Patrick Schwerdtfeger

Patrick has been a full-time professional speaker since 2007. He got his start after his “Beyond the Rate” podcast (focused on mortgages and the real estate industry) gained popularity in 2006. During the subprime ‘mortgage meltdown’ (2007) and ensuing financial crisis (2008), he was interviewed regularly on mainstream media and soon began speaking at business events and conferences. He covered developments in the collapsing financial markets and, before long, spoke about the burgeoning field of podcasting and social media as well.

Barack Obama’s presidential campaign gained traction in 2007. It was the first presidential campaign driven by social media, and Patrick began covering that topic with increasing frequency. His “Social Media Victories: Real Businesses, Real Campaigns, Real Results” program would end up taking him to hundreds of events all around the world. He became best known for his tactical and energizing keynotes about technology trends and digital marketing.

Today, Patrick is a business futurist specializing in technology trends including big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain. He’s the founder of Trend Mastery Inc. and host of the Strategic Business Insights video blog. Trend Mastery is a strategic consulting agency, identifying a world of transformational opportunities, and Strategic Business Insights has over 25,000 subscribers and five million views on YouTube. Patrick works as an independent business analyst, following emerging technology use cases and sharing his insights with clients around the world.

Speaking topics

1. Embracing Disruptive Innovation

Disruptive innovation invalidates existing business models. That’s why it’s become so important for business executives around the world. Technology is evolving along an exponential curve, and entire industries are collapsing as new (mostly digital) business models provide better outcomes for fewer dollars. Disruptive innovation generally comes from the edges of industries, not the center. It comes from ‘adjacent markets’ often catching executives by surprise. Patrick explains the topic and provides two (2) modesl and a strategic framework for executives to both anticipate and PROFIT from disruptive innovation.

2. Big Data & Artificial Intelligence

The explosion of big data technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT) have led to dramatic advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning. These technologies are fueling innovation in predictive analytics, autonomous driving, image recognition, virtual reality, and countless other fields. Patrick has accumulated dozens of case histories and success stories in a variety of different industries, allowing him to explain the trends in a way that people understand. His technology keynotes don’t get into technical specifications. Instead, they highlight trends and strategies for business executives to exploit within their own respective business models.

3. Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin

Bitcoin was the first application of blockchain protocol. Since 2009 when it was officially launched, the bitcoin blockchain has never been hacked. This distributed public ledger technology is now finding its way into hundreds of different applications. In particular, supply chain management and digital identity are leading use cases. Its popularity is part of a larger trend from centralized to decentralized structures. Ironically, the industries that are most threatened by blockchain technology (banks and insurance companies) are the ones investing most aggressively in its development. Patrick explains both the risks and opportunities for business executives.