Jonathan MacDonald

Jonathan MacDonald is one of the world's most in-demand and internationally renowned strategic changemakers, unlocking success for individuals and businesses who are shaping the future. He is also an award-winning, bestselling author and keynote speaker on the topics of change, digital transformation, mindset.

With a background in retail, entertainment and strategy, MacDonald has been creating and advising businesses for over three decades. He was the youngest ever Chairman of the British Music Industries Association. Later, as Commercial Director for Ministry of Sound, MacDonald turned an analogue company into a digital powerhouse, helping to expand the global franchise around the world. He also launched the first-ever Sky TV station specifically for musicians.

An entrepreneur and investor, MacDonald has over ten start-ups to his credit. Most recently he founded SELF, an adaptive AI for an ever-changing life, whilst you retain ownership and control of your data. He has also advised well-known, blue-chip companies including Google, Microsoft, Apple, P&G, Unilever, Nestle, Lego, Heineken, Sony and IKEA, and is trusted by senior executives around the world to convert his insights on perpetual change into profitable business strategies and personal success. As a thought-leader, he contributes to numerous publications including Forbes, Google’s Think Insights, and The British Airways Business Life magazine.

MacDonald’s book “Powered By Change“ became a Sunday Times Bestseller and won the 2019 Business Book Awards. The book introduces ‘The Windmill Theory’, demonstrating how businesses can be designed for perpetual success. His latest book, The Rise Of Advanced Thought, also available on Spotify, is about how to train your thinking to achieve almost anything. To complement this volume of work, MacDonald founded The Academy of Advanced Thought, a training system for the brain that focuses on developing your thought muscle to enable it to be in the best condition it can be. The Academy is full of insightful content and a wide range of cutting-edge resources. Click here to look deeper.

To fuel his quest for new insights into the human mind, and to create the foundation for The Rise Of Advanced Thought, MacDonald recently received a diploma from the National Research University High School of Economics in Neuroeconomics, an emerging interdisciplinary field looking at how economic decision-making actually happens inside the brain and how it determines a course of action. In 2019, MacDonald took the bronze medal in the Sports Jiu-Jitsu World Championships, after winning the British Sports Jiu-Jitsu Heavyweight Championship in 2018. He has been a blackbelt martial artist for many years, specializing in full-contact kickboxing.