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Kaihan Krippendorff

Kaihan Krippendorff reshapes how leaders think about strategy, innovation, growth, and transformation through sharp insights and proven, research-driven tools.

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5 of 5

I would highly recommend Kaihan for your next event. Kaihan’s presentation at our annual meeting was the most thought-provoking and inspiring part of the conference. He spent extra time listening to us to learn more about our industry and was an absolute pleasure to work with. His passion and enthusiasm came across extremely well to our audience. We already know we want to bring him back to another event.

Josh Bone

Executive Director, ELECTRI International (National Electrical Contractors Association)

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Why you should book Kaihan Krippendorff for your next event

  • Discover strategy methods that have generated billions in new annual revenue across major global organizations.
  • Learn from a top 20-ranked management thinker shaping how executives approach innovation and transformation.
  • Bring fresh, practical, research-backed tools directly into your organization’s most important decisions.

Non-binding request for Kaihan Krippendorff

Strategist, bestselling author, & founder of the Outthinker network

Kaihan Krippendorff helps leaders rethink how they compete, innovate, and grow. As founder of Outthinker, he works with senior strategy, innovation, and transformation executives from major global organizations. A former McKinsey consultant and bestselling author of six influential books, he brings research, real-world depth, and an energizing delivery to every event. His sessions give audiences clear, actionable tools to navigate complexity and accelerate growth.

 

A Strategic Voice Shaping Modern Leadership

Kaihan Krippendorff has established himself as a prominent figure in strategy and innovation. As founder of Outthinker, he leads a global network of chief strategy, innovation, growth, and transformation officers working inside some of the world’s most recognized organizations. His work focuses on how companies can navigate uncertainty and build smarter, more adaptable paths to growth. With recognition from Thinkers50 and Global Gurus as one of the top 20 management thinkers, his ideas continue to influence leaders across industries.

Kaihan’s career blends deep research with firsthand insight into how decisions are made inside large, complex organizations. His books, including Outthink the Competition, Driving Innovation from Within, and Proximity, have guided thousands of executives seeking more effective ways to outmaneuver disruption and accelerate innovation.

 

Practical Tools That Drive Measurable Results

Kaihan’s frameworks stand out because they are tested, adaptable, and designed for immediate application. His advisory work has helped global organizations rethink strategic direction, unlock new revenue streams, and strengthen transformation efforts. Companies such as Aetna–CVS, JP Morgan, Lockheed Martin, Bank of America, Procter & Gamble, IBM, and Yahoo! have applied his methodologies to achieve significant, lasting impact.

 

In his sessions, audiences gain:

  • Clear strategy tools shaped by rigorous research and global case studies.
  • Techniques for building innovation from within large organizations.
  • Insights that have contributed to more than $3 billion in new annual recurring revenue.

These elements make his keynotes both inspiring and operationally valuable, offering teams immediate next steps they can implement.

 

Author, Researcher, & Global Educator

Beyond his corporate work, Kaihan is a respected voice in academic and media circles. His ideas appear frequently in outlets such as Harvard Business Review and Fast Company, where he shares observations on emerging trends, competitive strategy, and innovation inside modern enterprises. His academic foundation includes a doctorate in economics and business, paired with engineering and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering, Wharton, Columbia Business School, and London Business School.

As a Senior Fellow at Wharton and an educator at NYU, Florida International University, and programs across the globe, he brings a balance of analytical depth and real-world practicality. This combination enriches his teaching and gives his speaking engagements an informed, multidimensional perspective.

 

A Global Perspective with Human Depth

Kaihan’s world view is shaped by a multicultural upbringing, a mother from Bangladesh, a father from Germany, and a family rooted in Latin America. This background gives him a natural ability to connect across cultures and industries, making his content relevant to diverse audiences. His life in Miami, shared with his wife, three teenage children, two cats, and a dog, adds a personal warmth that often emerges in the stories he shares from the stage. Passionate about cooking, traveling, and exploring ideas, he blends personal experience with research-driven insight to create sessions that feel both grounded and energizing.

 

Podcasts, Media Presence, & Global Influence

Kaihan extends his impact through three podcasts: the Outthinkers Podcast, The Chief Strategy Officer Podcast, and Strategy at Scale. These platforms give him direct access to leaders shaping the future of business, enabling him to stay closely connected to emerging ideas, challenges, and breakthroughs. This ongoing dialogue ensures his keynotes remain timely, relevant, and informed by the latest trends.

Event organizers book Kaihan because he delivers ideas that spark progress. Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus once noted, “Kaihan shows that with a compelling idea anyone can change the world,” capturing the essence of Kaihan’s influence. His sessions challenge assumptions, inspire new thinking, and equip leaders to pursue meaningful transformation.

Customer Reviews

5 of 5

I would highly recommend Kaihan for your next event. Kaihan’s presentation at our annual meeting was the most thought-provoking and inspiring part of the conference. He spent extra time listening to us to learn more about our industry and was an absolute pleasure to work with. His passion and enthusiasm came across extremely well to our audience. We already know we want to bring him back to another event.

Executive Director, ELECTRI International (National Electrical Contractors Association)

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Kaihan had over 700 business leaders captivated with his relevant content on how to build a business that disrupts your industry and distances yourself from your competition. He delivered!

President, The DiJulius Group

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Kaihan, it was a pleasure to work with you. Your presentation at our annual partners meeting was engaging and thought-provoking. You left us all with a better understanding of innovation and actionable ideas we can start working on right away. Thanks again for how you customized your session; it felt like you were talking directly to us. Thank you!

Partner, Harneys

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Kaihan did an outstanding job as keynote speaker at our Leadership Conference.  He made a concerted effort to make his message tailored to our audience and went above and beyond in terms of learning about the issues that our company and its leaders are currently facing.  I was impressed by his use of stories or choosing examples very relevant to our leaders to tie into his themes.  We have gotten a lot of positive feedback regarding his message and would recommend him for additional talks.

Managing Director, Northwestern Mutual

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Kaihan- you really crushed it – thank you.... Our group SERIOUSLY loved your content. You were the highest rated speaker we’ve had in 6 years. We’ll be following up to have you come back to speak at our global conference.

Former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Feedback from Kaihan's sessions at IMEX Frankfurt was outstanding. It was an honour to have him take part.

CEO, IMEX Group

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Kaihan is a uniquely engaging speaker who energizes and inspires audiences. His cutting-edge ideas and hand-picked business examples make complex subjects simple while delivering the perfect balance of entertainment and deep insight. He was the highlight of our event.

Former President and Chief Investment Officer, Nuveen Private Investments

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Kaihan- your talk was a perfect blend of inspiring, practical, and actionable. As a leader who is working to implement many of these ideas and structures, I found it so helpful to see a research-based, broader view of what successful innovation looks like! Thank you so much for the expertise and enthusiasm.

President of Macmillan Learning

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

The highlight of the event was undoubtedly our keynote speaker, Kaihan Krippendorff. His visionary strategies left us inspired and ready to take on any challenge that comes our way.

President of Amdocs Financial Services

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Kaihan was on-point and relevant. His message is current for any organization wanting to grow. He did a great job of creating a working environment during his talk in which he outlined specific steps and a process to think differently. I had immediate take-aways.

President, Managing Directors Association of Northwestern Mutual

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

I want to let you know that we were so thrilled and impressed with Kaihan and the content he delivered. Not only is he highly qualified and knowledgeable to speak about disruptive innovation, he is very personable both on stage and in his interactions with us. Kaihan is intelligent and insightful and it’s very clear to us that he is a lifelong learner who takes every opportunity to learn. We know that professional speakers often have “canned” presentations, but Kaihan took the time and effort to understand our company, partner CUs and the industry and in so doing was able to provide relevant and helpful insights into the “fourth option” that resonate and challenge the attendees to take action. Thank you for helping us secure Kaihan to speak EWF!

Senior Manager of Strategic Advisory Initiatives, Aviso Wealt

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Refreshing... speaks the truth. Many offer tools that might work. Kaihan offers tools that have been proven to work at the most innovative companies.

Author of NY Times bestsellers Multipliers and Rookie Smarts

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Kaihan provides practical, actionable steps for breaking down sildes, and ignites the drive to collaborate and accept the new opportunities that will soon come your way.

CEO of Mastercard

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Essential if you are itching to become more creative and tap into the resources of your company to create something amazing.

Author of "When, Drive, and To Sell Is Human"

Kaihan Krippendorff

5 of 5

Kaihan shows how large organizations, not just startups, can be a place where entrepreneurs<br>innovate, build, and adapt for the future.

Co-founder of LinkedIn and Co-author of Blitzscaling

Kaihan Krippendorff

Rated 5.00/5 based on 15 customer reviews

Keynotes

Keynote by Kaihan Krippendorff:

Outthink the Competition: Proven tools & future-ready insights to win the future

We live in an accelerated age of technology, disruption, volatility, and uncertainty. It demands that we lead our teams and organizations in radically new ways. Success depends not only on our own ability to think and act strategically, but on our ability to enable our team to think boldly, think differently, share ideas, and act.

Next-era leaders and teams need practical tools, structures, and frameworks that liberate them to achieve better business outcomes and problem-solve using AI, technology, contextual knowledge, and their own human creativity. Companies that activate this Outthinker Mindset are proven to be 6X more likely to recruit and retain top talent and 3X more likely to outperform financially – faster revenue growth, higher profit margins, greater business value.

Top 20 globally recognized management thinker, best-selling author, podcast host, and Founder of Outthinker, Kaihan Krippendorff helps you Outthink the Competition with his proven 5-step framework and toolset that can be applied immediately to move to the next level of success.

Participants will leave with:

  • Insights into emerging strategic technology, trends, and approaches being used by top companies leading their markets.
  • The Outthinker IDEAS Process: A proven framework for strategic thinking and driving growth that reduces risk and creates optionality.
  • Actionable strategies for future readiness.
  • Clarity, confidence, and energy to move forward.
Request a quote: Kaihan Krippendorff Outthink the Competition: Proven tools & future-ready insights to win the future

Keynote by Kaihan Krippendorff:

Unleashing Agile

In a world marked by accelerated change, disruption, and volatility, leaders must be able to rapidly observe, analyze, and connect information to seize opportunity and defend against possible threats to their business. Mental agility and agile adaptation are now a non-negotiable part of the business skillset.

In this interactive and practical keynote, globally recognized strategy expert and best- selling author Kaihan Krippendorff shares a proven framework and tools for unleashing agile problem solving and strategic thinking in everyday work. Inspiring stories handpicked for your event bring to life a playbook of the top five strategies being used today by agile disruptors to beat the competition.

Make agility a part of your organizational DNA so you can respond faster to change, seamlessly shift focus to the right priority for now, efficiently build and sustain momentum, and boost resilience that endures beyond any single initiative.

Participants will leave with:

  • A framework for agile thinking and analysis that can be used by anyone in any role.
  • Increased ability to connect seemingly unrelated information to recognize opportunities and potential risks.
  • A playbook of the top five strategies used by agile disruptors today to beat the competition.
  • A boost of energy and confidence to tackle their work.
Request a quote: Kaihan Krippendorff Unleashing Agile

Keynote by Kaihan Krippendorff:

Proximity Revolution: Leading Beyond Disruption

In a world of constant disruption, technological change, and megatrend turbulence, how do we transform the way we lead and work? How do we see through the noise and make sense of what is important to our business?

The answer is Proximity – a simple yet powerful idea that helps leaders turn chaos into clarity.

Based on the groundbreaking new best-selling book, Proximity, which was hailed by Malcolm Gladwell’s Next Big Idea Club as a must-read and Thinkers50 as one of the most important new ideas in business this year, Kaihan will guide the audience on a journey of understanding to make sense of disruptors like artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, data proliferation, renewable energy, virtual reality, quantum computing, IoT, 3D printing, and new ways of working.

This high-impact keynote arms leaders with a Proximity Roadmap to navigate the future with a fresh mindset and the practical tools they need to take bold action and thrive.

Participants will learn:

  • How to understand the business impact of megatrends and disruptors like generative AI, 3D printing, precision agriculture, dark factories, and renewable energy and how to harness them for growth and resiliency
  • How to build a Proximity Roadmap—three steps to winning the future
  • How to prepare their organization and people with the mindsets needed to lead through change
  • How to map out where to rethink growth plans, innovation and investments, operations, and customer expectations
Request a quote: Kaihan Krippendorff Proximity Revolution: Leading Beyond Disruption

Keynote by Kaihan Krippendorff:

Driving Innovation from Within: Drive growth, agility & resilience by turning employees into intrapreneurs

In our accelerated world of technology and disruption, the benefits of turning employees into innovators are well documented. Companies that treat their people as “Intrapreneurs” are building a competitive advantage that infuses innovation, adaptability, and future-readiness into their DNA.

Kaihan Krippendorff’s research debunks the story of the disruptive startup and shows that 70% of society's most transformative innovations were conceived within large established organizations. with active Intrapreneur networks are 3X more likely to be in the top quintile of financial performance and enjoy a 6X advantage in their ability to recruit and retain top talent.

In this high-impact keynote, top 20 ranked innovation expert, podcast host, and Founder of Outthinker, Kaihan Krippendorff shows how leaders can build capacity for enterprise-wide transformation and smart innovation. Using his proven IN-OVATE framework Kaihan offers a playbook for intrapreneurs to navigate barriers, overcome resistance, and take the initiative to drive transformation without quitting their job.

Participants will leave with:

  • The IN-OVATE Framework- proven tools to identify and overcome the seven blockers of innovation
  • Five mindsets and habits of successful Intrapreneurs.
  • How to take “smart risks” and test ideas within the context of a large organization with resource and time constraints.
  • How to lead and create organizational support structures that encourage innovation.
  • Inspiration, energy, and intent to innovate even if “innovation” is not a part of their title.
Request a quote: Kaihan Krippendorff Driving Innovation from Within: Drive growth, agility & resilience by turning employees into intrapreneurs

Keynote by Kaihan Krippendorff:

Be the Disruptor, Not the Disrupted

We are experiencing a historic acceleration in the pace of change in our world. Artificial intelligence, digitization, robotics, 3D printing, climate change, political instability, deglobalization, and the rise of purpose-driven enterprises are reconfiguring how every conceivable industry operates. These changes are dividing us into two camps: the “Disruptors” and the “Disrupted”.

Kaihan Krippendorff, Founder of Outthinker, author, and podcast host has spent decades studying patterns of disruption. Thinkers50 and Global Gurus have recognized him as a top 20 management thinker globally for his strategic analysis of why some companies thrive, others fall behind, and the emerging approaches companies can use to create competitive advantage and transform continually.

Don’t underestimate the cost of standing still. Choose to Be the Disruptor with this engaging and practical keynote. Learn a proven design-thinking process to spark disruptive ideas and drive immediate results. Through entertaining stories of innovation, both successes and failures,  your audience will leave inspired and armed with actionable tactics they can use right away.

Participants will leave with:

  • A framework for agile thinking and analysis that can be applied to any situation.
  • An understanding of emerging trends and disruptors shaping the future of their industry and competitive ecosystem.
  • A proven framework to generate and evaluate strategic options and innovations.
  • The Outthinker Playbook: the top five strategies being used by disruptors today.
  • A tool to avoid killing off “crazy” (valuable) ideas and turn them into winning moves.
Request a quote: Kaihan Krippendorff Be the Disruptor, Not the Disrupted

Keynote by Kaihan Krippendorff:

Outside-In Strategy: Expanding Your Strategic Aperture

The greatest competitive threats — and the boldest growth opportunities — rarely come from your industry peers. They increasingly come from unexpected players applying ideas, new business models, and technologies outside of your industry.

Leaders excelling in today’s fast-moving world broaden their aperture, scanning across industries for patterns and practices that can be adapted to reduce their risk of disruption, cover blindspots, create efficiency, and unlock new growth. They use Outside-In Strategy.

Give your team a booster shot of Outside-In Strategic thinking with author, podcast host, and Founder of Outthinker, Kaihan Krippendorff. Drawing from decades of tracking and analysis of outperformers and 500+ annual conversations with CXOs from across industries – Kaihan will guide your team through a curated selection of strategic approaches, business models, and mindsets from outside your industry — the very
ideas reshaping the global business landscape — to help you mitigate risk, solve problems, drive growth, and unlock efficiences that impact on your top and bottom line.

Put Outside-In thinking into action with a proven process, tools, and frameworks developed with practitioners in mind.

Participants will leave with:

  • A sharper ability to see around corners, reduce risk, and cover blind spots.
  • Fresh insights into business models and strategies succeeding in other industries.
  • A proven and repeatable framework and tools to develop, prioritize, and begin testing a portfolio of Outside-In Options.
  • A broader, more powerful strategic aperture for driving both growth and resilience.
Request a quote: Kaihan Krippendorff Outside-In Strategy: Expanding Your Strategic Aperture

Keynote by Kaihan Krippendorff:

Outlead the Competition: Mindsets & Leadership for the Next-Era

Today’s business environment rewards leaders who can think strategically, act with agility, and inspire their people to do the same. While many organizations focus on technology and innovation, the real differentiator is leadership — the ability to align, empower, and mobilize teams to act decisively amid uncertainty.

In this high-impact keynote, author, podcaster, and Founder of Outthinker, Kaihan Krippendorff shares how the most forward-thinking companies are developing leaders who continuously learn, adapt, and out-lead the competition.

This inspiring talk crafted just for your audience draws insights from across Kaihan’s best-selling books (including Outthink the Competition, Driving, Innovation from Within, and Proximity), latest Harvard Business Review articles, and new research.

Participants will leave with:

  • Understanding of how leadership mindsets are evolving for next-era high- performing organizations.
  • A framework for leading through ambiguity, unlocking team potential, and translating strategy into action.
  • Spark leadership at all levels of the organization that drive better business outcomes.
  • They will leave energized and equipped to foster a culture of accountability, empowerment, and growth.
Request a quote: Kaihan Krippendorff Outlead the Competition: Mindsets & Leadership for the Next-Era

Keynote by Kaihan Krippendorff:

Winning with AI, Technology, & People: Leading in the Age of Intelligent Systems

Artificial intelligence and automation are reshaping every industry, redefining how we work, make decisions, and compete. Yet amid all the hype around data, platforms, and algorithms, one truth remains: people are the differentiator. From the boardroom to the front line, success in this new era depends on our ability to integrate technology’s power with human creativity, intuition, and strategic thinking.

In this forward-looking keynote, globally recognized business thinker, podcaster, and author Kaihan Krippendorff, offers insights and proven tools that you can use to make sense of AI and emerging technologies from both a top management perspective and a personal, day-to-day lens.

Participants will leave with:

  • Understanding of how AI, data, and automation are transforming their own business.
  • A proven framework and tools that leverage and pull the best from both people and technology.
  • A sense of agency and mindset of urgency/desire to accelerate use of AI and technology in their work.
  • Insights of how to build teams and cultures that use technology to create efficiency and better business outcomes.
Request a quote: Kaihan Krippendorff Winning with AI, Technology, & People: Leading in the Age of Intelligent Systems

Kaihan Krippendorff Full Speaker Video 2022

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Finding the Fourth Option | Kaihan Krippendorff | TEDxNavesink

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