Bob has worked for nearly 30 years as a forecaster, exploring business, social, and organizational effects of new technologies. He also has strong interests in the future of religion and its impacts on business, society, and individuals. Bob does most of his work with senior corporate executives across a wide range of industries. He has rich experiences in presenting IFTF’s foresight to top executives and then drawing out insights—inputs to strategy—and action steps. Bob is a speaker, a writer, and a content facilitator.

He served as IFTF’s President and CEO from 1996 to 2004. Prior to that, he led IFTF’s program on new information technologies. Since joining the IFTF staff in 1973, he has explored the human side of technologies and was one of the first social scientists to study the business and organizational impacts of communications and computing innovations. His work involves big-picture assessments at the intersection of technology innovation and new organizational forms. The focus is three to five years out, going as far as ten years when possible, and occasionally as far as 20 years.

Bob is a frequent keynote speaker. He has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses. He is an author of six books, including one on future organizations after reengineering and technological change, entitled Upsizing the Individual in the Downsized Organization (with novelist Rob Swigart), and a book on global cross-cultural teams called Global Work (with Mary O’Hara-Devereaux).

A social scientist with an interdisciplinary background, Bob holds a BS degree from the University of Illinois (where he played varsity basketball) and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. In addition, Bob has a divinity school degree, where he studied comparative religions.