Paul Higgins has worked in a strategic foresight consulting capacity for 20 years, after forming Emergent Futures with two other graduates of Swinburne University’s Strategic Foresight Masters Program. Prior to that Paul had extensive experience in business, politics and agribusiness consulting after first working as a production animal veterinarian. Paul works with a range of clients across the not for profit, commercial and government sectors ranging from listed public companies to small community organisations.

Paul’s expertise is in working with organisations to help them create better strategy in the face of multiple possible futures. His approach is to equip organisations with this capacity, rather than simply advising them. This includes exploring multiple futures and accepting the irreducible uncertainty that is part of the decision-making process. He guides individuals and teams to build sets of signposts of change, allowing the organisation to identify which possible futures are becoming more likely. This allows organisations to answer three core questions:

1. If this future came true what would we do?
2. If this future came true when would we start investing resources (well ahead of time, fast follower strategy, etc)
3. If this future came true how would we know when when is?

Paul’s work as a generalist futurist helps organisations to identify their blind spots, by utilising foresight approaches and bringing in perspectives from a wide range of sectors and industries.

Paul has served on a number of not for profit and commercial boards, including an unlisted public company with an annual turnover of $100 million. Paul also negotiated the formation of an industry/government owned company in the animal health sector which was charged with preparing for and dealing with exotic disease emergencies. The intersection between this experience and his foresight expertise has been invaluable to clients during the COVID Pandemic. Paul is a graduate of the Williamson Leadership Program, a Venture Philanthropy Partner and Board Chair of Social Venture Partners Melbourne, an associate of Melbourne University Business School, and a special advisor on strategy and foresight to Save the Children Australia. Paul also has significant operational experience having built farm businesses and held CEO positions in two organisations with over 30 and 120 employees respectively.