
What Next?
"What Next?" explores the evolving landscape of business, leadership, advertising, and the future of work. Hosted by Rishad Tobaccowala, the podcast dives into how globalization, technology, and demographic shifts reshape how we create, consume, and communicate. Rishad Tobaccowala engages with CEOs, creative leaders, and visionaries to discuss innovative strategies, technology’s impact on media, and leadership challenges in the future of work. Hear unique insights from academics, futurists, and media innovators on navigating today’s business world.
Latest episodes

Nov 25, 2023 • 42min
Ethics and the Key to Being Cool in Business
Linda Thomas Brooks and Wallace Snyder, founders of the Institute for Advertising Ethics on the future of trust in business. Linda, who is also chief executive officer at PRSA and former president and CEO of the Association of Magazine Media and Wallace, former president and CEO of the American Advertising Federation, argue that the rise of AI will elevate the role that ethics plays in keeping companies relevant. As Millenials and Gen Z look at who is doing the right thing, how to build ethics into the heart of business will become key to attracting and retaining talent. Further reading: Institute for Advertising Ethics: https://www.iaethics.org/

Nov 10, 2023 • 39min
AI and the Future of the Author: how human intelligence meets artificial intelligence in the world of writing
Josh Bernoff, former senior leader at Forrester, best-selling author of 'Groundswell' with Charlene Li, and ‘Build a Better Business Book’ on the relationship between ChatGPT and the book writer. The author of eight business books - he also calls himself a ‘midwife’ of 50 titles on some of the most powerful ideas in the genre – argues that books will continue to matter even if the way they may be created and distributed might change. And while AI may replace hack writers, it will never replace human intelligence, the wit and character of great writing. His mantra is ‘Be paranoid early’ as AI continues to evolve in the creative world, and as long as we change and adapt, AI plus HI can provide a brilliant future for writers Josh Bernoff website: https://bernoff.com Josh Bernoff books: https://bernoff.com/books How authors use AI: https://bernoff.com/blog/how-successful-business-authors-work-better-with-ai Cory Doctorow article about enshittification: https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys Article about fake travel books: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/travel/amazon-guidebooks-artificial-intelligence.html Atlantic article about the AI corpus of pirated books called "Books3": https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/09/books3-ai-training-meta-copyright-infringement-lawsuit/675411/

Oct 28, 2023 • 34min
Culture makes Meaning: Why understanding and aligning with communities are critical today.
Marcus Collins, award-winning marketeer and cultural translator, author of the best-selling book ‘For the Culture: the Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do and Who We Want to Be’ and digital strategist for Beyonce on the value in belonging. The former Chief Strategy Officer at Weiden and Kennedy and recipient of Advertising Age's 40 under 40 award who was inducted into the American advertising Federation Advertising Hall of Achievement tells us how the work of philosopher, Emile Durkheim and Beyonce, queen of the Beyhive, have taught him to ditch the trendspotting and tap into the power of organic communities. Further reading: My site: www.marctothec.com/fortheculture LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marctothec/Book: For The Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want To Be

Oct 14, 2023 • 41min
Meaning over Math! How connection, empathy and authenticity are the keys to growth
Emmanuel Probst, global brand thought leader at Ipsos, adjunct professor at UCLA, Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of Brand Hacks on the art and science of brand transformation. His fascination in the quest for meaning is explored further in his latest book, Assemblage which is about how to build brands that transform people and the world they live in. Emmanuel tells us about the power of brands to influence the future as consumer preference for authenticity, meaning and storytelling exposes performance marketing as tactical and a waste of money. Further reading:The Art and Science of Brand Transformation book here: https://rb.gy/qmq41 Emmanuel Probst on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmanuelprobst/

Oct 7, 2023 • 38min
AI meets Ayurveda: the future of food will combine tech and tradition
Sakshi Chhabra Mittal, the founder and CEO of Foodhak on a revolutionary new food subscription delivery and app startup which significantly enhances peoples health and wellness by combining modern technology and traditional ways. A former venture capitalist at Softbank and biotech head at Pfizer, Sakshi tells us how to combine ‘delicious’ and ‘good’ in food to offset what she calls The Four Horsemen - Cancer, Diabetes, Dementia and cardiovascular disease, and lead a revolution in healthy food. Further reading:https://www.linkedin.com/in/chhabrasakshi/?originalSubdomain=ukhttps://foodhak.com/

Sep 30, 2023 • 39min
Humanity in the Tech Stack: how the human operating system is the key to growth in an AI world
Dr Eric Solomon, founder and CEO of The Human OS, discusses the importance of human skills in the AI revolution and explores the concept of the human operating system. He emphasizes the unique abilities of humans in sense-making, discernment, and adaptability and explores the future of technology and the shift towards quality over quantity. The podcast highlights the need to prioritize the human element in a tech-driven world and navigate change effectively.

Aug 5, 2023 • 32min
Innovation and the absurdity of life: how staying curious is the key to great marketing
Allen Adamson, co-founder of Metaforce, author and adjunct professor at the New York Stern School of Business on how to innovate experiences beyond the consumer perspective and the importance of curiosity in the age of the marketeers. As someone who comes with a rich background in both agency and business, he explains why observation of the absurdities of life are the key to communicating great ideas, and why Jerry Seinfeld if hadn’t made his name in comedy, would have been a great marketing man. Further Reading:www.metaforce.comhttps://allenadamson.com/seeing-the-how-book/

Jul 22, 2023 • 42min
Conscious Capitalism, learning and growth: how business needs to listen, reflect and repeat
Dev Patnaik, keynote speaker, CEO of Jump Associates, board member of Conscious Capitalism and author of Wired to Care on how empathy will drive business, why learning and growing are essential for its future, and how the next 10 years will determine the happiness of the human condition for the next 1000 years. A trusted advisor to some of the most influential companies in the world, he explains how to learn is ‘to listen and repeat’, while to grow is ‘to do and reflect,’ creating purpose in the boardroom, which is the essence of conscious capitalism. Further Reading Links:Dev in Forbes, link to page: https://www.forbes.com/sites/devpatnaik/?sh=55aa1ac122f3Dev in MarketWatch: Tech companies are suddenly playing it safe---why that’s a blunder. Dev in Chief Executive: The Disney Effect: How CEOs Can Fortify Against the Panic Button EraDev in Ad Age: Superfans and Microtribes: How brands can harness passionate consumers to drive growth.Dev in Fast Company: Widespread Empathy: Rewiring Your Corporation for IntuitionLink to Dev’s book on Amazon: Wired to Care

Jul 1, 2023 • 40min
The camera always lies?
Dr Mansoor Ahmed-Rengers is the founder of Frankli and OpenOrigins and a researcher at the University of Cambridge. In this episode he discusses how to combat media manipulation tools such as deepfakes and generative AI. Mansoor predicts that once the hype dies, AI-generated content will be seen as cheap and derivative and that prestige brands will want to distinguish themselves by showcasing human-made content. Brands that completely divest from old school, non-AI ways of creating content will realise it was a massive mistake in a matter of 3-5 years. Further Reading:frankliapp.comwww.openorigins.com

Jun 26, 2023 • 30min
Gen Z, declining fertility and the future of work: how the next generation is forcing a mind shift
Heather McGowan, keynote speaker, author and champion of humans in the Future of the Work on how business leaders must prepare for a post-pandemic world. One of Forbes’ top 50 Female Futurists, she preaches the importance of life/work integration to reset the way we think as Gen Z begins to replace Boomers in the workplace. Heather emphasizes that it is not "where we work" that matters but how "work fits into people’s lives" today. Further Reading: https://heathermcgowan.com/abouthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/heathermcgowan/