Roger Spitz
Roger Spitz has given hundreds of keynotes globally, frequently contributes across leading media, and guest lectured at many of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions
Roger Spitz (M.Sc., FCA, APF) is an international bestselling author, a celebrated futurist, the president of Techistential (Climate & Foresight Strategy), and the chair of the renowned Disruptive Futures Institute, based in San Francisco.
As former Global Head of Technology M&A with BNP Paribas, Spitz advised on over 50 transactions with a combined deal value of $25 billion. He launched the bank’s US Mergers & Acquisitions practice in San Francisco and built its European Technology & Digital Investment Banking franchises in London & Paris.
Bilingual in English & French, Spitz has lived in 10 different cities across six nations and three continents.
He has established longstanding connections across a multitude of fields and organizations in Silicon Valley, throughout the US, UK, Europe, Asia, South Africa, and around the world.
Professional Affiliations, Boards & Anticipatory Governance
After a Masters in Finance (M.Sc.) from the University of Durham (UK), Roger Spitz qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ACA, Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales).
Spitz trained as a non-executive director (NED), was bestowed ICAEW’s prestigious Fellowship title (FCA), and has been advising boardrooms for the past two decades. He presides over Techistential’s dedicated Board, Anticipatory Governance & Sustainability Foresight Practice, which develops global programs to train Board Directors on Anticipatory Leadership & Foresight Competency with leading institutions such as Institute of Directors (IoD India) & Instituto Brasileiro de Governança Corporativa (Brazil).
Spitz’s professional foresight affiliations include the Association of Professional Futurists (Washington), Institute for the Future (Palo Alto), Foresight Institute (San Francisco), and World Futures Studies Federation (Paris).
Spitz has two decades of leading investment banking and venture capital businesses. He advises CEOs, founders, boards, and shareholders on their most strategic decisions, evaluating their organizations' competitiveness and identifying disruptions ahead. He sits on several advisory boards of companies, climate councils, VC funds & academic institutions worldwide.
Climate Foresight & Sustainability
Techistential’s renowned Board, Anticipatory Governance & Sustainability foresight practice works with leaders and their organizations globally to rethink sustainable value creation. As the Sustainable Futures Practice Lead at Techistential, Spitz provides foresight-driven advice on systemic change including the global energy transition, which is creating paradigm shifts in value and business models. Spitz founded the DFI Sustainability & Climate Academy as the flagship center for climate education.
Spitz is a sought-after advisor and speaker on system innovation, climate and foresight strategy. He was an inaugural member of Cervest’s Climate Intelligence Council and contributor to the Disclosure, ESG & Sustainability standards group of Planet Positive 2030 (IEEE, in partnership with Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence HAI).
Impact Investing & Venture Capital
Roger Spitz is Foresight & Sustainability partner of Vektor Partners (Palo Alto, London, Berlin), a VC firm investing in the future of mobility and next-generation sustainable transport, as well as a member of the Advisory Council and an LP investor in Berkeley SkyDeck fund. As a venture advisor, Spitz focuses on transformative technologies including ClimateTech & AI. The impact funds he advises support green innovative technology in Silicon Valley, Israel, UK, and Europe.
Spitz has a strong interest in social entrepreneurship and the future of education, and is a board adviser of Qwasar Silicon Valley, the skills-based platform for learning in the 21st century.
Faculty, Academic Research & Publications
A world-leading authority on foresight, sustainability, and transformative change, Roger Spitz develops and teaches Strategic Foresight & System Innovation programs
Roger Spitz publishes extensively on anticipatory leadership, futures capabilities, and decision-making in complex unpredictable environments.
Spitz is the lead author of the four-volume magnum opus, The Definitive Guide to Thriving on Disruption, the compendium published by the Disruptive Futures Institute LLC. The collection became an instant classic and bestseller in Future Studies, Green Business, Sustainable Economic Development, Business Education, Strategic Management & Forecasting.
Following his seminal paper in the Journal of Futures Studies on the “The Future of Strategic Decision-Making”, Spitz co-authored “An Existential Framework for the Future of Decision-Making” (Leadership for the Future, Cambridge Scholars Publishing).
He is contributing a chapter on his AAA Framework in Anticipatory Governance: Shaping a Responsible Future, World Scientific Publishing (Singapore, 2024), under the title “The AAA Framework: Responsible Leadership for Sustainable Futures”.
Roger Spitz’s work and research have been published in prestigious publications worldwide including Association for Professional Futurists (APF’s Compass Magazine), Authority Magazine, Fast Company, IBM Center for The Business of Government Leadership, INC. Magazine, InfoMoney, Institute of Directors (Directors Today), Instituto Brasileiro de Governança Corporativa (IBGC), Journal of Futures Studies (JFS), L’Atelier des Futurs, MIT Technology Review, TAB UOL, Tilt UOL, WIRED, Yahoo!
Artificial Intelligence Subject Matter Expert
Spitz is an industry-recognized writer, speaker, and investor in Artificial Intelligence. From his research and publications, Roger Spitz coined the term Techistentialism which studies the nature of human beings, existence, and decision-making in our technological world. Today, we face both technological and existential conditions that can no longer be separated.
Spitz chairs the Techistential Center for Human & Artificial Intelligence. He is also a member of IEEE, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (Palo Alto), and The Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence & Simulation of Behaviour (UK). He attended the MIT Sloan School of Management and Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) program in AI & Strategy.