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The Future of Superyacht Design | Superyacht News, London | Matthew Griffin | Futurist Keynote Speaker
New technologies are disrupting every sector, and the superyacht industry is no exception, but today's disruptions give the incumbents a new opportunity to demonstrate thought leadership and change the industry's narrative.
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Griffin, M. (2019) 'The Future of Superyacht Design | Superyacht News, London | Matthew Griffin | Futurist Keynote Speaker', 311 Institute, 17 October. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/futurist-keynote-london-future-of-superyacht-design-superyacht-news/ (Accessed: 8 October 2026).
Firstly, it was a pleasure and an honour to be invited, for the second year in a row now, to be the keynote speaker at this year’s SuperYachtNews Future of Superyacht Design summit held at the beautiful Chelsea Harbour in London where brokers, operators and owners mingled with one another to discuss the latest innovations in superyacht design and sustainability. And, as you can see from the photos and post event article, we had plenty to discuss.
Like any industry the superyacht industry isn’t immune from change or disruption, and just like every other sector it too can significantly benefit from the multitude of technology breakthroughs that are taking place all around them. As a result, and with both eyes firmly focused on sustainability, I walked the audience through the multitude of innovations that will transform the sector from top to bottom, and have significant implications for the superyachts entire lifecycle.
Whether it’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) based Creative Machines designing superyachts by themselves, or hand in hand with human designers, the emergence of new materials that allow us to customise the interior and exterior of superyachts in new ways and 3D print hulls and superstructures on demand, or the emergence of zero emission superyachts.
During the presentation I also discussed the future of entertainment, and a world that could be dominated by holodecks, and not just quirky virtual reality worlds that you can navigate using just your mind, as well as how researchers are breaking down barriers to create the blackest games rooms using nanotech, and new types of flexible and transparent displays whose content can be streamed directly to the brains of the people watching it – or vice versa – personalised sound, smart avatars and assistants, with the emphasis on smart, and much more. And if there’s only one thing we know for sure it’s that everything is changing, and many of those changes are going to make many of the so called toys that the super rich buy today look lame by comparison.
And here is my follow up article for the event:
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Why does this matter?
New technologies are disrupting every sector, and the superyacht industry is no exception, but today's disruptions give the incumbents a new opportunity to demonstrate thought leadership and change the industry's narrative.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 17 October 2019. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2019). The Future of Superyacht Design | Superyacht News, London | Matthew Griffin | Futurist Keynote Speaker. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/futurist-keynote-london-future-of-superyacht-design-superyacht-news/
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