Frans Johansson is the author of The Medici Effect (HBS Press, 2004), an international bestseller that shattered assumptions about how great ideas happen and is now available in 20 languages, and The Click Moment (Penguin Portfolio, 2012), his acclaimed follow up on how to harness serendipity to stand apart.
In his books and in his presentations, Frans clearly shows how the best ideas and innovation come from collaboration between people with diverse experiences, skills, expertise, perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. Simply stated, Frans is known for making the business case for diversity. Beyond lip service, he packs his programs with plenty of examples and gives people what they need to know and what they need to do to break down silos and bring out the best that everyone has to give to any challenge or opportunity. Regardless of rank or where they reside on the org chart. Even if they aren’t on the org chart!
Frans has lived all his life at the intersection where ideas from different fields and cultures meet and collide. He was raised in Sweden by his African-American-Cherokee mother and Swedish father. Frans earned his BS in environmental science at Brown University and his MBA at Harvard Business School. He founded both a Boston-based software company and a medical device company operating out of Baltimore, Maryland and Stockholm, Sweden.
A dynamic and passionate leader and thinker, Frans has spoken extensively about “the Medici Effect” to companies, organizations and universities across the United States and the world. Organizations worldwide have engaged him to speak on issues of innovation and managing diversity before a wide range of audiences, from C-level executives to human resource practitioners to investment directors. These organizations include Volvo, Unilever, Kraft, PepsiCo, IBM, World Diversity Leadership Summit, Ernst & Young, General Motors, JP Morgan, Kodak, Mattel, SAAB, Sprint Nextel, Honeywell, Nike and the World Bank, among others.
He has written articles on healthcare, information technology and the science of sport fishing and has been featured on CNN’s AC360, ABC’s Early Morning Show, and CNBC’s The Business of Innovation series along with Jack Welch and Muhammad Yunus. Frans currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the New York Hall of Science.
Frans resides in New York City with his family.
