William Higham

William Higham established Next Big Thing in 2003, founding a strategic consultancy dedicated to advising global brands on navigating future business landscapes through strategic foresight and innovation. As CEO, Higham quickly positioned the firm as a leader in assisting companies to understand and adapt to emerging consumer, technology, social, and business trends, enabling proactive strategy development. His early work focused on guiding clients in identifying critical growth opportunities and building robust resilience within increasingly uncertain market environments, directly impacting their long-term viability and competitive edge. Further solidifying his expertise, Higham authored ‘The Next Big Thing: Spotting and forecasting consumer trends for profit,’ published in 2009.

His incisive analyses and perspectives have been featured across leading media platforms worldwide, including The Economist, Advertising Age, The Director, BBC, CNBC, Fortune, Fast Company, and Netflix’s ‘Future Of’ documentary series. He also serves as an external speaker for the prestigious Cambridge University Open Innovation Network, where he contributes to advanced executive education and shapes industry discourse on groundbreaking innovation practices. In 2017, Higham was appointed as a distinguished judge for the esteemed WARC Innovation Award, recognizing and celebrating groundbreaking advancements in marketing effectiveness and creativity on a global scale. Today, as a renowned futurist and consultant, William Higham continues to specialize in helping organizations anticipate the future needs and behaviors of their customers, clients, and employees, while developing innovative revenue models, products, and services that drive sustainable growth for leading corporations worldwide.