Press and Media I help leaders create intelligent organisations optimised to embrace increasing disruption. Here are some of the most popular ways I support clients in achieving their objectives. Photos Short bio Career history Published in Books Live Miscellaneous Photos Use one or more of these for your promotional materials. Crop as required. Return to top Short bio This can be trimmed to exclude irrelevant points: I am a former technologist with a background in astrophysics who today is focused on how organisations adapt to what is an increasingly complex world. Some key points: Founder, Adaptive Edge Initiative , a thinktank focused on empowering organisations to deal with increasing disruption. Financial Times columnist for a decade on leadership matters. Lectured at MIT Sloan on leadership matters. Work with the University of Cambridge (Moller Institute) on leadership education. Trained in astrophysics and have worked in space science for the European Space Agency. Worked in over forty countries across the world across multiple sectors with many of the world’s most prominent brands. Engaged with former government leaders globally in the creation of a book focused on reimagining government. Written six books on strategic and societal matters. Worked with the European Commission, including authoring a book on the future of skills in Europe. Return to top Career history This is some background on my career to date. It may inpart help position me when Iam being introduced prior to speaking: 1 -Technical I had a childhood interest in astronomy. So you can imagine my surprise when I discover that studying astrophysics was a little more complicated. Thus I embarked on a career in software engineering. However, I was able to call upon my astrophysics degree when I worked at the European Space Agency on a cosmology programme. Through the defence sector, I developed a very deep understanding of technology as my roles initially involved: Real-time naval ship systems Electronic warfare Avionics lifecycle management Naval battlefield simulation Fighter jet management systems. Software engineering also took me into the worlds of: Investment banking Maritime search and rescue People management. I drifted into project management. For a bit of variety I got involved in training new entrants in software engineering and eventually experienced technologists in systems analysis and design. 2 – Educational I eventually set up my own company which focused largely on demystifying technology for businesspeople. I realised that there was a divide between technology people, who could not see the bigger context for the systems they were building and maintaining, and the users who had no idea what the technologists were saying. Initially this started with supporting service companies that engaged with technologists, eg. staffing companies and consultancies. Eventually this bubbled up to the c-suite. I managed to convince the Financial Times that they needed a column focused on digital leadership, which I penned for a decade. I was also engaged by the FT Live organisation to chair CxO dinners and conferences. This helped me develop an understanding of the issues leaders faced and it helped me develop some impressive contacts. Today some of my time is involved with leadership development. I have lectured at MIT Sloan as part of their MBA programme and today I am actively involved in leadership development with the Moller Institute, Churchill College, University of Cambridge. Over time, I found myself developing as a keynote speaker. 3 – Advisory My time spent writing, educating and keynoting helped me to develop the ability to convey insights in an engaging and memorable manner. Just as well as I was increasingly being invited to advise business and government leaders on matters of leadership, particularly in the context of societal upheaval and increasing disruption. This has led to many high impact engagements. Examples include, advising: One of the world’s leading banks on how to transition from slow technology follower to early adopter leader. Startups from around the world. The world’s largest technology organisations on how to attract and retain senior executive buyers. A government on how to set up an innovation centre optimised for ministers. A national sports association on how to navigate an increasingly disrupted world. A healthcare manufacturing company on how to harness the creativity of its people. Today, I am considered an expert on the drivers shaping our future and on how to build organisations that can embrace this increasing volatility. My delivery mechanisms are a mixture of advisory and, keynoting. I have also set up the Adaptive Edge Initiative . My focus on living systems and harnessing our natural human tendencies is well received by all stakeholders. Over the last four decades, I have worked in forty countries, across many sectors. My experience is unique, deep and broad. It is not clouded by the ‘trend du jour’. Most importantly, I don’t have all the answers. We are now operating in a ‘post-case studies’ world. My role is to help you create an organisation that can sense, decide and act with confidence regardless of what crosses your path. Return to top Published in I was a columnist for the Financial Times for a decade focusing on leadership matters. I have also been a columnist for a number of other publications: Return to top Books authored I am the author of several books, including one written for the European Commission on the future of skills in Europe.I have also produced reports and articles for Microsoft, HPE, Manpower, VMWare, Cisco, Pitney Bowes and other major brands. Return to top Miscellaneous Here is some information that is often required by event organisers: I am based just outside of London. London Heathrow is my nearest airport. I have no special dietary requirements. I prefer a lavalier or headset microphone and not a handheld. If my slides are to be integrated into a conference deck, I will need to see my embedded slides before the day of the event as this can detrimentally impact the slides. My slides can be shared with the participants in PDF format. I can provide this. I am happy to sign books if you choose to include one of mine as a participant gift. Return to top Do you need anything else? Contact me

Ade McCormack advises on strategic matters, particularly in respect of how organisations respond intelligently to increasing disruption. Advisor | Organisational intelligence The advisory work I do with organisations is grounded in the research and exploration of The Intelligent Organisation , a think tank examining how organisations must evolve to survive and thrive amidst constant disruption. This page focuses on how that thinking is applied in practice. This work concentrates on the underlying design of the organisation, particularly how it senses, decides and acts in an increasingly disruptive world. The aim is not optimisation for efficiency, but adaptiveness under increasing uncertainty. Adaptiveness requires innovation to be part of the organisational fabric. Such innovation cannot be constrained to a department and it requires the organisation to see cognition, both natural and artificial, as a critical asset. The work requires leaders to: Make sense of how the world is changing Understand the associated operating model implications Redesign the organisation accordingly without threatening existing cashflows. This is not a transformation programme, leadership coaching or a technology initiative. It is focused on redesigning how the organisation functions as a system in a disruptive environment. I can support you on this journey. Discuss further

Ade McCormack is an internationally renowned public speaker. Book Ade to ignite your people. His keynotes on how organisations respond to increasing disruption are insightful, practical and provocative. Speaker | Organisational intelligence "We wanted someone who would engage our leaders differently, make them think along new lines, stretch their ideas, perhaps make some uncomfortable, but above all consider our future in a new light. Ade did this brilliantly. " Helen MacPhee, VP Finance, Astra Zeneca The work I do with organisations is grounded in the research and exploration of The Intelligent Organisation , a think tank examining how organisations must evolve to survive and thrive amidst constant disruption. This page focuses on my public speaking focus. My talks are not about motivating leaders to try harder. They are designed to unsettle outdated assumptions about leadership, decision-making and organisational design that no longer to apply to an increasingly uncertain world. Participants typically leave these sessions beginning to see disruption as a design problem rather than a leadership failure, recognising where cognition is constrained by structure and governance, and questioning industrial-era assumptions that no longer hold. For some organisations, a talk is enough to start the conversation. For others, it exposes deeper structural questions that require hands-on work. See me live Arrange a chat

Leading in chaos is a workshop for leaders looking to understand how and why the world is changing and how they and their organisations need to adapt accordingly. It can be run as a programme or a one-off event. Workshop- Leading in chaos How to build an intelligent organisation Background Benefits Approach Delivery options Non-traditional Target audience Outline Outcomes Next step Background Geopolitics and technology are only two of the forces that are making the world increasingly uncertain. The traditional process-centric model, which has served organisations well for several centuries, is no longer ‘fit for purpose’. We need a radically different approach. But one that does not threaten existing cashflows or unnerves the staff. We simply do not know what lies ahead. Case studies are backward looking. A playbook will only work when the game has explicit rules, a boundary and a clear scoring mechanism. This is no longer the case. Perhaps the most shocking realisation is that leaders are no longer in control. However there is a way forward. The Adaptive Edge Initiative advocates an intelligent approach, which in essence draws from what we know about living systems. Such systems are optimised for survival. They: Have an acute sense of their environment. Are probabilistic rather than deterministic. Behave in a real-time manner. This programme will enable your leaders to develop an organisation capable of operating in increasingly chaotic circumstances. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Benefits Your leaders will: Develop both confidence and competence once they understand how the world is changing and the implications for how organisations operate. Be able to harness the full potential of your people, technology (including AI) and data. Be able to orchestrate this organisational evolution without spending a fortune on transformation. Counterintuitively, perhaps, your people will welcome this and so your existing cashflows will not be put at further risk. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Approach This programme comprises six modules delivered virtually over 6 weeks. Each module is of 60 minutes duration with an optional extra 30 minutes for further discussion. Also: Given the seniority of the participants this will be very interactive. There will be a focus on both the associated pain points, along with practical ways to address them. We will highlight exemplar organisations to demonstrate this works in practice. We will uncover the underlying principles to help participants apply the learning to their own context. We will use activities to embed the key principles. Each module will conclude with a set of clear, implementable actions. Participants will receive a workbook to capture their own takeaways from the programme. To convert this learning experience into organisational value we can, optionally, include post-programme assignments for each participant. These assignments can be supported with both coaching and assessment. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Delivery options These include: The public programme - people from different organisations attend. A private programme - only your people attend. We can run this in-person as a single event session at your offices. If you're looking to engage a larger audience, we can present the principles as a dynamic and impactful keynote. Through my relationship with the Møller Institute at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, I can also provide access to: Complementary leadership experts. Programme design and development capacity. Certification. Learning facilities, including what can be termed the Cambridge experience. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Non-traditional The content draws on multiple disciplines. Participants find this refreshing and stimulating. These include: Anthropology Evolutionary biology Cybernetics Complex systems Sociology Technology Human performance Neuroscience. Please note that participants do not need a background in these disciplines. Our approach recognises that the world is becoming more uncertain and thus it departs from the traditional linear playbook approach. The programme embraces the reality associated with complexity and chaos and thus challenges assumptions around control and strategy. Leaders typically find this both challenging and refreshing. While the rising uncertainty may push them out of their comfort zone, it will lead to a deeper sense of empowerment and clarity. More leader and less boss. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Target audience This programme is suitable for leaders, aspirant leaders and anyone involved in organisational transformation. Talent and technology leaders will also find this programme valuable. The programme is sector agnostic. The associated principles apply to both public and private sector organisations. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Outline The following are the primary areas of focus: Disruption – What is driving the need to develop intelligent organisations. Organisational design – A real-time, adaptive approach. Talent management – Harnessing our humanity. Technology – Augmenting our cognition. Leadership – The organisational nervous system. Purpose – A buffer against uncertainty. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Outcomes By the end of this programme, leaders will: Have a deep appreciation of why your organisation needs to evolve. Understand in what way your organisation needs to evolve. Recognise the importance of cognition, both natural (your people) and artificial, in respect of innovation. Be equipped with a set of actionable steps to increasing their organisation’s intelligence. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Next step Schedule a chat

This talent management workshop empowers leaders to make the connection between viability, disruption, innovation and talent. The real war for talent has only just begun. Strategic Talent Management Workshop Helping leaders turn talent scarcity into competitive advantage Context Introduction Outcomes Details Benefits Next step Context Organisations today face unprecedented disruption. Talent-related challenges, particularly in acquisition and retention, are becoming critical bottlenecks. Remote working has expanded access to talent but has also intensified the global war for it. Beneath this surface issue lies a deeper challenge: global disruption. Thus innovation is more important than ever. Yet most organisations are not structured to unlock the cognitive potential of their people. As a result, your best minds may be slipping away to more stimulating environments. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Introduction This workshop empowers leaders to unlock the full potential of their people, thus transforming disruption into competitive advantage. It moves beyond traditional talent management, helping you build an organisation designed for innovation, resilience, and human performance. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Outcomes Organisationally: You will be better equipped to win the war for talent. Your organisation will shift from extracting the ‘most’ from your people to enabling them to perform at their best. Leaders will approach talent management like elite sports teams, prioritising marginal gains and sustained performance. Disruption will no longer be feared but embraced as a strategic ally. Your leaders will be well positioned to build an organisation designed around human potential while delivering meaningful returns for all stakeholders. Participants will: Develop confidence in managing talent effectively. Gain a nuanced, real-time understanding of their organisational context Recognise the limitations of relying solely on process and efficiency. Become more agile and adaptive leaders, capable of navigating uncertainty. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Details Approach This classroom-based workshop includes: Knowledge transfer combined with facilitated discussion. Exploration of real-world case studies. Interactive exercises to embed key learning points. Structured and implementable action planning. Modules The following topics are covered: Disruption and its impact on organisational design. The real-time, intelligent organisation. The role of innovation. The cognitive gymnasium – How to attract and retain top-tier talent. Talent and technology. How to create a buffer against an uncertain future. Leading in complexity. Duration It can be delivered over a half day, a full day or two days. Target audience Your senior leadership team. Senior professionals with talent, technology and/or transformation responsibilities will also gain significant benefit. Customisation It can also be integrated with your broader leadership development initiatives. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Benefits This workshop: Shows the link between organisational viability, innovation and talent management. Shifts the emphasis from talent to innovation and cognition, recognising the role of technology. Encourages thinking in terms of paths to mastery rather than careers. Explains why traits often matter more than skills in the recruitment process. Rethinks the purpose of talent analytics. Promotes a more nuanced and effective approach to diversity. Makes the case for a more distributed leadership model. Embraces complexity by exploring how living systems engage with hostile environments. Enables leaders to identify and ‘plug the leaks’ that drain human potential drive attrition. Shows leaders how to create a culture and work environment that retains the top talent and builds a compelling employer brand. Return to workshop menu Schedule a chat Next step Schedule a chat

Ade helps leaders create intelligent organisations optimised to embrace disruption. Discover how he can help your organisation. Services I help leaders create intelligent organisations optimised to embrace increasing disruption. Here are some of the most popular ways I support clients in achieving their objectives. Public speaking Education Advisory Public speaking I speak at events ranging from intimate CxO dinners through to arena-level conferences. I am often invited to be the opening keynoter in order to present the big picture by providing a zoom-out perspective on how the world is changing. This approach: Links the tactical themes of your event to the bigger picture. Contextualises the event and elevates the tone of the subsequent participant discussions. My content usually involves one or more of the following themes: Disruption Adaptiveness People Technology My perspectives on AI highlight that our concerns are misplaced, ie. there are reasons to be concerned, but not as portrayed by the media. Innovation Intelligence Leadership. But I can approach this from most pain points. Current popular themes include: Cybersecurity Governance / Compliance Ethical accountability Stakeholder management. Perhaps uniquely, I explore these topics from a number of unusual perspectives, including: Evolutionary biology Complex / living / natural systems Human performance Neuroscience Anthropology Sociology. Audiences welcome the exploration of strategic topics through these novel lenses. I am often invited as a panellist in order to weave my perspectives into the broader issues covered by the event. Learn more Education If your leadership already recognises that they need to rethink how they operate, then a workshop is a natural way forward. This provides an opportunity to: Ensure the leadership team have a common understanding of how the world is changing and how they might respond. Identify actions that can initiate the organisation's transitional journey. Learn more Advisory The expertise needed to address the organisation's challenges typically resides within the workforce or the wider ecosystem. However there are some foundations to be laid before this expertise can be harnessed effectively. I can help you with the preparing the necessary groundwork to thrive in an increasingly unknowable world. Let's discuss the outcomes you are looking to achieve Contact Ade

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Ade McCormack helps leaders develop organisations that are akin to real-time, intelligent living systems. Organisational Intelligence Design is an emerging discipline that focuses on organisational viability in what is an increasingly unknowable world. Adapt to disruption Helping organisations adapt as disruption becomes the norm I work with leaders and their teams to redesign how their organisations sense, decide, and act in an increasingly disruptive world. Most organisations are struggling not because of a lack of talent or technology, but because their underlying design no longer fits the environment they’re operating in. I help organisations rethink leadership, cognition and innovation so they can adapt in real-time, without relying on heroic leaders or stockpiling AI. Organisational intelligence is how organisations sense, decide, and act in the moment. It is not a department, but part of the organisational fabric. My work is grounded in the ongoing research and exploration of The Intelligent Organisation , a think tank examining how organisations must evolve to survive and thrive amidst constant disruption. IntelligentOrganisation.org is where the ideas are explored. AdeMcCormack.com is where those ideas are applied. I support organisations through: Keynotes that challenge outdated assumptions about leadership and organisation design Workshops that help teams design mechanisms for operating in increasingly uncertain conditions Advisory work focused on redesigning organisations for adaptiveness, not stability. This is not leadership development in the traditional sense. It’s organisational engineering for an unpredictable world. I work with senior executives, HR and digital leaders who recognise that: Their operating model is no longer fit for purpose Complexity has outpaced their governance and decision structures Incremental change is no longer enough The strategic and operational assumptions of the industrial era no longer hold true. If you’re interested in the thinking, explore the research at IntelligentOrganisation.org . If you’re ready to apply it, we should talk .

Ade McCormack helps leaders create intelligent organisations optimised to embrace disruption. Start the conversation here. Let's chat... Whether you are looking for a keynote speaker, advisory support, or insights on creating an intelligent organisation, I’d love to hear from you. Let’s explore how we can work together. First name* Last name Organisation* Email* Your message* Send This website and its content is a property of Auridian Consulting Ltd. You can also email us at info@auridian.com . Postal address: Auridian Consulting Ltd., PO Box 733, Great Missenden, Bucks, HP16 9QJ UK Registered address: 843 Finchley Road, London NW11 8NA Registered in England and Wales: No. 3010447

Ade McCormack helps leaders create intelligent organisations optimised to embrace disruption. Learn more about him. About me I work with organisations that recognise their existing operating models are no longer fit for an environment shaped by constant disruption. My work focuses on how organisations are designed to sense, decide and act when conditions are uncertain. Rather than concentrating on individual leaders or behaviours, I focus on the underlying structures, decision mechanisms and assumptions that shape how the organisation functions as a system. This work is grounded in the research and exploration of The Intelligent Organisation , a think tank examining how organisations must evolve to survive and thrive amid increasing disruption. The Intelligent Organisation is where the ideas are explored. This website is the starting point in the application of those ideas. Over the past four decades, I have worked in over forty countries across the world, across multiple sectors with many of the world’s most prominent brands . My background includes software engineering, space science with the European Space Agency and formal training in astrophysics. I have lectured at MIT Sloan and work with the University of Cambridge’s Møller Institute on leadership education. I have written six books on strategic and societal matters, including a book for the European Commission on the future of skills in Europe. I have worked with former government leaders globally on reimagining government. For over a decade, I wrote a leadership column for the Financial Times. My approach is informed by research into how forward-thinking organisations and governments operate under pressure. I draw on anthropology, neuroscience, biology, technology, and human performance to develop a people-centred, adaptive perspective suited to a world where the future is increasingly unknowable. I work with organisations through a range of engagements, including speaking, workshops, education programmes and advisory work. How this capability is applied is driven by the outcomes an organisation is seeking, rather than a fixed methodology. Alongside my professional work, I have a longstanding interest in human performance and movement. I am a former track sprinter, with a background in both hard and soft martial arts. In recent years, I have taken up parkour, sometimes described as the martial art of skedaddling, as well as ultradistance trail running, which can be thought of as an increasingly distressing picnic on the move. I also enjoy modern jive dancing, which my wife considers my most effective martial art.

Ade McCormack helps leaders create intelligent organisations optimised to embrace disruption. Find out what his clients think about him. My clients Here is a selection ofmy clients along with what they have to say. Click on the arrows to reveal more: Slide6 Slide5 Slide3 Slide6 1/6 What are they saying? Slide12 Slide11 Slide8 Slide12 1/6 Please note that these are extracts from testimonials. The full text, and more testimonials, can be found on my LinkedIn profile page. My services Get in touch

Ade McCormack helps leaders create intelligent organisations optimised to embrace disruption. He is also an accomplished public speaker. See him in action. Ade - Live Here are extracts from keynotes I have delivered in Sweden, Egypt, France and London for both public and private sector audiences. As well as live footage , you will also find short and longer form showreels along with four pre-recorded videos . These will give you a sense of my perspectives (at the time of recording). Showreels Short Extended Pre-recorded Live events I help leaders create intelligent organisations optimised to embrace disruption My clients Let's talk