speaker Robert Tercek contends that every business today must design, launch and expand a digital service by unlocking the information value that is embedded in physical goods and traditional processes.

Tercek speaking at an event

Education Beyond the Machine Age

Innovation in education systems tends to occur rather slowly, at the stately pace of big government institutions. But innovation in the economy is happening at a rapid clip, and by some measures it is accelerating. In particular, technologies that will displace workers (robotics, automation, artificial intelligence, virtualization, remote communication, telepresence, collaboration) are improving much faster than the economy can create new jobs.

Robert tercek speaking to an audience

Is Television Being Disrupted - Of course it is!

This talk examines the many new developments outside of the TV industry that have undermined the old ecosystem and replaced it with a new, far more volatile ecosystem. If you pine for a new TV ecosystem, or if you are fed up with the old pay TV system, you'll enjoy this talk very much.

Robert tercek speaking to an audience

PBS and The Future of Television

How will Public Broadcasting be affected by turmoil and transformation in the commercial TV industry? The speech begins at 5:28 after the introductory video clip about PBS Digital.

Robert tercek speaking to an audience

The Future of Education

How will digital technology reshape education? Award-winning author and digital pioneer Robert Tercek explored this question at a special conference at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, where experts from all over the world were invited to participate in planning for the new Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Digital Arts.

this is a computer

Welcome to the Game-Based Society

Gabe Zichermann, who coined the term "Gamification" and introduced the concept of game-based marketing, invited Robert Tercek to join him at the Gamification Summit in San Francisco. Gabe suggested that Rob speak about "Game Based Society", which led to an exploration the idea of putting games everywhere in the real world: in cities, shopping malls, cars and more.

Robert tercek speaking to an audience

TERCEK MODERATES THE DIGITAL CONVERGENCE FORUM

The Digital Convergence Forum, brought to you by GS1 US®, is moderated by Robert Tercek, Digital Futurist. Listen as he reviews the explosive growth of data, the internet of things, and interoperability.

person speaking to an audience

Beyond Imagination at the Creativity World Forum

Oklahoma City was the site of the annual gathering of the Creativity World Forum. Delegates from all over the world joined an audience of thousands to participate in workshops, exhibitions, demonstrations and to hear the perspectives of leading thinkers on the topics of innovation and applied creativity. I was the host of a discussion about technology aiding the creative process.

Robert tercek speaking to an audience, screencapture of other photo and speaker

INFORMATION TRANSFORMATION

As a society, we humans now generate new information faster than anything else that we've ever produced. Each of us creates an immense amount of new information each day, not just by writing and posting videos, but also through our consumption, our behavior and our habits. We even generate new information when we are asleep! The sheer amount of information generated by humans is increasing at a staggering exponential rate, doubling every two days, and that's just the beginning of an incredible transformation.

Robert tercek speaking to an audience

COERCION AND COOPERATION IN THE SECOND CENTURY OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA

Rob Tercek was invited to address why Pay TV companies are so bad at innovation. But in his view, they are not bad at innovation: the problem is that the business model of TV is based on a completely closed architecture and private infrastructure. So it's not optimized for collaborative creativity. Instead, Pay TV is optimized for coercion.

Robert tercek speaking to an audience

DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING IN SURVEILLANCE SOCIETY

What is the role of a documentary filmmaker in a world where everything is recorded and stored? Rob Tercek predicts filmmakers will become creative activists. His controversial opening keynote speech at the Sheffield Documentary Film Festival includes observations about the evolution of television, painting, photography, live performance, social media, and many other types of media transformed by new technology.

Robert tercek speaking to an audience

TEDx: “Reclaim The Power of Personal Narrative”

The evolution from one-way broadcasting to social media has changed the landscape for storytellers. It's now possible for individual activists to tell industrial-strength stories that can change the world.

Robert tercek speaking to a camera

Voices of Authority with host Tim Sanders

Tim Sanders, the host of Voices of Authority, invited Rob Tercek to talk about the ways that the pandemic had accelerated digital transformation and, especially, the process of dematerialization.

Optimized for the network

Leading With Distinction at AT&T

Rob Tercek was invited to give the opening keynote speech at AT&T's 5000-attendee event Leading With Distinction. Most people think that 5G is about faster bandwidth and low latency, but that's not the whole story. In Tercek's view, the potential of 5G to to transform the industries that are optimized for the network.

Vaporized

VAPORIZED: A POST-PANDEMIC UPDATE

Robert Tercek, an international authority on the topic of dematerialization, shares perspectives on the acceleration of the process of digital transformation during the pandemic. This talk updates his "Vaporized" thesis for the moment which the world's information empires dominated the stock market.

The adjacent Possible

Tercek Keynote at DockerCon

This opening keynote speech at DockerCon 2018 by Robert Tercek puts the explosive growth of Docker's container-based virtualization software into the broader context of accelerating innovation. Rob Tercek shared his perspectives about how the cloud is shaping innovation in the Age of Dematerialization.

blind spots

The Age of Anxiety Keynote at Cap Gemini

This speech addresses the urgent topic of ethics and values in technology. The convergence of several innovative technologies, including 5G, AI, VR/AR/MR Spatial Computing, will create unprecedented opportunity, but they also introduce a range of new hazards that have the potential to disrupt democracy and society.

Whatever can be vaporized will be - photo with title

The Next Trillion Dollar Platform

Which companies will create the next trillion-dollar platform? In this keynote speech for NEBSA in February 2022, digital technology strategist Robert Tercek provides three lenses to bring the future into focus: dematerialization, decentralization and democratization. This talk sets forth four different scenarios for Internet evolution during the next five to ten years.

Robert tercek speaking to an audience

Vaporized Keynote in Istanbul

Will your business be vaporized? Robert's keynote speech at the Istanbul Innovation Summit describes the dynamics behind a technology trend that is redefining the global economy. This talk provides deep context for recent innovations in mobile computing, IoT, and an evolving media landscape.

Decolonize the metaverse photo with people in the background

Decolonize the Metaverse!

Tercek's closing keynote was called "amazing" by the host of the USC Entertainment Technology Center summit. In the race to the Metaverse, Tercek explains, the Internet giants seem to be hellbent on repeating the worst of the colonial era, exposing striking parallels between colonial conquest and modern information empires of the mind.

Robert tercek speaking to an audience with title Will we be citizens or subjects of the metaverse?

Will We Be Citizens or Subjects of the Metaverse?

Hundreds of companies have announced plans to invest, collectively, billions of dollars to construct virtual worlds known as the Metaverse. What role will be assigned to the people who populate these privately-owned worlds?

Photo with title what's next after what's next

What's Next After What's Next

Rob Tercek surveys the trends that spurred unprecedented growth during the past decade and provides four scenarios for the next ten years. He concludes by highlighting the drive towards decentralization that challenges the domination of the planetary-scale tech giants.

Robert tercek speaking to an audience with title NFT, an overview

Webinar: NFT Use Cases

Robert's 90-minute webinar about novel use cases for non-fungible tokens (NFT). On behalf of GS1 US, the organization that governs data standards for the global supply chain.

The future of digital media services - tercek speaking to audience

The Future of Digital Media Services

Robert Tercek talks about the evolution of communication, the rollout of 5G and the state of digital transformation at the AT&T Business Summit.

What they say about Robert

,,

HE IS A DIPLOMAT, BRIDGE-BUILDER AND AN EVANGELIST

Rob helps us immeasurably as a member of the Board of Directors. He is a diplomat, a bridge-builder and a great evangelist. I trust him to speak to prospective customers and ecosystem partners and to interview our new hires. I’ve never met a more dynamic speaker who can conjure up a vision of the near future that is so compelling that it converts every one to true believers. If you are considering adding a Board member or a strategic advisor to your company, I completely trust, rely on, and highly recommend Robert Tercek and his firm General Creativity.

Frank Chindamo

Founder and CEO

Virtual Film School

,,

HE IS A GREAT SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

I trust Rob Tercek and his firm, General Creativity, and I would recommend him to every board of directors and leadership team that can benefit from an independent external expert opinion to shape priorities in digital strategy and planning. His enthusiasm is infectious, and he is a great source of inspiration.

Jeff Sotzing

CEO

Carson Entertainment Group

,,

Make Your Enterprise Better and Smarter

Engage this man (if you can) to consult to your company at length, or even to take the most cursory glance at whatever you are endeavoring. Robert Tercek will make your enterprise better, smarter and more profitable.

Carl Bressler

Founder and CEO

Montana Artists Agency

,,

Lucid, Knowledgeable, Uncanny

Rob is one of the most lucid, knowledgeable and charismatic new media executives I have encountered. He also has an uncanny ability to instantly recognize the market potential of a new application or business which would be too impenetrable to most. Internationally, Rob stands amongst the few true visionaries in the digital field.

Anthony Stonefield

Head of Applications and Services Ecosystem India, Middle East & Africa

Nokia

,,

Phenomenal Expertise and Vision

Rob was a great and close partner for us. He brought phenomenal technical expertise and vision, and he also brought an excitement and fun to doing business together. To his personal credit the business was always done as a highly professional, open, fair and mutually beneficial partnership. Highly recommended!

Tim Chambers

Senior Vice President

Sony Digital Services

,,

If You Crave Original Thought, He’s Your Man!

Rob is utterly inspiring, extremely visionary, very knowledgeable, with international awareness across many different cultures. And he is great fun to work with, too. If you need insight, if you crave for original thought, if you dare thinking beyond just the next step, he is your man!

Volker Hirsch

Global Head of Business Development, Games

Research In Motion

,,

Spontaneous Applause From the Floor

Robert Tercek ranks among the very best speakers I’ve ever encountered. His speeches on the topics of innovation and creativity have influenced industry leaders in many parts of the world. Mr Tercek is an electrifying public speaker. His passion for the subject matter is infectious. In just one hour, attendees gain a fresh perspective on the major trends that are transforming creativity and innovation in industries as diverse as media publishing, technology and telecommunications. More attendees have requested printed text from Mr.Tercek’s media and telecommunications keynote speeches than any other speaker. Mr Tercek was a lively and provocative speaker. He used humor and bold statements backed up with solid market data to stir the audience to reconsider some of the industry’s sacred cows. Several times his comments were punctuated by spontaneous applause from the floor. It is my pleasure to give Robert Tercek my highest recommendation as a keynote speaker. He will deliver valuable information and analysis in an inspiring and entertaining manner.

John Kilcullen

President and Group Publisher

Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter

,,

Robert Tercek Is A Top Tier Professional

JD Power had a great experience working with keynote speaker Robert Tercek. I am proud to give him my highest recommendation to any event planner. Rob is a top tier professional who put in a lot of extra effort into developing original material that was customized for our audience. At J.D. Power, we know what excellence looks like, and Rob Tercek is an excellent keynote speaker and emcee.

Thomas Bontempo

Vice President GBI

JD POWER AND ASSOCIATES

,,

We Got Excellent ROI From Our Work With Rob

I strongly recommend Robert Tercek of General Creativity to any organization that is preparing for big changes. He can engage with your leadership team to address major changes and challenges. He offers incisive strategic thinking and a unique ability to express complex ideas in plain language. I believe that Rob can help any company deeply examine the scope, scale and pace of digital transformation. He will help you guide your entire team to converge on a shared strategic vision. These projects were a big success for Unity. We got excellent ROI from our work with Rob. And--the process was fun and inspiring.

John Riccitiello

CEO

Unity Software

,,

Deep thinking about our digital world

Robert Tercek is a technological provocateur. His book provides deep thinking about our digital world and its monumental possibilities in ways that you probably haven't ever considered.

Jarl Mohn

CEO

Nation Public Radio

,,

Tercek’s urgent manifesto will help you see the future

If you’re in the information business (and we all are in the information business), Tercek’s urgent manifesto will help you see the future, so you can prepare for it.

Seth Godin

Author

Unleashing the Ideavirus

,,

An Exciting And Inspiring Ride

Rob is inspiring to work with. Just hearing the passion in his voice and literally watching his mind work makes anyone in the creative world jealous. It is an exciting ride to work with Rob. You can’t help but to follow his vision.

Jeff Kelly

Creative Lead

Theatrical & Digital 20th Century Fox

,,

One of the Brightest and Most Energetic Executives

Robert is one of the brightest and most energetic executives I have had the pleasure of working with in my entire career. He is very well informed, he has vision and he is always looking for ways to make his efforts and those of his team the most successful in his industry. He is very worthwhile knowing and meeting. Collaborating with him will be rewarding.

Conrad Prusak

Chairman

Phoenix Vistage International

,,

A Visionary and an Inspiration

Robert is truly a visionary and an inspiration. He has a gift for always being one-step ahead of the pack. Follow Robert's lead and you follow the future. I look forward to collaborating with Robert again.

Brian Selzer

President & Co-Founder

Ogmento, Inc.

,,

Valued Strategic Authority

Rob is a pronounced thought leader in mobile and digital entertainment environments. I have consistently valued his strategic authority. I consider him the Steve Jobs of mobile, and he is the first person I call in the space.

Adrian Sexton

Vice President, Digital Media

Lionsgate Entertainment

,,

Rare Qualities

Robert is quite simply one of the most inspiring people I have worked with and is a true visionary in every sense of the word. He really is a unique individual –someone who is well known and respected throughout the entire interactive industry. I feel extremely privileged to have worked with him. He was always ready to listen to new ideas and is one of those people whose finger is not only on the pulse but is the pulse! It is rare to work close with someone of Robert’s qualities. I'm sure many other people would say exactly the same as me.

James Kaye

Co-Founder

Dimoso Agency

,,

HIS WORK REDEFINED TV

The label 'creative' has become so commonplace that it's lost its impact, but Robert is the real deal: his spark electrified every project at MTV. There were awards & accolades, but for me, the greatest accomplishment is how his work redefined the way TV was presented in Asia and opened the eyes of an Asian generation of 3 billion when satellite TV first beamed across Asia in 1991.

Kenn Delbridge

Company Director

Supervising Editor Splice Studios

,,

Inspirational

Robert, your talk was inspirational. Mythology, metaphor, magic, mystery -as you said so eloquently in your talk -give us the tools to nourish our selves as we play. Great, great stuff.

Michael Fergusson

CEO

Ayogo Games

,,

He Inspired Me

Robert is the reason I am in new media. After hearing him speak at a digital event many years ago, he inspired me to want to contribute to the industry. 8 years later I am still launching services in the new media sector. Thank you Robert.

Karl Woods

Head of Governance and Relationship Management

Hutchison 3G

,,

Passion + Clarity

Rob Tercek prepared special talks for several Billboard digital entertainment events, including the Digital Entertainment Expo, and Mobile Entertainment Live. He consistently brings both passion and clarity of ideas to each appearance, which have included both solo presentations, moderating duties and panel appearances. In each case, Robert has always been very forward looking in his comments, supporting his predictions with multiple sources and analysis based on available research. His presentations are always fun, personable and easy-to-follow whether he’s just talking or supported by multimedia assets. As an aside, Tercek served as a valuable source of advice for building our conference topics... often recommending topics and speakers outside his area of individual participation.

Antony Bruno

Exec. Director, Content & Programming, Digital/Mobile

Billboard Magazine

,,

Deep and Relevant Insights Into the Future

It is rare that you find a speaker like Robert who is able to cover a broad topic, put recent developments into an historical context and provide deep and relevant insights into what factors will drive the industry’s future. Further, his speeches (and I have seen a few now) contain analysis backed up by solid research and market data, utilize rich multimedia graphics, and are delivered with infectious high energy and passion. His keynote speech was nothing short of excellent and drew from his 20 years of experience with cutting edge formats like mobile games and online games as well as social media, interactive television and traditional broadcasting. It is without hesitation that I recommend Robert as a keynoter speaker.

Ned Sherman

CEO & Publisher

Digital Media Wire, Inc.

,,

Technically Insightful and Visually Stunning

Robert Tercek delivered a talk at the 2011 Storage Visions Conference that was as technically insightful as it was visually stunning. The talk was delivered with great enthusiasm and covered a wide span of historical and contemporary technologies and trends to show how the world is undergoing an enormous "Information Transformation" that is enabled by and initiates vast new networking, processing and storage advances.

Dr. Thomas Coughlin

Founder and Chairman

Storage Visions Conference

,,

He conveys magic and power through his words

From the moment Robert got on stage the audience was fascinated and so was I. He conveys such magic and power through his words. His content, full of surprising references, was compelling, and the structure and exciting story of his lecture were remarkable. But most of all, what came across to the audience was his profound wisdom about life with all its failures and successes and the attendant lessons. Robert is a top level speaker who affects you so deeply that you will never forget his words.

Claudia Jericho

Director

C'n'B Creative Business Festival & Convention

,,

HE LIT UP THE ROOM

Robert Tercek commands the respect of the global media industry, his peers, and countless conference attendees who have heard him speak. What sets him apart is that rare combination of visionary thinking, hard won practical insight, and tireless passion for the way media shapes our world. It was a privilege to have Robert speak at this year's seminar. He lit up the room. What's more he created a customized presentation, tailor-made hand-outs, and promoted the event using his own online show and social media clout. Make no mistake, Robert is far more than an inspiring keynote presenter. He is a catalytic partner committed to the success of your event.

Simon Mainwaring

Founder

We First Social Branding Seminar

,,

The Audience Responded With A Standing Ovation

Robert Tercek's speech at the Humanity+ Conference at Harvard University was excellent. Tercek provided valuable insight, a fresh perspective, and useful examples, all in an entertaining format. He worked closely with the event organizers to tailor his talk to the target audience; and the audience responded with a standing ovation and tremendous positive feedback. We were very lucky to have him!

David Orban

Chairman

Humanity+

<

. . .

>

SEE ALL

SEE ALL

Get in touch

Event planners:
Looking for a keynote speaker on future trends or an MC for your next event?

Editors:
Would you like me to write an article or opinion piece?

Podcasters:
Would you like me to be a guest on your show?

Educators:
Would you like me to give a guest lecture or Q&A?

Check out the Idea Starter to explore topics.











Submit

Submit