🎤 Speaker Profile

Name: Elena Marquez

Title: Chief Visionary Officer at NEXA Futures

Background: Elena Marquez is an award-winning futurist, product designer, and global thought leader in human-centered innovation. With over 15 years shaping next-gen digital experiences for Fortune 100 companies, Elena is known for her ability to blend emerging tech with social impact. She’s been featured in Wired, Fast Company, and recently gave a TED Talk on “Reclaiming Empathy in AI.”

🎙 Talk Title:

“Designing for the Unknown: How to Build for a Future That Hasn’t Happened Yet”

🔍 Talk Description:

In a world accelerating faster than ever, design can no longer afford to be reactive—it must be visionary. In this compelling keynote, Elena Marquez challenges conventional thinking and takes the audience on a journey into speculative design, future-thinking frameworks, and the ethical responsibilities of innovation. She’ll explore real-world case studies, future-casting techniques, and how to empower design teams to think boldly in uncertain times.

Attendees will leave with a fresh mindset and practical tools to start designing not just for the next release—but for the next decade.

Key Takeaways:

• How to apply future-thinking in product design

• Techniques for scenario mapping and speculative storytelling

• Building ethical guardrails in the age of AI and automation

• Encouraging a culture of curiosity in innovation teams

🧠 Sample Keynote Opening:

“Ten years ago, no one was talking to their fridge. Today, your fridge can order your groceries before you even know you’re out of oat milk.”

“The future doesn’t arrive fully formed—it’s designed, shaped, and sometimes guessed at. And the people bold enough to imagine it are the ones who build it. My question to you today is: what kind of future are you designing?”

🧩 Speaker’s Workshop (Optional Add-on)

Title: “From Present to Possible: A Hands-On Futures Thinking Lab”

Format: 90-minute immersive session

Outcome: Participants create future user personas and speculative prototypes