Our Team
Scott Smith — Managing Partner
Scott founded Changeist in 2007 and has spent two decades designing strategic foresight strategies, research and tools for organizations navigating uncertainty. He has led engagements for global institutions including SWIFT, UNICEF, UNDP, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, The Royal Society, Nesta, and the Dubai Future Foundation, as well as major brands including BBC, The New York Times Company, Samsung, AXA, and Comcast.
His work spans futures research and intelligence systems, scenario architecture, strategic simulations, and organizational capacity building across finance, technology, media, retail, telecommunications, and humanitarian sectors. He has designed and delivered projects and workshops in over a dozen countries and multiple languages.
Scott created and led the Strategic Foresight program for Dubai Future Academy and designed and lectured in the Innovation & Future Thinking program at IED Barcelona. He has also taught at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development in Dubai and serves as a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of South Australia.
He has written for The Atlantic, Quartz, WIRED UK, and How We Get to Next, and spoken at major international conferences including SxSW, The Next Web, Oxford Futures Forum, Sibos, and FutureFest. His work has been featured in cultural exhibitions including BIG BANG DATA (2014) and the Vienna Biennale (2017). He has provided research, scriptwriting, and on-screen talent for explorations of trends and futures, and consulted on narrative experiences for major museums and international attractions. He led the Future of Arts and Culture project, supported by Arup and Therme Group.
Scott is author of How to Future: Leading and Sense-making in an Age of Hyperchange (Kogan Page, 2020) and co-author of Future Cultures: How to Build a Future-Ready Organization Through Leadership (2023).
Based in Barcelona, he works with organizations worldwide on strategic preparedness for emerging risks and opportunities.
Susan Cox-Smith — Partner
Susan is a co-founder and partner at Changeist, leading the firm's capacity building, experiential design, and public engagement work. Drawing on two decades of experience as a writer, designer, creative director, and researcher, she develops workshops, simulations, and programs that build futures literacy across organizations and audiences.
She has designed and delivered foresight programs for Microsoft, Netflix, Wells Fargo, NASA JPL, AXA, BBC R&D, Comcast, Nesta, UNDP, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Her work spans scenario development for mobility, health and wellness, arts and culture, and crisis response, as well as trend research for technology, pharmaceutical, and lifestyle brands.
In 2021, she led design and delivery of a global online platform exploring feminist futures post-COVID for the International Women's Development Agency, engaging over 200 practitioners and policymakers worldwide. She oversees Changeist's capacity building workshops and instructional materials development, and co-leads the firm's strategic simulations practice.
Susan has delivered workshops at A/D/O, Sibos, ThingsCon, and UXLondon, and provided research, story consulting, and scriptwriting for international exhibitions and immersive experiences. She has written for How We Get to Next, The Next Web, and several Medium publications.
She is contributing editor of How to Future: Leading and Sense-making in an Age of Hyperchange (Kogan Page, 2020) and co-author of Future Cultures: How to Build a Future-Ready Organization Through Leadership (2023).
Susan holds degrees from Miami Ad School at Portfolio Center and a post-graduate certification in art history and appraisal studies from New York University. She has worked in digital curriculum development and served as consultant and mentor with the University of Leiden's online learning lab. She is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of South Australia.
Based in Barcelona, she works globally with organizations building anticipatory capacity.