Nicky Verd is a leading voice on digital transformation, disruptive innovation, and the future of work. As an international keynote speaker, corporate trainer, and bestselling author of Disrupt Yourself Or Be Disrupted, she equips organizations, leaders, and individuals with the mindset and tools to remain relevant in a rapidly changing digital economy.
Recognized as one of Africa’s top thought leaders on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Nicky has spoken on stages across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, inspiring diverse audiences to embrace change rather than fear it. Her unique strength lies in translating complex technological trends into practical, human-centered strategies that unlock growth and resilience.
Beyond the corporate world, Nicky is passionate about youth empowerment. She works with students, startups, and communities to ignite bold thinking and prepare the next generation for meaningful participation in the digital economy. Through her talks, writing, and training, she challenges outdated mindsets and inspires a culture of continuous learning, innovation, and courage.
Nicky Verd is a dynamic Digital Futurist, Kickass Author, International Keynote Speaker, and Consultant renowned for her pioneering insights into the AI-driven economy. A voice for those yearning to disrupt the status quo and reinvent themselves, Nicky’s electrifying presentations empower audiences to embrace the future with confidence and creativity. With a background that combines personal resilience with profound expertise in digital transformation, she stands out as a leading authority on navigating the complexities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
From her humble beginnings to becoming a globally recognized thought leader, Nicky’s journey is a testament to the power of reinvention and relentless pursuit of knowledge. Her groundbreaking book, “Disrupt Yourself Or Be Disrupted,” has inspired countless individuals and organizations to take charge of their destinies in an era of rapid technological advancement. Nicky’s mission is clear: to equip people with the mindset and tools necessary to thrive in an AI-driven world.
As an international keynote speaker, Nicky Verd captivates diverse audiences with her compelling narratives, actionable insights, and infectious enthusiasm. Her ability to demystify complex technological concepts and relate them to everyday experiences makes her a favorite among event planners and attendees alike.
Nicky Verd’s expertise lies at the intersection of digital transformation, personal empowerment, and future-ready strategies. Her unique perspective is shaped by her diverse background, which includes a career transition from the corporate sector to becoming a leading voice in digital futurism. Nicky’s firsthand experience of disruption fuels her passion for helping others navigate similar paths.
A prolific author, Nicky’s book, “Disrupt Yourself Or Be Disrupted,” delves deep into the challenges and opportunities presented by the AI-driven economy. The book not only highlights the importance of self-innovation but also provides practical steps for individuals and organizations to stay ahead of the curve. Her writing style is engaging and accessible, making complex topics relatable to a broad audience.
Nicky’s influence extends beyond her writing. As a consultant, she works with businesses across various industries to develop strategies that leverage AI and digital technologies. Her approach is holistic, focusing not just on technological adoption but also on fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptability. Nicky’s clients appreciate her ability to tailor her advice to their specific needs, ensuring sustainable growth and innovation.
In her role as an international keynote speaker, Nicky Verd has graced stages at major conferences, corporate events, and educational institutions worldwide. Her presentations are characterized by a blend of storytelling, data-driven insights, and practical advice. Nicky’s ability to connect with her audience on a personal level sets her apart, making her talks not only informative but also deeply inspiring.
Nicky’s work is underpinned by a commitment to lifelong learning and self-improvement. She continuously updates her knowledge base to stay abreast of the latest trends and advancements in technology. This dedication to staying informed ensures that her insights are always relevant and forward-thinking, providing immense value to her audiences.
Event planners seeking a keynote speaker who can deliver a powerful, transformative message need look no further than Nicky Verd. Her unique blend of expertise, passion, and relatability ensures that she resonates with a wide range of audiences, from corporate executives to budding entrepreneurs. Nicky’s ability to inspire action and foster a growth mindset makes her an invaluable addition to any event.
Nicky Verd’s presentations are meticulously crafted to align with the goals and themes of the events she speaks at. She takes the time to understand the audience and tailor her message to ensure maximum impact. This personalized approach not only engages attendees but also leaves a lasting impression, making her sessions memorable and actionable.
Moreover, Nicky’s reputation as a thought leader in digital transformation and AI-driven strategies adds significant value to any event. Her insights help attendees understand the implications of emerging technologies and how to harness them for personal and organizational growth. By booking Nicky Verd, event planners can ensure that their audiences receive cutting-edge knowledge and practical advice that can be immediately applied.
You are not about to hit a brick wall. Nicky Verd is an actual human being ready to give you 4IR guidelines for digital transformation, personal growth and success.
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In this keynote-style video, Nicky Verd underscores that we are living in the most disruptive period in human history, with businesses and individuals facing unprecedented levels of uncertainty, layoffs, and economic anxiety. She introduces the concept of personal disruption, a mindset and practice of self-innovation that empowers people to adapt, grow, and thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Drawing from her own experience of being laid off in 2016, which inspired her bestselling book Disrupt Yourself or Be Disrupted, Nicky argues that disruption is not limited to business models like Netflix or Airbnb reshaping industries it applies equally to individuals. If markets keep changing while people remain the same, she warns, they risk becoming irrelevant.
She outlines key aspects of personal disruption: stepping outside comfort zones, adopting forward-thinking, and asking difficult questions such as: Can my job be automated? Will my skills still matter in five years? What is my plan B if I lose my job? With emerging technologies reshaping industries, certificates alone no longer guarantee success. Instead, individuals must focus on upskilling, reinvention, and innovation.
Nicky emphasizes that disruption breeds innovation, and innovation breeds success. She challenges African youth to move beyond waiting for jobs and instead create solutions that address community and continental challenges. By embracing personal disruption, individuals can position themselves not as prisoners of the past but as shapers of the future.
She closes with a powerful call to action: invest in yourself, think differently, and leverage disruption as the recipe for long-term success.
00:00 – Opening: unprecedented global disruption and uncertainty
01:10 – Introduction of personal disruption concept
02:20 – Nicky’s layoff story and writing her book
03:15 – Disruption is not just for businesses, but for individuals
04:30 – What personal disruption means: stepping out of comfort zones
05:45 – COVID-19’s global economic impact and opportunities in chaos
07:10 – Fourth Industrial Revolution as a new way of thinking and working
08:00 – Becoming an agent of your own disruption
09:00 – Asking hard questions: automation, job relevance, future skills
11:00 – Certificates are no longer tickets to success
12:30 – Opportunities for African youth to innovate and solve problems
14:00 – Peter Thiel’s “Zero to One” concept applied to individuals
15:30 – Closing challenge: be a shaper of the future, not a prisoner of the past
Nicky Verd opens by reflecting on historic levels of disruption and the anxiety that follows layoffs and economic uncertainty. She introduces herself as an international keynote speaker and author of Disrupt Yourself or Be Disrupted, then invites viewers to share and engage with the content. The heart of her message is personal disruption. Innovation and growth require leaving comfort zones and adopting forward thinking.
Her own turning point came after a 2016 retrenchment that shattered her plans to climb the corporate ladder. Seeking answers, she researched emerging technologies without any formal IT background and discovered how automation, artificial intelligence, and robotics were transforming organizations. Posting insights on social media revealed strong demand for understandable explanations, which evolved into blog articles and, eventually, her bestselling book.
Nicky stresses that disruption is not just for startups or markets. Individuals must choose which side of disruption they are on. She urges people to ask hard questions: Can my job be automated. What is my plan B. Will my qualifications still be relevant in three to five years. What skills should I learn next. Certificates alone, she argues, no longer guarantee opportunity. Value creation, continuous learning, and adaptability matter more.
Drawing on examples from Africa, she challenges listeners to move from complaint to solution, to reframe disadvantage as an engine for grit, and to embrace failure as a learning tool. She discusses Rwanda’s rapid digital adoption and drone-enabled medical delivery as evidence that bold policy and mindset shifts unlock innovation.
Throughout, Nicky returns to mindset. She describes the inner work required to overcome imposter feelings, redefine education beyond formal schooling, and build resilience amid uncertainty such as COVID-19. Her closing call is simple and actionable. Stop waiting for perfect conditions. Study trends, test new paths, and invest in upskilling. Become an agent of your own disruption so you can shape the future rather than be shaped by it.
00:00 – Context setting: record disruption, layoffs, and anxiety
00:30 – Intro and book mention; call to like, share, subscribe
01:10 – Defining personal disruption and why it drives growth
02:10 – 2016 retrenchment story and search for answers
03:10 – Self-taught dive into AI, robotics, and automation
04:00 – From social posts to blogs to writing the book
05:00 – Disruption is not only for businesses; individuals must choose
06:00 – Comfort zones vs forward thinking; practical mindset shifts
07:00 – COVID-19 as catalyst for digital transformation
08:00 – Fourth Industrial Revolution as new ways of thinking and working
09:00 – Hard questions: automation risk, plan B, skills relevance
10:30 – Certificates vs value; continuous learning over credentials
12:00 – From complaint to solution; reframing disadvantage
13:15 – Embracing failure to unlock creativity and resilience
14:00 – Rwanda and drones example; policy and innovation
15:00 – Final call to action: upskill, experiment, and lead your own disruption
Nicky Verd opens with the moment her boss informed her she was being retrenched. The shock gave way to curiosity. She kept seeing news about layoffs and asked a catalytic question: how do companies keep operating after letting so many people go. Online research led her to artificial intelligence, automation, and software that now perform tasks once done by humans. She admits she was not from IT and had only used basic office tools. That discovery reshaped her mindset. Technology can no longer be left to the experts. Every professional must ask how AI and digital trends will affect their role, industry, and career.
She reframes disruption beyond apps and business models. If the market is changing but people are not, there is a mismatch. Personal disruption means checking your skills against the new world of work and adopting new ways of thinking, learning, and doing business. She argues that digital transformation fails when organizations start with tools instead of people. Technology is programmable and predictable. Humans are complex. Success requires bringing people on board first. A thriving digital enterprise is a community of empowered people enabled by technology.
Quoting Whitney Johnson, she notes that businesses require disruptive people to be disruptive. Lifelong learning is nonnegotiable. Citing Alvin Toffler, she defines 21st-century literacy as the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Credentials alone no longer guarantee relevance. She challenges passive mindsets with her wheelbarrow metaphor: if you leave it where it is, you will find it there tomorrow. Do not wait for bosses or family to move you. Take initiative to upskill, experiment with tools like ChatGPT, and stay aligned with change.
Verd closes by stressing human skills. Collaboration, adaptability, and the ability to relate at a human level are as critical as technical skills. Survival will not favor the strongest or most intelligent, but those who adapt. Her final call: be proactive, people-centered, and relentlessly curious so you can navigate disruption rather than be overtaken by it.
00:00 – Retrenchment story and the shock of sudden job loss
00:45 – Curiosity trigger: why companies survive large layoffs
01:30 – Discovery of AI, automation, and software replacing tasks
02:15 – Not from IT: why everyone must understand tech impacts
03:00 – What disruption really is: market change vs personal change
03:45 – People-first lesson: transformation fails if tech comes first
04:30 – Quote insight: businesses need disruptive people to disrupt
05:10 – Lifelong learning and Alvin Toffler’s learn–unlearn–relearn
06:00 – The wheelbarrow mindset and taking initiative to upskill
06:45 – Practical nudge: explore AI tools and stay aligned with change
07:30 – Human skills that matter: collaboration and relatability
08:15 – Adaptability over raw intelligence as the survival trait
09:00 – Closing call to action: personally disrupt to remain relevant
Nicky Verd opens her keynote by thanking the organizers and introducing herself as an author and speaker on technology, disruption, and the future of work. She frames the session around the theme Explore, Create, Innovate, emphasizing that the world will never be this slow again. Her core message is that the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is not just about new apps or emerging technologies, but a new era requiring new thinking, skills, and mindsets.
Verd defines 4IR with examples people encounter daily—AI-powered GPS, Siri, personalized recommendations, smart devices, and cashless services. She stresses that these advances should not be left to IT departments; they affect everyone. More importantly, she warns against distancing oneself from change by dismissing technology as irrelevant. Instead, individuals must see themselves as participants in shaping this new era.
She shares her personal retrenchment story from 2016, when sudden job loss forced her into curiosity and research. That journey into AI, automation, and robotics—despite no tech background—led her to write her bestselling book Disrupt Yourself or Be Disrupted. She explains that personal disruption means asking hard questions: Can my work be automated? Will my skills remain relevant? How do I prepare for new industries?
Verd highlights future-ready skills identified by the World Economic Forum: innovation, creativity, active learning, resilience, curiosity, and emotional intelligence. She unpacks each, explaining why technical skills alone are insufficient. Emotional intelligence, she argues, determines how people work with others and lead, while creativity remains the one skill with the longest shelf life. She introduces the concept of “STEMpathy,” combining science and empathy to ensure technology remains human-centered.
She cautions against victimhood, entitlement, and overreliance on certificates, urging lifelong learning, adaptability, and an entrepreneurial mindset. Examples from Africa, including innovators behind Pelebox Smart Locker and wheelchair-accessible restroom designs, illustrate how problems can become opportunities. Verd stresses that Africa’s future depends on innovation, with young people leveraging digital economies, freelancing, and platforms like YouTube, podcasts, and TikTok—not just for entertainment but as tools for creation and problem-solving.
She closes by reminding students that education extends beyond classrooms, the biggest competition is not robots but people who are learning and evolving, and the company you keep shapes your future. Her final challenge: stop burying your head in the sand, take action, and empower yourself to shape the future.
00:00 – Opening thanks and introduction at TechnoX
02:00 – Theme: Explore, Create, Innovate; why the world will never be this slow again
04:00 – What the Fourth Industrial Revolution really means
06:30 – AI and daily life examples (GPS, Siri, Netflix, smart devices)
09:00 – 4IR as a new era, not just apps and gadgets
11:00 – Three major trends: new skills, self-reliance, every company as a tech company
14:00 – Business disruption vs personal disruption
17:00 – Personal story: retrenchment and the start of her journey into tech
21:00 – Writing on social media, evolving into blogging and a book
25:00 – The power of uncomfortable questions: automation, relevance, and skills of the future
30:00 – Key skills: innovation, active learning, creativity, resilience, curiosity, emotional intelligence
40:00 – Why emotional intelligence and soft skills matter more than technical ability
46:00 – STEMpathy: blending empathy with science and technology
50:00 – Mindset: adaptability over victimhood; not letting certificates hold you hostage
55:00 – Dying professions vs growing digital jobs; reskilling and new collar opportunities
01:00:00 – African innovation stories (Pelebox, inclusive restroom design)
01:05:00 – Digital economies and opportunities for young people (freelance, content, platforms)
01:10:00 – Education beyond classrooms; learning, unlearning, relearning
01:15:00 – Final call to action: choose empowerment over avoidance
A: Both — strategy plus workshop exercises to implement steps immediately.
A: Product managers, marketers, and growth teams.
Absolutely each keynote is tailored to the audience’s unique challenges and transformation goals.
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