Futures Company executive chairman gives fall commencement address

J. Walker Smith, described by Fortune magazine as “one of America’s leading analysts on consumer trends,” gave the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media’s fall commencement address on Dec. 18, at 10 a.m. in the Carroll Hall auditorium.

His speech was titled "Stand Up, Be Counted, Catch Fire" and can be viewed here.

Smith, a doctoral graduate of the school, is the executive chairman of The Futures Company, one of the leading global foresights and futures research consultancies. Prior, he spent 17 years at Yankelovich, a market research company known for the Yankelovich MONITOR, a study of consumer values, motivations and attitudes conducted annually since 1971. In 2008, Yankelovich merged with Henley Centre HeadlightVision to become The Futures Company.

He is co-author of four books – “Rocking the Ages,” “Life Is Not Work, Work Is Not Life,” “Coming to Concurrence” and “Generation Ageless” – and writes a column on marketing strategy for Marketing Management magazine. Smith also blogs for Branding Strategy Insider and periodically writes about baby boomers for The Huffington Post. For almost 10 years, he was a radio commentator on “City Views,” a public radio show about cities and community life.

Smith, a member of the school’s Board of Advisers, also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UNC. He lives in Atlanta.