Gijs van Wulfen

Gijs van Wulfen is a bestselling innovation author, LinkedIn Thought Leader, and an inspiring speaker on entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation. His speaking style is informal, direct, and humorous. Recently recognized as the number one Global Thought Leader on Design Thinking by Thinkers360, he continues to influence the field profoundly.

He is very driven to jumpstart innovation in organizations because they are struggling with the creation of innovation in their hectic day-to-day business. He was educated as a business economist and has 25 years of experience as a fast-moving consumer goods marketer, as a boardroom consultant at Ernst & Young and Boer & Croon, and as an innovation expert.

He is the founder of the FORTH innovation methodology. FORTH is a customer-oriented and inspiring innovation expedition to create new mini business cases for innovative products, services, and business models. The FORTH innovation method connects the day-to-day business reality with outside-the-box creativity. An asset of the method is that it creates internal support for innovation. FORTH is an acronym and stands for Full steam ahead, Observe and Learn, Raise ideas, Test ideas, and Homecoming. The method is described in his latest innovation bestseller "The Innovation Expedition." Additionally, he has influenced audiences worldwide through keynotes such as "How to Create a Design Thinking Culture for Innovation" and "How to Find Your Way Through the Innovation Maze," which provide practical guidance and draw parallels between historical explorations and modern innovation challenges.

Gijs facilitates his innovation method worldwide and is used to working and speaking in an international setting. He has delivered transformative keynotes at significant events like The Pharma Summit in Berlin; the Conference of the International Society for Professional Innovation Management in Barcelona; Let’s Play Innovation in The Netherlands; Design Thinking Festival in Potsdam; Service Design Conference in Helsinki; European Conference on Creativity and Innovation in Portugal; and TEDxVitosha. His engaging storytelling, noted for its use of colorful metaphors and a balanced mix of anecdotes, personal insights, and humor, has earned him praise from professionals across diverse sectors.

In 2012, Gijs was invited by LinkedIn to join their first 150 LinkedIn Thought Leaders, establishing him further as a significant influencer in his field. In his speeches, Gijs loves to make difficult things easier. Through his informal personal style, infectious enthusiasm, and persuasiveness, he gets people moving beyond their borders. He is 53 years old, the father of two children, and lives in The Netherlands, Europe.