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Dwayne Matthews

Future Strategist | Innovation Evangelist

Dwayne Matthews Headshot June 2023
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IOB: How AI will affect jobs and creativity
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IOB: What the education sector can teach us about disruption
Dwayne
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Dwayne Matthews Headshot June 2023
Speaker Reel
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IOB: How AI will affect jobs and creativity
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IOB: What the education sector can teach us about disruption

The AI revolution is a human revolution in disguise and Dwayne Matthews is leading the charge, helping audiences bridge the gap between technological advancement and human potential. A future strategist with 20 years of experience working at the intersection of education, innovation, AI, neuroscience, and human performance, his simple but powerful Human OS framework helps audiences gain the clarity, tools, and mindset needed to live and lead with confidence in an AI-accelerated world.

A certified educator, Matthews has spent decades studying how people learn and perform. His expertise is sought by influential leaders and organizations worldwide. He has advised Fortune 500 leaders at Barrick Gold, Suncor, P&G, and DuPont; sat at round tables with heads of state to discuss the future of work and the role of digital literacy and education as a component of national security; addressed the United Nations; and, as an XPRIZE Education Domain Brain Trust Advisor, helped shape multi-million-dollar global competitions for benefactors like Sir Richard Branson.

Matthews unique perspective is built on a rich and varied career. As President of NeuroEdX, he led a company that used a powerful neurotechnology and AI platform to train elite performers, including US Air Force Pilots and Navy Seals. He also served as Senior Education Lead for the former Faubert Applied Research Centre and as the Executive Director of an intelligence firm focused on open innovation and disruptive technologies.

The author of three books, Matthews most recent book, HumanOS: The Critical Update, is a practical operating manual for high performers looking to upgrade how they think, lead, and operate in a rapidly changing world dominated by AI. His thought leadership has seen him regularly appear on national Canadian television, including CTV’s Your Morning.

What sets Matthews apart is his focus. While the world talks about what AI can do, Dwayne focuses on the people using it: leaders, their teams, and the individuals navigating it every day. He helps them stop living by default and start living by design, providing them the necessary context to stay clear, focused, and human in the age of AI.

Speaking topics

Presentations listed below include in-person and virtual keynotes, as well as workshops, fireside chats, and other presentation formats.

  • Human OS: The Critical Upgrade in the Age of AI

    The world is moving at AI speed, but most leaders are still running on an outdated operating system — default habits and reactive patterns built for a linear world instead of the exponential one we now work and live in. The result? Smart, capable people who know better but aren’t yet doing better.

    The problem isn’t skill or effort. It’s that the rules people built their careers on were designed for a different world. AI isn’t just another tool — it is changing every system we depend on. We now have more access, more information, and more tools than any generation before but without a plan for how to use it effectively, that power turns into noise, worry, and drift.

    Human OS is Dwayne Matthews’ answer to that gap. Built on three forces that govern how people change — Will, Imagination, and Habit — it is a simple but powerful daily practice that keeps leaders clear, directed, and grounded when everything around them is moving fast. Will trains you to lead from intention instead of reaction, imagination builds the internal picture that pulls you forward, and habit creates the infrastructure that makes change stick. When all three align, transformation becomes predictable rather than exceptional.

    This keynote is a cognitive reframing that equips leaders with the tools to navigate uncertainty and build resilience within themselves and across their organizations — an operating manual audiences can put to work the very next morning.

    Key takeaways include:

    • A nine-question daily framework built around Will, Imagination, and Habit to lead from intention rather than reaction.
    • A step-by-step system for moving from default habits and reactive patterns into deliberate, focused action.
    • A three-to-five minute morning practice that builds clarity and resilience — in themselves and across their teams.
    • The cognitive reframing to stay grounded and human while operating at AI speed.

  • Unlocking Stranded Brilliance and the Future of Education in an AI-Enabled World

    In this keynote, Dwayne Matthews highlights how technology and education have been crucial in unlocking “stranded brilliance” and driving societal progress. Reflecting on past global successes, he will show how education has sparked innovation and dramatic societal changes, while outlining the immense potential to unlock even more stranded brilliance as we head into a future shaped by exponential technologies and AI.

    Matthews offers strategic insights and actionable steps for educators and leaders to harness AI tools to ensure education continues to maximize human potential in our rapidly evolving world.

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Related Content

More great information and resources.

Books

  • Human OS: The Critical Update
    Human OS: The Critical Update

    Human OS: The Critical Update is a comprehensive guide designed to help individuals navigate a...

    → Read More
  • Principles to Protocols by Dwayne Matthews
    Principles to Protocols: Letters to My Son

    Principles To Protocols: Letters to My Son began as a private journal from a father to his son....

    → Read More
  • Chat(GPT): Navigating the Impact of Generative AI Technologies on Educational Theory and Practice
    Chat(GPT): Navigating the Impact of Generative AI Technologies on Educational Theory and Practice

    Teachers worldwide are intrigued by generative AI (GAI) tools, like ChatGPT, but worry about...

    → Read More

Articles

Client reviews

  • The Globe and Mail

    Dwayne has an innate ability to connect with an audience by delivering a message that is both informative and entertaining. His charisma is compelling and energy infectious.

  • Center for Research and Innovation Northeastern University

    Dwayne Matthews is a true renaissance thinker, able to pick up quickly on various opportunities that, only when knit together, realize their true value.

  • Sherritt International Corporation

    Dwayne Matthews is one of the most creative, exciting, intelligent, and driven people I am associated with.

  • Top Class Edge Learning

    What an insightful talk and discussion! I loved hearing your take on expertise/agility. The future of education sure looks exciting!

  • Council of Ontario Directors of Education

    Dwayne’s presentation was a huge success! I heard from many of our participants that they will want to engage him in the work of their districts. He was engaging with high energy while delivering a message that was extremely relevant to the work of directors. I truly enjoyed working with him throughout the day and was honoured that he remained to have dinner with conference participants. I would highly recommend him to others.

  • Sun West Teachers' Association

    Dwayne Matthews gave an outstanding keynote and graciously followed up with a Q&A session, and all-day one on one conversations to whoever wished to speak with him, at our annual teachers’ convention. We appreciated Dwayne meeting with a panel from our committee one month prior to the event. This was unique to our past keynote experiences and made for a custom and personalized keynote address. He met and exceeded our vision, and therefore, Dwayne had a connection, an understanding of who we are, and what Sun West teachers are experiencing.

    Dwayne’s keynote was profoundly powerful, professional, very entertaining, funny, inspiring, crisp, super-organized, rehearsed, reassuring, and thought-provoking both on a professional and personal level. He was on-his-game the entire day, without a hitch. He was a joy and inspiration to listen to on our PD day, when teaching days are demanding and intense.

    Dwayne’s dynamic slides, his passionate engagement with us as educators, family members, and technology-users along with his steady and relatable humour kept everyone engaged and interested. Dwayne continuously moved through and around the crowd of 400, holding our interest, without ever putting anyone on the spot. It felt like we were in his living room; Dwayne was just that comfortable to be around. I’ve never witnessed such an excellent public speaker.

    Weaved through this outstanding presentation were his deep insights, reassurances for how the future of tech is actually a collaborative revolution, he offered suggestions and insights for the scary how’s and why’s of tech. Dwayne discussed helpful tools regarding the overwhelming world we live in, the future of technology, and education. Generous and passionate in nature, he offered post-conference materials and tools, customized for our educators at Sun West, to extend the experience. Many educators reported Dwayne’s keynote to be the best they’ve experienced in a long time.

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