Speaker Bio

Oliver Franklin-Wallis is an award-winning British journalist, whose writing has appeared in GQ, WIRED, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Times Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Economist, and many other publications. Ceaselessly curious about our world, Oliver has reported on art fraudsters and deep-sea explorers, reported from Liberia on the ebola virus and from the UK on vaccines, chronicled the fractious race to build a hyperloop, and profiled countless startup founders, scientists, pro athletes, and Hollywood celebrities. In the process, his travels have taken him from some of the world’s poorest places, to the boardrooms of some of the world’s biggest companies. Passionate about the environment, Oliver has long reported on sustainability and climate issues.

His first book, Wasteland: The Secret World of Waste and the Urgent Search for a Cleaner Future (Summer 2023), has been called an “urgent call to action” (Publisher’s Weekly) that “should prompt serious discussion in boardrooms and parliaments”  In his book and through his virtual and in-person talks, he tackles our growing waste crisis: from the 2 billion tons of solid waste we discard every year, to the plastics and sewage flooding our rivers and seas. A sought-after speaker, he provides audiences – from colleges to corporations – a roadmap of practical approaches including behavioral change and technological innovation to combat our urgent global waste problem.

FOLLOW OLIVER

Speaking Topics

Wasteland: The Secret World of Waste and the Urgent Search for a Cleaner Future
Globally, we’re producing billions of ton of waste every year. That’s not just a problem for our rivers and seas, but a climate issue: food waste alone accounts for 10% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. But what can companies and individuals actually do? Oliver sets the stage for action, and cuts through the real solutions vs. “greenwashing,” to show a pathway to a cleaner and more sustainable future.

The Future of New Technologies from a Journalist on the Cutting EdgeAs a science and technology journalist, and a contributing editor at WIRED, Oliver has spent more than a decade talking to and reporting inside some of the world’s most innovative and respected companies:  Google, Facebook, Pixar. As a consultant, he’s helped Fortune 100 companies navigate incoming technology like AR and VR. In this talk, Oliver dives into how disruptive new technologies like AI, spatial computing, genome editing, and more will shape your industry for the next decade-plus, drawing on his own insights and those from others in the field.

How to be a Truly Ethical Company  
As a journalist who has long covered environmental and social injustices, Oliver has seen first hand the impacts that companies can make when they take real positive action – and the damage they can do when they don’t. In this spirited talk, Oliver cuts through the marketing jargon to get real about what being an ethical company actually means: from product design to people management, to marketing and PR. He provides real case studies from companies he’s covered (and some you definitely shouldn’t follow) to challenge your business to do better for its people, and the planet.

BY THE AUTHOR

Booking Info

Oliver Franklin-Wallis’ speaking engagements are handled by the Hachette Speakers Bureau, a division of Hachette Book Group and an accredited member of the International Association of Speakers Bureaus. Contact us to learn more.