Olof Gränström
As author of From Facts to Knowledge, Olof Gränström helps leaders cut through noise and think long-term blending economic, geopolitical, and demographic insights into your business context.
Photo: Malin Sydne
Photo: Malin Sydne
Why you should book Olof Gränström for your next event
- A trusted media voice and global speaker, Olof explains world events with rare clarity bridging data, context, and relevance for corporate audiences.
- With a background in political science and economics, Olof links big-picture trends to everyday business impact, making complexity actionable.
- As a former Gapminder analyst and collaborator with Hans Rosling, Olof Gränström turns complex global data into clear, engaging narratives that help leaders make smarter, fact-based decisions.
Non-binding request for Olof Gränström
Making the World Understandable
As a political scientist, economist, and former Gapminder expert, Olof Gränström transforms macrotrends, technology, climate, demography, geopolitics into sharp, actionable insights. With a captivating blend of data storytelling and interactive visuals, Olof equips leaders to see the bigger picture, spot opportunities early, and make smarter, future-ready decisions. His keynotes help organizations move from reactive to proactive, from guesswork to grounded strategy. If your team needs to understand what’s really shaping the world—and how to respond, Olof Gränström is the keynote speaker you’re looking for.
Olof Gränström is a political scientist, economist, author, and internationally requested speaker who helps organizations make better decisions by understanding the world they operate in. With a background from the Gapminder Foundation and collaboration with Hans Rosling, Olof specializes in visualizing complex macrotrends and translating them into actionable insights.
In an age of accelerating change, many feel overwhelmed – not because we lack data, but because we struggle to see what it means. Olof helps audiences cut through the noise by connecting the dots between technology, demography, climate, economics, and geopolitics. With the support of vivid data storytelling and interactive visuals, he reveals the structural forces shaping our future and how they intersect with the decisions we make today.
He is the author of From Facts to Knowledge – For Better Decisions in a Complex World (Gothia Kompetens, 2025), a practical and inspiring guide to long-term thinking. Olof is also a strategic advisor to organizations across the public and private sectors, and regularly appears in mainstream media, podcasts, and conferences to explain what’s really going on in the world in a way that sticks.
With a unique mix of factual storytelling, pedagogical clarity, and warm energy, Olof equips leaders, teams, and changemakers to: Make sense of overwhelming information Recognize slow, powerful trends before they turn into crises Move from reactive to proactive strategies grounded in reality
Keynotes
Keynote by Olof Gränström :
How I Learned to Say ‘I Don’t Know’ – And Why It Changed My Thinking
The world is complex. Yet we’re trained to offer fast answers. In this keynote, Olof shares how uncertainty isn’t a weakness, but a critical starting point for sound decisions. Drawing from his years with Hans Rosling, he explains why intellectual humility may be our most underrated leadership skill.
Key takeaways:
- Why embracing uncertainty leads to better questions – and smarter answers.
- How to break free from overconfidence and gut-feeling bias.
- Practical tools for more resilient, fact-based thinking.
Keynote by Olof Gränström :
From Facts to Action – How to Build a Knowledge-Driven Organization
Having access to facts is not the same as acting on them. In this session, Olof examines why even well-informed organizations often fall back on habits, intuition, or political convenience and what it takes to change that.
Key takeaways:
- Why information overload blocks insight.
- How to design processes that support evidence-based thinking.
- Systems and incentives that help facts lead to action.
Keynote by Olof Gränström :
The World in Context – Visualizing the Macrotrends That Shape Our Future
Many of the most important changes in our society are invisible until it's too late. Olof makes them visible. With clear visuals, global comparisons, and a touch of humor, he explains the megatrends driving the world forward and how your organization can adapt.
Key takeaways:
- A tour of the big five: demography, technology, environment, economics, and global order.
- Why we often miss slow change and how to train your team to see it.
- How to use visual storytelling and trend synthesis in strategic planning.
'For A Fact-Based Worldview', A Guest Lecture by Olof Granstrom of Gapminder
Olof Gränström - video
Watch speaker Olof Gränström in action!
Weather & Wine Podcast | Episode #1 Risk vs Opportunity | Olof Gränström
Watch Olof Gränström in action
