Hans Diels
Hans Diels is a future thinker and geopolitics expert at ETION who helps organisations understand how technological, societal and geopolitical trends affect business strategy and risk.
- Future thinker and geopolitics expert at ETION (Belgium).
- Delivers keynotes and workshops for business audiences on megatrends, scenario thinking and geopolitical risk.
- Author of Het onzekerheidsvoordeel: Strategie tussen feiten en verbeelding.
- Author of Markt onder vuur: Hoe politieke conflicten de economie verstoren (en wat we eraan kunnen doen).
- Experience connected to EU trade policy, including the EU Council’s Trade Policy Committee.
- Former researcher and lecturer in political science at the University of Antwerp.
Full Profile
Key speaking topics
- Geopolitical risk and business strategy
- Megatrends and global disruption
- Scenario thinking and strategic foresight
- Trend analysis for organisations
- Political conflict and economic impact
- Technological and societal change
Ideal for
- Boards and executive leadership teams
- Strategy and risk leaders
- Corporate planners and transformation teams
- Business audiences operating in international markets
Audience outcomes
- Clearer understanding of how geopolitical developments affect business environments
- Structured approaches to scenario thinking and strategic foresight
- Insight into the economic impact of political conflict
- Broader perspective on long-term technological and societal trends
Why organisations work with Hans Diels
- Connects geopolitical and macro trends directly to business decision-making.
- Brings experience spanning EU policy, diplomacy and academic research.
- Provides structured frameworks for thinking about uncertainty and disruption.
- Grounds strategic discussion in published research and practical analysis.
Biography
Hans Diels advises organisations on the strategic implications of geopolitical instability, macro trends and systemic disruption. As a future thinker and geopolitics expert at ETION, he works with business audiences to translate complex political, economic and technological shifts into clear strategic insight.
His expertise spans megatrends, scenario thinking and geopolitical risk. Through keynotes and workshops, he equips leadership teams with structured approaches to navigating uncertainty, understanding global volatility and assessing the economic consequences of political conflict.
Hans is the author of Het onzekerheidsvoordeel: Strategie tussen feiten en verbeelding and Markt onder vuur: Hoe politieke conflicten de economie verstoren (en wat we eraan kunnen doen). His published work examines how organisations can think more rigorously about uncertainty and how political developments reshape markets and economic systems.
His professional background combines policy, diplomacy and academia. He has experience connected to EU trade policy, including the EU Council’s Trade Policy Committee, has worked at the US Embassy in Belgium and in the EU context, and has served as a researcher and lecturer in political science at the University of Antwerp.
Hans holds a master’s degree in Political Science from KU Leuven, specialised in International Relations in Louvain-la-Neuve, and studied economics via the University of London / London School of Economics external programme. This combination of academic grounding and policy exposure informs his clear, business-focused perspective on global disruption and strategic foresight.
Talks
An examination of why traditional strategy models are no longer sufficient in a rapidly changing world, and how organisations can prepare for multiple alternative futures rather than relying on a single “ideal” strategy.
Key takeaways:
- Why certainty-based strategy models are increasingly unreliable
- How to scan the horizon for rising trends that shape alternative futures
- How to test strategic options across different scenarios
An analysis of the return of political conflict between nation states and the growing use of goods, money, data and people flows as instruments of economic warfare, and what this means for companies.
Key takeaways:
- How economic and financial sanctions, market access restrictions and cyber attacks affect businesses
- The latest developments in economic warfare
- How organisations can better protect themselves against geopolitical disruption
An exploration of demographic change, climate change, increased connectivity, shifting geo-economic power and accelerating technological development, and their implications for living, working and enterprise.
Key takeaways:
- The impact of demographic and climate change on economies and societies
- How shifting global power balances influence markets
- What accelerating technological change means for organisations
An assessment of how rising political volatility is reshaping markets and supply chains, with examples from recent conflicts and an examination of future implications for business strategy.
Key takeaways:
- How political volatility is created and how it affects markets
- The impact of current conflicts on supply chains and business risk
- Why companies must integrate political risk into strategic planning
An overview of economic opportunities in fast-growing countries such as Ethiopia, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Laos, and the associated political and economic risks.
Key takeaways:
- Where new growth opportunities are emerging globally
- How political environments in high-growth markets shape economic outcomes
- The balance between opportunity and risk in frontier markets
An analysis of how geopolitical shifts and changing relations with Russia, China and the US are challenging Europe’s model of wealth creation and economic stability.
Key takeaways:
- How evolving geopolitical relations affect Europe’s prosperity
- The implications of constrained energy, markets and supply chains
- The likely direction of Europe’s geopolitical and economic landscape