Leadership

Our executive team each has many years of practical business experience in providing highly-regarded custom studies and consulting services. Backed by an outstanding team of professional associates and support personnel, we provide exceptional assistance in meeting our customers' needs.

We also regularly give keynote and event presentations and provide opinions and research material to a wide range of major business, industry, and telecommunications publications.


Seminar Speaker Dr. John Vanston, President, TFI




JOHN H. VANSTON, Ph.D.

Chairman
Technology Futures, Inc.

Dr. John Vanston is an internationally-renowned consultant, educator, and award-winning author in the fields of technology forecasting, technology/market integration, trend analysis, and technology management in uncertain environments. His book MINITRENDS: How Entrepreneurs & Innovators Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends, is an Eric Hoffer Business Book Award Winner, a ForeWord Review’s Book of Year Finalist, and has received many excellent reviews and endorsements from prestigious publications and distinguished individuals.

He founded Technology Futures, Inc. (TFI) in 1978, and served as its president for 14 years, building the Austin, Texas-based company into a leader in the technology forecasting, trend analyses, planning, and management fields.

During his career, Dr. Vanston has managed multimillion-dollar high-tech R&D projects, fashioned a computer-based program for planning and managing complex research activities, and developed a formal system for promoting and targeting innovation activities. He is the primary architect of TFI's popular forecasting concepts Five Views of the Future and Technology Advantage Management.

Dr. Vanston has provided services for a wide range of commercial, government, and academic organizations, including, among many others, 3M, Chevron, Kodak, Hughes Space and Communications, the National Security Agency, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, and Rice University. He is a popular speaker on the subjects of forecasting, trend analysis, and minitrends.


Lawrence Vanston, Ph.D., President, Technology Futures, Inc.

LAWRENCE K. VANSTON, Ph.D.

President
Technology Futures, Inc.

Dr. Lawrence Vanston is an internationally recognized authority on technology forecasting for the communications industry. As president of Technology Futures, Inc., he has conducted and managed future-looking studies for the communications and other high-tech industries for over thirty years. His current research interests include broadband, wireless, video, and emerging technologies. An expert on the impact of technology change on equipment depreciation and valuation, Dr. Vanston has served as an expert witness in regulatory, tax, and other proceedings.

Dr. Vanston has been the director and principal author of numerous reports and papers commissioned by government agencies, industry organizations, and individual companies, including all of the major U.S. broadband and wireless providers. The Communications Technology Forecasting Group (CTFG), currently comprised of AT&T, Charter, Comcast, and Cox, has been actively supporting TFI research since 1985. Dr. Vanston is Editor of the CTFG blog and resource website.

Dr. Vanston is a popular speaker on the future of communications and on forecasting methods. Programs he has spoken at include the Broadband Tax Institute Conference, the International Institute of Forecasters International Symposium, the Society of Depreciation Professionals Conference, and the Wichita Program for Appraisal for Ad Valorem Taxation. Dr. Vanston also directs the annual TFI Technology Conference which he launched in 2006.

Before joining Technology Futures in 1984, Dr. Vanston was with Bell Labs and Bellcore in network planning where he proposed and evaluated potential new long distance, billing, access, and data services. His academic achievements include a B.A. in government (1975) and an M.S. (1977) and Ph.D. (1979) in operations research and industrial engineering, all from the University of Texas at Austin.

Carrie Vanston, Collaborator, Minitrends

CARRIE VANSTON

The Alligator Wrangler carrievanston.com
Board Member: Technology Futures, Inc.

Carrie Vanston helps CEOs and other business professionals out of the proverbial “alligator pit” of too many demands and frustrations by increasing their leadership and energy levels so they can reach their goals quicker and with less stress. Her popular “Energizing Your Leadership Programs” help people move on from the “pit” with energized thinking, "win-win" interactions, and leading with your “whys” to increase engagement, productivity, and growth.

Carrie’s award-winning book MiniTrends: How Innovators & Entrepreneurs Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends, co-authored with Dr. John Vanston, focuses on the importance of a growth-oriented mindset for an organization to be innovative, successful, and sustainable. Carrie also directed the MiniTrends Project and the popular MiniTrends Conference Series for Technology Futures Inc. (TFI).

More recently, Carrie led Corporate Cultures That Rock (CCTR) where she helped business leaders build engaged, innovative, and transformational organizations. Her article "Five Keys to an Engaged and Innovative Culture" was one of the top 5 most read articles of the year in Texas CEO Magazine. Her "Crucial Keys to a Thriving Business Culture" was included Austin's National Speakers Association anthology.

Carrie enjoys speaking on being a more self-aware, connected, and visionary leader. She has presented at The World Futures Society, IEEE, University of Texas SAGE Program, World Affairs Council, Six Square, Business Success Center, RISE, HIREDTexas, West Point Society, Morgan Stanley, Laurea University, Finland, BiGAUSTIN, Launch Pad, Product Camp, Texas Women's Chamber, and several others.

Carrie is an iPEC Certified Professional Executive Coach and Energy Leadership Master Practitioner, and a Khorus CEO Performance Software Certified Consultant.

Previously Carrie was VP of Communications at Technology Futures, Inc. She directed TFI’s popular MiniTrends Conference Series for three years with themes including “The Integration of Profit & Social Responsibility,” “Insight, Innovation & Strategy,” and “Translating Emerging Trends into Business Opportunities.”  TFI supports Carrie as The Alligator Wrangler and she continues her involvement with TFI as a board member and with ongoing corporate activities.