Episode 744: Manufacturing Think Tank with Cliff Waldman for February 2023

In this episode of ‘Manufacturing Think Tank’, host Cliff Waldman welcomes noted economist and technology expert Shawn Dubravac, President of the Avrio Institute and author of New York Times bestseller Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Work, LIve, and Communicate. The episode begins with a discussion of the post-pandemic path of manufacturing process innovation and corporate automation strategies. The hot-button issues of artificial intelligence and robotics were then explored. At this uncertain time, Shawn also gave his outlook for the tech sector.

MEET YOUR HOST

Cliff Waldman

Certified Business Economist and member of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE). Go beyond the mainstream media headlines with Cliff Waldman throughout his series on Manufacturing Talk Radio where he focuses on forces that are catalyzing rapid structural changes in the companies and sectors that comprise the dynamic manufacturing industry.

SPECIAL GUEST

Shawn Dubravac

Acclaimed futurist and trendcaster, Dr. Shawn DuBravac is author of the New York
Times Best Seller Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Work, Live, and Communicate, which explores how the world’s mass adoption of digital technologies portends the beginning of a new era for humanity in the realms of business, healthcare, finance, transportation, and culture.

DuBravac is an internationally-recognized thought leader and top-rated keynote speaker, delivering pragmatic and provocative insights on the trends, technologies, and paradigms transforming the globe. His research focuses on the forces shaping tomorrow that are percolating on the periphery of society and business today. By providing an elevated view of developing trends, DuBravac empowers leaders and their organizations to improve strategic decision-making capabilities by understanding the changing landscape and identifying the opportunities that lie ahead.

DuBravac is president of Avrio Institute. Borrowing from the Greek Αύριο meaning tomorrow, the Institute helps leaders prepare for uncertain and divergent futures. Clients include Fortune 100 and Global 1000 companies, scrappy start-ups, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Grounded in economics, DuBravac served over 12 years as chief economist for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,000 consumer tech companies, and owner and producer of CES.

DuBravac writes extensively on disruptive technological shifts and has been widely published on the topics of technology, finance, and economics. His analysis has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post, Wired, Los Angeles Times, Barron’s and on-air with CNBC, Bloomberg, NPR, CBS, and other media outlets.

DuBravac has been named one of the top 50 futurist speakers to have at your conference by Readwrite, one of 27 finance thought leaders to read and follow
by Prophix, and to Dealerscope’s “40 under 40” list of people to watch in the technology industry. He is a past-President of both the CFA Society of Washington, DC and the Conference of Business Economists, a founding trustee of the CTA Foundation, and a past board member of the National Association of Business Economists.