I had the pleasure and honor of doing an interview with Futurist Rohit Talwar recently, after his inspiring and dazzling presentation at the Travel Distribution Summit in London (eyefortravel TDS 2007 at the London Business Design Centre). In this special Talent Jungle People interview, Rohit tells us about his life, his approach to work and some trends related to hotels, travel, tourism and business in the Middle East, China, India and other emerging markets - JJ

Name: Rohit Talwar

Current Company and Title: CEO at Fast Future Ventures

[JJ] Please tell us a little bit about what you do?

[Rohit] I am a futurist. I spend my time travelling around the world looking at the people, ideas, developments and organisations that could shape the future. I research them, write about them and talk about them to audiences around the world. I have a particular interest in Global economies like China and India, global markets such as travel and tourism and global trends and issues such as climate change and the rise of online virtual worlds.

A lot of my time is also spent consulting with and advising the CEO’s of major corporations – helping them explore how best to face the future. Finally, part of my time is spent helping smaller, innovative start-ups and early stage companies around the world – helping them tap into new ideas and leveraging my global networks to help them grow their businesses.

[JJ] How did you get to where you are now...what academic and career choices did you make...and what were the defining milestones?

[Rohit] I studied electronics and computer science at University and did an MBA at London Business School. I have taken a wide range of short courses on a vast array of topics from personal development through to emerging technologies. A lot of my influences come from travel and the people I meet. This all helps me take a very broad perspective on my work. I have always been curious about what a fellow futurist Watts Wacker calls ‘what happens after what happens next’.

When I started in consultancy and worked on projects helping clients build ‘solutions’ for the future – I discovered that many had no real thoughts about the world they were moving it – hope was the main strategy. This was a defining moment for me as it forced me to start thinking about how one could help them develop a more robust sense of what was yet to come.

Big influence was attending the first Fast Company ‘Advance’ in Santa Fe in 1994 – I met a lot of fascinating people who had a massive impact on my thinking – the first Fast Company Real Time Event in Monterey was similar – I met a group of thinkers there who had the energy to make a real difference. I’ve stayed in contact with a group of them for 10 years and we try and meet up at least once a year. The most important defining moments have been the birth of my children – each one forces me to think about the world and where it’s heading to make sure I’m doing something to help make it a better place for them and leaving them a positive legacy not a series of problems.

Read the complete interview plus access presentations, reports & releases here:http://thetalentjungle.com/hotels-travel-tourism-future-vision-2020/

tags: business, economy, trends, future, 2020, futurist, rohit-talwar, middle-east, china, india, travel, tourism, hotels, tourism, emerging-markets, reports, talent-jungle, people, interview