
Watch Andrew in Action

About Andrew Winston
Today’s leaders face climate volatility, AI acceleration, geopolitical upheaval and political backlash against ESG, all at once. Andrew Winston helps executives cut through that noise, see what is actually happening and turn disruptive forces into competitive advantage. Ranked number one on the 2025 Thinkers50 list of the world’s most influential management thinkers, he is one of the most trusted voices helping executives navigate a complicated world.
A former Boston Consulting Group strategy advisor, Winston is the author of the business classics Green to Gold and The Big Pivot and co-author of the bestseller Net Positive; his books on strategy have sold more than 300,000 copies in 15 languages, making him the bestselling author on sustainable business strategy over the last 20 years. His work with many of the world’s biggest brands, including Walmart, 3M, Bank of America, Unilever, Nike and PepsiCo, shows how leading companies cut costs, reduce risk, drive innovation and build their brands by tackling environmental and social challenges head-on.
Andrew's Keynote Topics
The world is grappling with massive environmental and social challenges—from climate change to inequality—and business is under growing pressure to act. At the same time, companies are navigating fierce political backlash, rapid technological shifts, and a volatile global landscape. Despite the noise, the case for bold climate and sustainability action has never been stronger.In this compelling and practical talk, globally recognized strategist and bestselling author Andrew Winston explores how companies can thrive in a fast-changing world. Drawing on 25 years at the intersection of business and society, Andrew delves into:
- The deep forces reshaping how business operates and creates value
- The exponential rise of transformative technologies creating new, multi-trillion dollar markets in energy and AI
- How middle and senior leaders can build net positive companies that profit by solving, not creating, global challenges
- The power of collaboration to drive collective impact and systems change
- The essential role of financial professionals in building long-term value through sustainability
Explore a vision of more innovative and resilient companies that build a better world. It will challenge and inspire people by asking a critical question: Is the world better off because my business is in it?
AI’s capabilities are advancing at warp speed. It can help solve the world’s biggest challenges…but comes with huge costs, to society and the planet. Explore the transformative potential and significant challenges of AI in four major areas:
- Staggering Sustainability Solutions: The vast power of AI can help the world and business optimize energy use, the grid, agriculture, logistics, and much more. It can also help improve well-being and quality of life through better healthcare, education, and public safety.
- Energy Explosion: The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that data center electricity needs will double in just two years, equaling Japan’s total consumption. What does that mean for the grid and climate change, and what are companies doing about it?
- Misinformation Menace: The risks of bias and intentional misinformation, especially in critical areas like elections, are growing. Can AI police itself?
- Jobs Jolt: McKinsey says AI can automate 30% of work hours by 2030. Elon Musk says AI will take “All the jobs”. Are they right? What do we do about it?
Winston’s talk navigates these complex issues, highlighting the need for a balanced approach to address AI’s inherent challenges while harnessing it to build a better world.
A “trillion” once seemed like an unimaginable figure. Now it’s the everyday scale of the most powerful trends reshaping our world and economy. Welcome to the era of Tera-trends, including:
- AI Acceleration: With the speed of trillions of computations per second and shocking new capabilities, AI isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a seismic force reshaping business and society.
- Climate and the Clean Economy: Climate change is both an existential threat and a powerful driver of multi-trillion-dollar markets in buildings, transportation, manufacturing, and more.
- ESG Expansion: The integration of sustainability into finance and business is changing the role of companies in society, and how they grow and profit.
- Gen Z Zeal: Younger generations are reshaping the workforce and markets with their growing economic power and preference for values and meaning in their jobs.
Go beyond just understanding these mega-trends to leverage them to boost your career, drive your company forward, and positively impact the world.
The days of companies focusing solely on short-term shareholder profits are behind us. Companies are under incredible pressure to play an active role in solving our most urgent challenges, such as climate change and inequality, and help build a thriving world. Why is this happening, and how are companies responding? Renowned strategist Andrew Winston helps companies understand this new world. Based on his best-selling book Net Positive, Winston’s inspiring talk will explore:
- The existential challenges and massive trends which are reshaping how we live, work, eat, travel, and much more.
- How and why key stakeholders – such as investors, customers, and employees – are applying immense pressure on business.
- How to build companies that thrive by solving the world’s problems, not creating them.
- What leadership looks like using concrete examples of companies around the world profiting from sustainability.
Winston’s message is clear: business has the tools and skills to help build a thriving world. This talk will leave listeners with a fresh understanding of business today, and inspired by the scale and urgency of our shared challenges and opportunities.
In an era of unprecedented challenges and uncertainty, leaders and organizations seem to lack the courage necessary to build a better world. Explore:
- Global Challenges: The unprecedented volatility in the world created by a combination of existential threats (climate change, biodiversity loss, and inequality), along with historic and dangerous shifts away from democracy and attacks on human rights.
- Understanding Courage: Insights from psychology and science on the nature of courage: Is it subjective or are there universal elements? Does courage depend on how worthy the cause is?
- Building Courage in Action: Companies doing the right thing and operating in line with their values; business and political leaders standing up for others, even at the risk of losing support; people standing up to protect the vulnerable; all of us showing the courage to live love and connection and prioritize meaning over money.
Join Andrew Winston as he delves into the science and necessity of courage, inspiring us all to embrace resilience and integrity in the face of intense challenges in our lives and for the world.
Books by Andrew Winston

Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take
Harvard Business Review Press, 2021
The Big Pivot: Radically Practical Strategies for a Hotter, Scarcer, and More Open World
Harvard Business Review Press, 2014
Green Recovery: Get Lean, Get Smart, and Emerge from the Downturn on Top
Harvard Business Review Press, 2009
Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
Wiley, 2009Articles by Andrew Winston
Andrew Winston's Substack
Andrew Winston9 Things I Believe About AI
August 2026Andrew WinstonThe Clean Economy is Winning. The Transition is a Mess.
June 2026Andrew WinstonMastering Your AI Footprint: The Second Chance We Shouldn't Waste
May 2026Yahoo Finance2025: The Year Sustainability Didn’t Die
December 2025MIT Sloan Management ReviewSurprise: Corporate Sustainability Isn’t Dead
October 2025MIT Sloan Management ReviewAdvancing Sustainability in a Climate of Silence
July 2025MIT Sloan Management ReviewThe Time for Leadership Courage Is Right Now
April 2025MIT Sloan Management ReviewWhat the Trump Administration Means for Sustainability Efforts
January 2025Harvard Business Review2024 Was a Bad Year for Sustainability
December 2024MIT Sloan Management ReviewSometimes Sustainability Costs More. So What?
November 2024Harvard Business ReviewStakeholder Capitalism Still Makes Business Sense
August 2024Andrew in the Media
Upholding Values | The Provocateurs: Preview of Episode 27 with Andrew Winston

The 2025 Top 50 Leadership and Management Experts

Achieving Net Positive Impact as a Business
Europe's Digital Dilemma: Can AI Ambitions Align With Green Goals?
Episode 20: Blowback: Exploring the ESG/DEI Backlash with Andrew Winston

Backpedaling On ESG Commitments Will Inevitably Backfire
Andrew Winston: AI and the Climate
Is the World Better Off Because Your Business is In It? | Andrew Winston & Margarita Albors | #TGIB
Net Positive: In Conversation with Andrew Winston
Navigating the Path to a Sustainable Future
Andrew Winston - Courage
Courage
Andrew inspired both our leadership team and external partners by not only further raising awareness for the pressing climate challenges, but most importantly by outlining a way forward with our shared vision of net positivity.
Christoph WegenerChief Markets Officer, SIG Group
Your content and message was spot-on and really helped get our team thinking more broadly, beyond their own world, and beyond this quarter.
Jeff FulghamSenior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, Solenis
Andrew Winston delivered an exceptional keynote speech at our company's inaugural Future Energy Day in Dubai. Andrew's thought-provoking message on the concept of Net Positive left the audience captivated and inspired.
Jeremy CraneCEO, Yellow Door Energy
Bring Andrew to your next event
Tell us about your event and we will be in touch right away.





