About Joel Spence
Here I am in Hạ Long Bay, Vietnam, which is probably the most stunning places I’ve ever had the pleasure to visit. This photo was taken when visiting one of the large caves that are left within many of the 1600 islands within the Bay.
The reason I’m showing this picture, is not only because I’m tired of writing corporate biographies with the same nine year old corporate photograph (which you’ll see dotted through the website) is that it was taken around three hours after I just finished a book called BOLD by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, which sparked an innovation fire in my heart and fascination in my mind.
BOLD talks about how to go big create wealth impact the world, covering Technology, Mindset and Crowd. It explores and discusses exponential technologies and how their democratisation would go on to revolutionise the world and its economy. It’s a fantastic immersive read on the future of how radical the new technologies can disrupt the world we live, while also creating fantastic opportunities for wealth creation and the reduction of poverty through providing greater access to materials, education, and capabilities. That was back in 2018, and wow, how far we have already come.
Prior to this moment I was often influenced by Dale Carnegie, Tony Robbins, Caroline Dweck, Ray Dalio and of course, Napoleon Hill, author of the most impactful book on my life, Think and Grow Rich.
Vietnam was a pivotal point in my life where I pivoted from purely sales role into Leadership, and decided to double down on technology and innovation. I had been working within the digital marketing space for about 7 years as a business development manager, essentially selling marketing services to medium-large businesses. Around this time, I just left a one of my favourite businesses, a digital marketing agency called Enjoy Digital and, I was about to embark on a career in digital transformation. This began at Capita, where I became head of business development for the digital transformation agency, G2G3 digital.
Leadership, technology, innovation and growth became a passion
From here I crafted a career which saw me become deeply immersed in technology, economics, and future thinking. My role has always been one of leadership, from positions as Sales and Marketing Director to board level appointments as Chief Digital & Growth Officer. Through the leadership and delivery of over £250m+ in sales, I became more and more fascinated with the organisational and human impact of technology, and the process of embedding new ways of working into companies.
My passion was always on the strategies and solutions that delivered impact, be that for clients, team members, or for my firms. Using my inquisitive nature to gain strong first principles across most areas which impacted my businesses and clients, including marketing, digital engineering, economics, data & AI, technology, automation and a whole bunch of things in-between, I was able to develop an approach to strategic thinking that connected the dots to build powerful strategies for my clients.
On the way, I decided to sign up to a 2-year executive MBA which specialised in Management Consulting and Innovation at The University of Leeds (Leeds University Business School). This brought together my learned experience with a deep understanding of how businesses operate, how to think and act strategically and the technology, innovation and growth methods needed to drive impact.
Most recently, I have been leading a number of major consulting programs which built Customer and Digital Experience strategies for major fintech’s and retailers, and disruptive innovation programs to design innovative new platform businesses within the Low Carbon Tech space. I currently lead enterprise Digital Transformation engagements for one of the worlds best Global Technology Companies.
So there is a brief history, and this is where we are now. The Future Executive™ is my blog, and I hope to bring you interesting posts that cover leadership, technology, and innovation, but also guide deeper into professional development and how you can overcome through a life’s challenge to be successful in the modern age.
I hope that you take some value from my posts and you find them entertaining as I share the things I find interesting and others often ask me for advice on. Your feedback is valued as is your support and collaboration. I would love to hear from you via the contact forms below and comments on-site.
Why The Future Executive™?
"The measure of intelligence is the ability to change"
Albert Einstein
The world is changing rapidly, and executives need to adapt to stay ahead of the curve. The growth of digital, data, and AI is revolutionising the way businesses operate, and executives need to be prepared to embrace these changes.
Whether you are early in your career and want to maximise your potential, or whether you’re an experienced executive that needs to adapt to new technology, innovate, and stay ahead, information and an open mind is critical. That’s what The Future Executive® is all about.
We offer concise and informative blogs, vlogs, and how-to guides on a wide range of topics, including:
- Leadership and Productivity
- Personal Development and Growth
- Digital and Customer Experience
- Digital, Data, AI, and ML
- Economics and Strategic Thinking
- Finance and Blockchain
- The Future of Technology
We believe that by providing executives with the latest information and insights, we can help them to adapt to the ever-changing world of business and stay ahead of the competition.
If you are looking for a resource to help you stay ahead of the curve, then The Future Executive® is the place for you.
A blog about technology, innovation and growth
So who is it for and what can you expect? Well, I welcome and am grateful for all readers and collaborators, I aim to share a positive, well researched effort to spread easily accessible and entertaining content.
Leadership, growth, positivity and resilience
Leadership and growth posts will include all kinds of personal development content and ideas too as well as commentary on latest thinking in the space. I’ll aim to share my view on things and be honest in some of life’s challenges, sharing the tools, tips, tactics, and strategies that I have used to overcome them. This will include;
- Leadership and Productivity
- Personal Development and Growth
- Economics and Strategic Thinking
- Organisational Change and Development
Technology & innovation
Within the technology and innovation sections I will be sharing informative content giving detailed overviews and reviews of new and existing technologies, and also new ideas that are coming down the path. This will include;
- Digital and Customer Experience
- Digital, Data, AI, and ML
- Finance and Blockchain
- The Future of Technology
My mission is to support you as you embark on your own growth journeys. If you ever need help with a certain issue, then please feel free to reach out and I may be able to write some specific advice or content. I will share and refer to other thought leaders’ content. In this way, I can knit together a strong basis of information and also present to you some of the great minds out there who already have a strong grasp on lots of these new concepts.. I’ll also add my personal thoughts on where things may be going and invite comments from the audience.
Finally, I’ll try to make it interesting when possible. Using an honest tone, I aim to bring in video blogs and special guests where possible to bring some of the subjects to life.
Thank you for visiting!
I hope that you enjoy the content on The Future Executive™ and that it helps you to take your next steps. Be those within technology or innovation, with a specific project, or with your own development and career. If you have any feedback or would like to collaborate, then please send a message in the contact box below, and feel free to connect on social.