Vijay Vaitheeswaran is an outstanding thinker, writer and speaker on innovation and stands at the very forefront of thinking and debate about the technological innovations that will enable us to tackle the world's 21st century challenges.

An award-winning correspondent for The Economist, who has recently become the US Business Editor based in New York and was until 2017 the China Business & Finance Editor, his editorial responsibilities over the years have ranged from business to finance, to science, technology and innovation. He previously covered global health and biotechnology, innovation, automotive, energy and the environment.

Vijay's latest book, Need, Speed, and Greed: How the New Rules of Innovation Can Transform Businesses, Propel Nations to Greatness, and Tame the World's Most Wicked Problems was launched in March 2012 and is a guide to the new world of innovation. Drawing on the best academic and field work in this emerging area, it inspires and empowers readers to improve their lives, their work, and perhaps even the world.  Vijay’s previous book, ZOOM: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future”, co-authored Iain Carson, was named Book of the Year by the Financial Times. He is also the author of Power to the People, described by Harvard professor and Nobel-winner John Holdren, as being “by far the most helpful, entertaining, up-to-date and accessible treatment of the energy-economy-environment problematique available.”

Vijay has been a keynote speaker and panel chairman at events organised by PopTech, Digital Life Design (DLD), the Clinton Global Initiative, Google, BP, the World Wildlife Fund and many other groups. He has delivered lectures at distinguished universities including Yale, Oxford and Stanford. He has chaired a number of Economist Conferences roundtables and participated in a number of topical debates hosted by The Economist and economist.com.

Speaking topics:

• Innovation: Within The Economist, Vijay has chaired an initiative called “The Ideas Economy” conference. With the theme of “Stimulating Economic Growth”, this explores the role of governments, corporations and individuals as drivers of innovation. It seeks prescriptions that will lead to lasting progress and prosperity and engages in a lively debate about current political and economic policies around the world. It examines how the forces of globalisation affect the ways companies innovate and manage innovation, what individuals can do to energise their own creative and intellectual potential, and to also create jobs, improve company earnings and contribute to economic growth around the world.
• Need, Speed and Greed: Vijay examines the interconnected innovation mega-trends that are reshaping the world economy. He shows us why innovation is the only competitive advantage in the 21st Century but why it is the only engine driving commerce. As new technologies emerge -- and as the speed at which they are developed and adopted reduces -- the economy reconfigures and moves forward. His talk weaves together the worlds of technology, energy, sustainability and the economy.
• The Upcoming Energy Economy: will usher in seismic changes that affect practically every industry. What can businesses, distributors, consumers, government regulators, automakers and Big Oil expect? And how can they prepare, adapt and capitalise? Oil remains the dominant energy source, but what, if anything, will be next? A formidable expert on energy, Vijay ties together mega-trend thinking and industry specifics, giving us a quick recap of how we got here and where we stand now, as well as an articulate discussion of where we're headed. Vijay offers a practical, considered talk which expands our understanding of what it means to be an energy producer and consumer in the energy economy to come