Leo Johnson

As a Visiting Business Fellow at Oxford University’s Smith School of Enterprise & Environment, Leo lectures on the most popular Masters program at Oxford University. He also presents several BBC World and Radio 4 series on megatrends and innovation, including Down to Business, World Challenge, FutureProofing, Hacking Happiness, and Hacking Capitalism.

He has also served as an adviser at PwC to the Global Centre for Transformative Leadership and as PwC’s Head of Disruption & Innovation. In his presentations, Leo explores the converging trends impacting today’s business leaders—from climate change to generative AI and geopolitical instability.

He examines how these factors interact, influence an organisation’s global standing, and forecasts radically divergent future scenarios. Leo outlines the strategies and innovation advantages
necessary for navigating business disruption, with a unique emphasis on transformational leadership during times of upheaval. Leo addresses the rigidity trap—a paradox where teams revert to business as usual when faced with significant threats. Instead, he focuses on unlocking leadership and transformation potential within teams to turn threats into opportunities.

At Oxford’s Smith School, Leo leads a research project on the Paradox of Intent, which aims to identify and remove the 12 leadership barriers to insight, intent, and execution that hinder
transformation. After studying at Oxford and INSEAD, Leo joined the World Bank as a Resource Economist before co-founding Sustainable Finance, a boutique advisory firm later acquired
by PwC Group.

He is the co-author of Turnaround Challenge: Business & the City of the Future and a regular contributor to the Financial Times. Leo also serves as a judge for the FT’s Boldness in Business Awards.