Frans Johansson

An author, entrepreneur, and acclaimed international keynote speaker, Frans Johansson has addressed hundreds of thousands of people on six continents, and virtually every industry.  After spending three years talking to individuals and teams at the intersection of different disciplines and cultures, he combined the results from those interviews with decades of existing research in psychology, economics and management of creativity and innovation. The result was his debut book, The Medici Effect, the first book to fully explore the concept of cross-field and cross-cultural combinations and to offer clear guidance on how to make such an approach work effectively. Available in 22 languages, The Medici Effect was named one of the “Best Books on Innovation” by BusinessWeek and one of the top 10 best business books of the year by Amazon.com. His follow up book, The Click Moment: Seizing Opportunity in an Unpredictable World, focuses on the ideas and moments that successful leaders must leverage to unleash innovation and growth. The Click Moment was named by Fast Company as one of the top 10 best business book of 2012 and charged with “destroying … the 10,000 hour rule.” In his books and presentations, Johansson explains that three driving forces-the movement of people, convergence of scientific disciplines, and leap in computational power-are increasing the number and types of intersections we can access. From CEOs, derivative traders, scientists, to fashion designers, authors and public health administrators, Johansson shows audiences how to find the intersection and unleash the Medici Effect.

Johansson has advised executive leadership from the world’s largest companies, including BAE Systems, Caterpillar, MetLife and Nike; as well as startups, venture capital firms, government agencies, and universities around the world. He has been featured on CNN, ABC and CNBC among others.

Raised in Sweden by his African-American/Cherokee mother and Swedish father, Johansson has lived all his life at the intersection. He has founded a software company, an international healthcare firm, and a hedge fund. He has written articles on healthcare, information technology and the science of sport fishing. Frans holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Brown University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. He is currently the founder and CEO of The Medici Group. Johansson is a recipient of the New York Hall of Science 2017 Creative Entrepreneurship Award