Gerald Ashley is a sought-after speaker, advisor, broadcaster and writer on change, risk and decision making. Covering risk analysis, strategy, behavioural economics and change management, he speaks on topics that affect any business at any level.
Gerald worked in international finance in London, Hong Kong and Switzerland.
He has since published The Tangled World and Two Speed World, exploring the impact of both explosive and gradual change.
In presentations he shows how we misunderstand risks and have too narrow a view of models and decision making. With no perfect solutions and many ‘known unknowns’, we are often influenced by context and instinctive biases rather than rational analysis
Gerald seeks to challenge the classical economic models which attempt to predict behaviour with linear, rational processes. Gerald states that people simply don’t work like that, whether it’s consumers deciding on what product to buy, or business leaders choosing corporate strategy or investment.
With examples ranging from forest fires to Hollywood actresses, he takes an entertaining, insightful look at where many conventional, accepted ways of viewing problems, making decisions and assessing risk are flawed.
By highlighting that there are sometimes no perfect solutions, many ‘known unknowns’, and that we are influenced by context rather than facts and instinctive biases rather than rational analysis, he leads audiences to new ways of thinking.
He is a Visiting Fellow at Newcastle Business School and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.