Jonathan Reichental
Every organisation now has a digital transformation strategy. Very few have the executive fluency to decide which emerging technologies actually deserve investment, which are years away from being usable, and which belong on the regulator’s desk rather than the roadmap. The cost of getting that distinction wrong, in smart-city programmes, public-sector IT and corporate digital strategy, is quietly absorbed as failed projects and stranded spend.
Jonathan Reichental is a former Palo Alto and O’Reilly Media CIO, author of Smart Cities For Dummies and founder of Human Future, who helps organisations separate credible emerging-technology bets from the noise around them.
Full Profile
Why organisations work with Jonathan Reichental
- He has run the work he now speaks about. As CIO of the City of Palo Alto and CIO of O’Reilly Media, he owned budgets, projects and consequences, which is a different proposition to commenting on them from a research desk.
- The Palo Alto tenure produced a first-place category ranking in the Digital Cities Survey, a verifiable outcome rather than a claim of impact.
- His book catalogue, led by Smart Cities For Dummies with multiple follow-on titles across data governance, analytics and cryptocurrency, gives audiences accessible reference material they can share inside their own teams after the session.
- His adjunct teaching positions at UC Berkeley and the University of San Francisco, combined with LinkedIn Learning courses and a Forbes column, mean his explanations of emerging technology are built for non-specialist audiences without losing technical accuracy.
- He covers the breadth of the current executive agenda, quantum, AI, blockchain, smart cities, data governance, with the same pragmatic framing, which suits leadership audiences that need one session to cover multiple priorities.
Biography highlights
- Founder and CEO of Human Future
- Former Chief Information Officer, City of Palo Alto, California; Palo Alto achieved first-place category ranking in the Digital Cities Survey during his tenure
- Former Chief Information Officer of O’Reilly Media; senior technology leadership at PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Adjunct professor at UC Berkeley and the University of San Francisco
- Author of Smart Cities For Dummies, Data Governance For Dummies, Data Analytics & Visualization All-in-One For Dummies and Cryptocurrency QuickStart Guide
- Forbes contributor; LinkedIn Learning course creator; recognised on CXOTalk’s 20 Influential CIOs list
Biography
Smart cities is one of the most hyped categories in public-sector technology and one of the hardest to deliver. Jonathan Reichental’s credibility starts with the fact that he did the delivery job. As Chief Information Officer of the City of Palo Alto, he led the technology work that produced a first-place category ranking in the Digital Cities Survey, on a public-sector budget and under the accountability that comes with it. The book that followed, Smart Cities For Dummies, is now one of the most widely used introductions to the field.
His private-sector track record sits alongside. Earlier roles include CIO of O’Reilly Media and senior technology leadership at PricewaterhouseCoopers. The combination, public-sector, publishing-and-tech, and global consulting, is the reason his framing on digital transformation holds up in front of different audiences. He now runs Human Future, the advisory, investment and education firm he founded to focus on emerging technology strategy.
The writing and teaching extend the same thesis. Alongside the smart cities titles, he has authored or co-authored Data Governance For Dummies, Data Analytics & Visualization All-in-One For Dummies, Cryptocurrency QuickStart Guide and The Apps Challenge Playbook, teaches as an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley and the University of San Francisco, contributes a column to Forbes and creates LinkedIn Learning courses. His recognition on CXOTalk’s 20 Influential CIOs list and Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers places him inside the peer group his corporate and public-sector audiences consult anyway.
For boards, city governments, utilities and enterprise CIOs trying to make real decisions about AI, quantum computing, blockchain and smart-infrastructure investment, Reichental brings the unusual combination of an operator’s record, a teacher’s clarity and a published author’s reference library.
Key speaking topics
- Smart cities and digital government
- Emerging technology strategy (AI, quantum, blockchain)
- Data governance, analytics and the CIO agenda
- Public-sector technology leadership
- Digital transformation for enterprise and city organisations
- Ethics in technology leadership
Ideal for
- CIOs, CDOs and chief transformation officers setting or refreshing digital strategy
- City governments, utilities and public-sector organisations running smart-city or digital-services programmes
- Executive committees and boards needing a single session to level-set on emerging technologies
- Technology conferences and industry summits requiring an author-led keynote with operator credentials
Audience outcomes
- A structured view of which emerging technologies are production-ready, which are near-term, and which are further out
- Specific reference cases from Palo Alto and other smart-city programmes on what actually works in public-sector digital delivery
- A clearer executive framing of data governance, analytics and AI choices, grounded in the relevant For Dummies material
- Practical prompts for translating emerging-tech strategy into a 12- to 24-month roadmap
- A shareable reading list and follow-on LinkedIn Learning courses for leadership teams
Talks
A keynote drawing on his work as CIO of Palo Alto and his Smart Cities For Dummies book.
Key takeaways:
- The components that actually define a smart city beyond the marketing
- Lessons from named cities that have and have not delivered on smart-city ambitions
- Where local and national government should focus the next wave of investment
A session translating quantum computing for non-specialist executive audiences.
Key takeaways:
- A working understanding of what quantum computing does and does not change
- Sectors and use cases where quantum is closest to practical impact
- Preparedness questions boards and CIOs should be asking now
An applied session on how to decide which emerging technologies deserve investment.
Key takeaways:
- A decision framework for evaluating AI, blockchain, quantum and IoT investment
- The common failure modes in enterprise emerging-tech programmes
- Specific governance structures that keep emerging-tech investment on strategy
A session for executives sorting blockchain hype from credible use cases.
Key takeaways:
- What blockchain actually solves and where it does not apply
- Named examples of enterprise and public-sector blockchain programmes
- A practical view of when to invest and when to wait
A session on the ethical questions senior technology leaders are now responsible for.
Key takeaways:
- The ethical questions CIOs and CDOs should be owning rather than delegating
- Frameworks for governance of AI, data and emerging technology
- Case material from public-sector and private-sector technoethics failures
Videos
Testimonials
Books
Fees
| EUR | GBP | USD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Country | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |
| Asia Pacific | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |
| Europe | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |
| Middle East & Africa | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |
| South America | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |
| United Kingdom | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |
| US East Coast | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |
| US West Coast | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |
| Virtual | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |