Understand the changing wants and needs of the new "cyclic" consumer and employee
USA
Co-founder of Age Wave, business advisor and thought leader on how population aging and increasing longevity.
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About Maddy
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A successful entrepreneur, Maddy co-founded Age Wave, the world’s leader in understanding and addressing the far-reaching impacts of our aging population. The Age Wave team has worked with more than half of the Fortune 500 in industries ranging from healthcare and medical technology to financial services and consumer products.
With women at the forefront of the longevity revolution, Maddy has deeply explored their specific longevity-related wants, needs, and challenges. She has led numerous acclaimed studies on women and money, including the landmark Women, Money and Power sponsored by Allianz and Women and Financial Wellness: Beyond the Bottom Line for Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
She is the author of three books, Cycles: How We Will Live, Work, and Buy, Influence: How Women’s Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better, and the children’s/young readers’ book Gideon’s Dream: A Tale of New Beginnings. Currently she is working on a new book, Women’s Longevity Bonus, that combines her professional and personal passions.
Having watched both her mother and mother-in-law battle dementia, Maddy is committed to eradicating this horrific disease. She is a co-founder of the non-profit Women Against Alzheimer’s and serves as a board member of the non-profit BrightFocus Foundation, which funds cutting-edge research to cure diseases of the brain and eye.
A working mom for much of her adult life, Maddy is now an empty nester. She is passionate about her family as well as about longevity as both a demographic phenomenon and her personal journey. She and her husband Ken were recently awarded the prestigious Esalen Prize for their outstanding contributions to advancing the human potential of aging men and women worldwide.
See keynotes with Maddy DychtwaldThe growing financial power of women may be the most important demographic trend impacting financial services today. New generations of empowered women—bolstered by unprecedented levels of education, workforce participation, rising geopolitical power, and escalating income and wealth—are assuming increasingly influential roles in their own and their family’s financial management. The financial services industry, historically catering primarily to men, must find new ways to win the hearts, minds, and wallets of this critical and growing client base.
Drawing on insights from decades of research, Maddy combines data and powerful storytelling to address these topics:
Deeply researched, customized for each unique audience, and packed with actionable takeaways, Maddy’s illuminating approach to these urgent issues brings new focus to a topic that grows more relevant each day, leaving audiences—whether they be women wanting to take charge of their own financial security or the financial professionals who want to better serve them—with food for thought and concrete ideas for implementing and adapting to change.
50+ women as a consumer force have been hiding in plain sight, but that is about to change. Bolstered by unprecedented levels of education and workforce participation, escalating income and wealth, and rising longevity and vitality, they are fast becoming the most powerful and influential segment of the consumer marketplace. Yet they often feel ignored or misunderstood by brands and marketers and don’t want to be defined through a youth-focused gender lens or by their age alone.
Drawing on decades of proprietary Age Wave research, including the highly acclaimed study, her landmark book, Maddy explains why 50+ women are a consumer force to be reckoned with for businesses of all kinds from financial services and healthcare to fashion and home furnishings.
From her vantage point as a successful entrepreneur, author, researcher, Wall Street Journal blogger, wife and mother—and a 50+ woman herself—Maddy combines data-driven insights with inspirational storytelling, illuminating this market segment’s core attitudes, motivations, and behavioral patterns, and offering the keys to unlocking its consumer potential.
Topics explored in this new presentation include:
Deeply researched, customized for each unique audience, and packed with actionable takeaways, Maddy’s illuminating approach brings new focus to this emerging market segment and leaves audiences with food for thought and concrete ideas for implementing and adapting to change.
With the convergence of rising longevity, the aging of the massive Boomer generation, and widespread financial insecurity stemming from the COVID pandemic, there is a greater need than ever for trusted, holistic financial guidance. Americans want financial professionals who seek to understand what matters most to them and their families and can help them achieve their goals.
This new presentation draws on cutting-edge new research that spans five generations. Maddy will outline the most important questions in retirement planning today and explain how financial professionals can demonstrate greater empathy to safeguard a well-lived retirement by providing targeted solutions for these uncertain times.
Topics to be covered include:
Men and women over 50 now make up 33% of the total U.S. population and 44% of the adult population but control more than 70% of total wealth. Due to the combination of rising longevity, declining fertility, and the aging of the Baby Boom generation, this group is now bigger than the entire market of most countries. As active and curious consumers, they are responsible for 53% of all food and grocery purchasing; 55% of all travel and leisure consumption; 56% of new car and truck purchasing; 68% of OTC drugs and 77% of all Rx drug consumption; and 78% of all retirement accounts. However, people 50+ only appear in 15% of advertisements and are disproportionately portrayed as old, sick, and homogenous.
Maddy will explain how to best target this massive, misunderstood, misrepresented, and wildly untapped new market. She’ll illustrate why 20th century notions of “lifetime brand loyalty,” “retirement,” and “seniors” have become obsolete and how with impending breakthroughs in precision medicine, living to 100+ will soon become commonplace. And she’ll provide a mind-stretching preview of the products, services, marketing, and advertising that will succeed at meeting the needs and aspirations of this new “Third Age” while eliminating the ageism that has impeded shareholder value for too long.
The question of how to live longer has fascinated us since the beginning of time. In the past century, we’ve seen skyrocketing life expectancy that has turned long life into a reality—radically transforming the demographic landscape and altering our concepts of aging and longevity as well as health and lifelong wellness.
The converging forces of lengthening lifespans, global population aging, and the massive Baby Boomer generation facing their later years head-on are reshaping our world and creating a more ageless aging. It’s time to better understand what this is: both the opportunities and challenges that longevity can and will bring. It’s also time to figure out how to maximize our own “longevity bonus” years and prepare for the large-scale business, social, and lifestyle implications of this unprecedented longevity revolution.
Key questions to be answered include:
Deeply researched, customized for each unique audience, and packed with actionable takeaways, Maddy’s illuminating approach to these urgent issues brings new focus to the topic that’s increasingly on everyone’s mind, from business leaders and policymakers to individuals planning for their own future. Audiences leave with a new perspective on longevity, what it means for them personally and professionally, and concrete ideas for implementing and adapting to change.
Maddy was fantastic. Her personal, interactive, and multi-media presentation style was an excellent role model for all speakers in this edu-tainment age. Her presentation injected new, powerful and provocative marketing paradigms into our business and inspired us greatly in our innovation drive
Nira Jang
Maddy Dychtwald was a big hit with our clients. She provided many thought-provoking and interesting examples of enriching our “retirement” years. She really knows her subject and her passion shows through
John Merrill
Maddy was terrific! The material was on target, extremely relevant and timely, and of vital importance to our membership. She took the steps necessary to learn as much as possible about our audience and their needs. That’s the kind of effort that guarantees the unbelievably positive response we received.
Douglas E. Raymond
Maddy gave more than a presentation. She offered an exceptional degree of intellect, passion and knowledge that was both empowering and contagious. Through various channels and methods, including PowerPoint, video clips, statistics, personal stories and genuine conversation, Maddy truly engaged our female leaders. It is clear that Maddy not only understands the political, business and socioeconomic factors that shape the world for women today, but she has a firm grasp of how those trends will evolve and impact our world in the future - and is ahead of the curve in recognizing them.
Joan Walker
Maddy’s presentation was great! The topics resonated with our members and were very timely. The presentation was particularly engaging and the members and made them think about things in a different way about themselves and their families
Karen Downer-Doyle
There was so much buzz about your speech — you touched just the right cord. You left the attendees with some provocative things to think about — men and women alike.
Diana Ruddick
Maddy’s presentation was thought-provoking on many levels. Many speakers referred to the information you presented in a very positive way about how we need to think about our customers and products given the powerful change in demographics.
Kate Preston
Amazing!!! I wasn't expecting anything less! Clients loved her presentation!!!
Robin Plywaczewski
Maddy Dychtwald did an outstanding presentation. The program was very informative and was delivered in a powerful manner. Her insight and knowledge of the financial services industry provides a perfect ending to motivate the audience in taking advantage of the wonderful market opportunities.
Gordon J. Sprague
Maddy was very much the keynote we like to work with —one who will learn more about our target audience. Over 90 percent of the audience told us they appreciated her knowledge of the industry in both the US and in Canada. We would recommend her to other organizations who are considering hiring her – she was definitely keynote material
Jennifer Hughey
Maddy was exceptional! She combines research driven data with poignant stories, humor and multi-media that bring the data alive for the audience!
Sioban Lane
Your wonderful presentation was timely, informative, entertaining and highly relevant to our audience!
David R. Smith
Your presentation was perfect! Your stories, insights and data painted a comprehensive picture of women and money in a very compelling way.
Don Blandin
Maddy nailed it! Maddy tailored her presentation to prioritize our key messaging points She seamlessly combined bold slides, informative graphs, engaging videos and personal stories in a timely, passionate and empowering manner. Our leaders were engaged and enthusiastic; her presentation was the perfect kick-off for our annual meeting
Cary Maslow
What is the “age wave”?
At the heart of the age wave is the fact that people are living longer and better than at any other time in history. We are on the cusp of a longevity revolution that is dramatically altering who we are, how we live and work, how companies do business and who they target. It impacts each and every one of us personally as well as the communities and the industries that serve us. Standard & Poor’s report, Global Aging, emphatically states that “no other force is likely to shape the future of national economic health, public finances and policy-making” more than the global aging of the population. The age wave definitely has arrived and is transforming us in ways we may never have imagined.
Are we really living that much longer?
Throughout most of human history, average life expectancy was under the age of 18. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it had increased to about age 47. By the end of the twentieth century, life expectancy soared to, on average, age 78…and even higher in some countries. That means that each of us has already been given a longevity bonus of more than 30 years, in just a 100 year span of time. With impending breakthroughs in medicine and biotechnology, it seems likely that longevity may continue to rise. Some of the questions we might be asking include “how will I use this longevity bonus,” “does it make sense to retire at age 65,” “what products and services will long-lived adults really need?”
What does this mean for us?
It’s truly staggering to think about the implications of long life. We have designed our world to match the size and the shape of who we have been, and, until now, most of us have been young. So simple things like how we define “old” will be redefined; the typefaces in our adverts will need to be easier to read; doorknobs will be replaced by door levers for ease of use; the time it takes for a traffic light to change will need to be slowed; our cars will need to be ergonomically designed for the aging body and reflexes; clothing will need to be fashionable and functional for aging bodies; exercise equipment will need to be designed for the changing movement patterns of aging bodies; families will be multi-generational with inter-generational financial burdens; marriages could last more than 50 years or no longer be defined as “’til death do us part,” retirement will need to be reimagined and start at a later age; and health and healthcare will need to create a laser focus on the needs of older adults while each individual will need to take more personal responsibility for their own health and well-being.
To change directions slightly, I know your most recent book, Influence: How Women’s Soaring Economic Power will Transform Our World for the Better,” zeroed in on another demographic trend. What made you decide to focus on women?
I believe that women will be the biggest change agent of the next several decades. From the research I’ve been involved with, I’ve come to realize that we are at a unique moment in history, a kind of tipping point. Around the world from developing countries like Uganda to the economic powers like the European Union, Australia, and the United States, for the very first time in history, we are beginning to see a critical mass of women moving from economic dependency to economic emancipation. Just as an example, for the first time ever, we are now seeing almost as many women as men in the U.S. workforce. If current trends continue, the average woman could out-earn the average man by the year 2020.
What does this mean for men in the workplace?
The goal is not for women to succeed at the expense of men but for women to have the same opportunities to succeed as men. For example, according to recent McKinsey/Wall Street Journal research, women are primarily promoted based on performance while men are primarily promoted based on promise. Men are better at finding sponsors within their organization to, not only mentor them, but nurture their careers within the organization itself. Women must deliberately seek out sponsors to help move their careers forward.
Does women’s soaring economic power translate into the marketplace?
Absolutely. Women have always bought things. That’s nothing new. But now they are large purchasers of products that used to be primarily the domain of men: financial services, real estate, automobiles, and technology, to name a few. Conversely, as we see the dual income couple dominate, more men are doing the food shopping, caring for children, and purchasing household-related products. Reaching consumers in this new environment poses some exciting opportunities that savvy companies will respond to.
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