They’ll be shaking up your business in 2018. 

The political landscape here and abroad is changing faster than you can update your twitter feed. High tariffs with China and Europe, threats to trade agreements in North America and big data breaches across the globe have everyone on high alert. Not to mention that countless industries were indefinitely changed from the recent healthcare reform and the legalization of marijuana 29 states and Canada.

Wherever you look, the business playing field is changing from drastic domestic and international changes. If you want to find out how to not only keep up with but stay two steps ahead of the political game, BigSpeak has top keynote speakers who are experts in the trends that are affecting you and your business.

Trade

Peter Zeihan is a keynote speaker with 20 years of experience, working and studying international issues and their effects on policy and business, such as our trade relationship with Mexico.

Why Mexico is important– Mexico has 130 million people, a $1 trillion economy, and is America’s top economic partner. We not only have a trade relationship with Mexico but integrated supply chains.

Areas of concern: Changes in policy between the United States and Mexico can impact immigration (and therefore labor), financial stability, supply chains, manufacturing attractiveness, wealth levels, drug policy, water rights, and agricultural markets.

Cybersecurity

Eric O’Neill is a cybersecurity keynote speaker who helped bring down the most notorious spy in U.S. history, Robert Hanssen, and helps protects others from cyber threats.

Why cybersecurity is important– As more and more of our lives and business are being shared online, our data becomes more vulnerable. Spies have learned to exploit this data in order to steal identities, intellectual property, and more. Furthermore, from 2015 to 2016 ransomware attacks increased 2,500 percent and cost consumers over $1 billion in 2016.

Areas of concern: Businesses and individuals need to be aware of how social media usage, phishing scams, email hacks, and ransomware can place them at risk and the steps needed to guard against them.

Healthcare

Vijay Govindarajan is an innovation keynote speaker and one of the world’s leading experts on strategy and innovation, who also speaks about changes in healthcare.

Why healthcare is important– Healthcare is at the center of every election cycle debate because changes to health insurance coverage and the cost of prescription medications can affect the bottom line of every business.

Areas of concern: Rising health care costs, overpriced medications, aging populations, and a shortage of medical professionals are just a few of the challenges facing the medical industry. However, there is good news. There are “bottom up” answers to healthcare issues coming from India that do not require a grand plan out of Washington, DC nor any agreement between entrenched political parties.

Marijuana

Ian Siegel is a business keynote speaker and CEO of ZipRecruiter, who has noticed the change in job trends affected by changes in politics and demographics.

Why marijuana is important– Since becoming legal in 29 U.S. states and Canada for either recreational or medical use, the marijuana industry has exploded. In 2017, the growth rate for marijuana jobs grew 445 percent compared to 245 percent for technology and 74 percent for healthcare.

Areas of concern: Jobs in cannabis are growing in all sectors from retail, marketing, agriculture, management, all the way to joint rollers. Many legal challenges still remain, not the least of which is cannabis businesses must use cash in most instances.

Kyle Crocco is the Content Marketing Coordinator at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, a graduate of UC Santa Barbara, and the lead singer of Duh Professors. He regularly publishes business book reviews and thought articles on Medium, Business 2 Community, and Born 2 Invest.