Biography

George Friedman is a New York Times bestseller and geopolitical forecaster with more than two decades of experience in intelligence consulting and publishing. He is the founder and Chairman of Geopolitical Futures and is highly sought after at industry events as an expert strategist and speaker on international affairs. 

Geopolitical Futures, founded in 2015, is an online publication that focuses on analysing and forecasting global events as a guide to navigate the future. With George’s stellar reputation and expertise, the publication is used as a driving force to predict geopolitical events. Prior to Geopolitical Futures, George founded a private forecasting and intelligence publishing company called Stratfor. The company, based in Texas, USA, was founded in 1996, and he served as the CEO and Chief Intelligence Office until his resignation in 2015.

George is a well-established author who has published several books, including The Storm Before the Calm (2020), which outlines the challenges the United States will face in the 2020s in what would be described as a ‘crisis decade’. He correctly forecasted Russia’s re-emergence in Flashpoints (2015) and in his book The Next Decade (2011) he outlined the skills that future leaders would require and the United States need to create regional power balances. His most engaging and fascinating work is the 2009 acclaimed New York Times bestseller titled The Next 100 Years, where he outlines the political and economic crisis in the EU and China’s economic decline. One of his earliest publications was a book he co-authored titled The Coming War with Japan (1991), where he forewarned a potential conflict between Japan and the United States following the dismantling of the Soviet Union.

In a quest to share his knowledge and expertise, George has been featured in many publications and online media, including Bloomsberg, Daily Pioneer, Forbes, CNBC and Business Insider.

George obtained his PhD in government from Cornell University in 1970, and prior to that, he received his BA Honors in political science from The City College of New York.

Hungarian-born and immigrating to the United States as a child, George is an admired and well-respected speaker who is internationally recognised as a pioneer and is celebrated for his ability to analyse and portray the geopolitical landscape strategically.

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Videos

Is There a Global War Coming? | George Friedman at Brain Bar

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Geopolitical Trends Businesses Need To Watch.

The next 100 years will see political powers rise and fall, but the basic matrix remains the same. Russia and China will weaken, as Japan, Turkey, and Poland fix their internal issues and rise. The United States will maintain its position as the primary global force.

The current trend of population decline in the developed world will spread globally, leading to cheaper land as demand decreases. For the first time in centuries, labor will be the expensive commodity as capital seeks to augment the shrinking workforce. Global GDP may fall, but per capita GDP will rise. Subsequently, the main technological breakthroughs must be in medicine, making people more productive as their lives extend toward 100 years.

The ability to produce highly-educated workers from the lower levels of society will define the status of nations. Policies that support the efficient use of labor are the key. The surge of the educated and informed class will pose challenges to regimes. The regimes can suppress the challenge and weaken geopolitically; or, they can allow the regime to evolve and strengthen geopolitically. This is the key choice.

Booksby George Friedman

THE STORM BEFORE THE CALM: America’s Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond

The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century

Flashpoints: The Emerging Crisis in Europe Kindle Edition

The Next Decade: Where We've Been . . . and Where We're Going

America's Secret War: Inside the Hidden Worldwide Struggle Between the United States and Its Enemies

Blog Posts

Confidence Without Vulnerability Creates Teams That Never Improve

Can ego and vulnerability coexist in teams that actually win? Most leaders think they have to choose. Either you build confident people who believe they're excellent, or you create humble people who accept feedback. Either...

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Champion Mindset Starts Where Talent Ends and Work Begins

What if the champion mindset you're chasing has nothing to do with talent? You can hire the best sleep coach, the best nutritionist, and the best trainers. But what makes you want them in the...

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Inspiration Starts When You Start Nurturing Genuine Connections

What if the inspiration your team desperately needs isn't something you can give them? I've watched countless leaders invest in motivation programs, bring in outside experts, and launch initiative after initiative, trying to inspire their...

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Brand Leadership Secrets That Transform Culture and Drive Business Success

What if I told you that your brand isn't what you say it is—it's what your employees experience every single day? Most leaders treat brand as a marketing exercise, something that lives in decks and...

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AI Guardrails Guidance Leaders Actually Need Before Scaling Technology

Can you afford to trust what looks credible anymore? In early 2024, an employee at the Hong Kong office of engineering firm Arup joined what appeared to be a routine internal video call. Familiar faces...

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Storytelling Expert Bruce Turkel Reveals Why Your Events Fail to Connect

Why do some speakers make a room of 500 people feel like a one-on-one conversation? I've watched countless events where audiences sit politely through presentation after presentation, checking their phones and waiting for the break....

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