Otto Scharmer

Otto Scharmer, Senior Lecturer at MIT Management Sloan School and the founder of Presencing Institute, introduced the concept of “presencing”—learning from the emerging future—in his bestselling books Theory U and Presence. He is co-author of Leading from the Emerging Future, which outlines eight acupuncture points for transforming capitalism. His new book, The Essentials of Theory U outlines an updated summary of core principles and applications for leading profound systems change. He co-founded the MITx u.lab, a massive open online course for leading profound change, which has since activated a global eco-system of societal and personal renewal involving more than 140,000 users from 185 countries. In 2019, he co-founded the Societal Transformation Lab helping place-based teams to reinvent education, governance, and our economies worldwide. He received the Jamieson Prize for Teaching Excellence at MIT and the European Leonardo Corporate Learning Award. The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General appointed him to the UN Learning Advisory Council for the 2030 Agenda.