Ken Dychtwald
Ken Dychtwald is a visionary pioneer, renowned expert and acclaimed speaker who has informed, inspired and provided insight to millions on the unprecedented longevity revolution and related demographic, social and economic shifts that are transforming the marketplace, the workplace, and our lives.
Ken Dychtwald's videos
What Ken Dychtwald's clients say
"Ken Dychtwald has a unique ability to blend cutting-edge social science and unrivaled knowledge about the marketing and workforce implications of the global age wave with world-class presentation showmanship. The response to his talks to our “Committee of 100” leadership has been tremendous and he has managed to earn the highest speaker ratings in our history of meetings. His presentation style is riveting, his knowledge base grows even stronger with the years and his understanding and insightful solutions are truly visionary. I highly recommend Ken Dychtwald to any organization seeking a show-stopping keynoter."
"Ken Dychtwald changed the way I view the future. In just one hour he unlocked truths so clear and powerful that they are shocking. His understanding of population demographics are utterly critical for any CEO, executive team or government leader to understand. Without it you will not be prepared for what is rapidly approaching – a set of massive changes that will fundamentally affect every aspect of our lives and every industry on Earth."
"I’ve learned from Ken Dychtwald for years and am convinced he is today’s most innovative and original thinker on the important subjects of aging and longevity."
"You have a real gift for communicating with others. On a scale of 100, you received an average score of 98%. Obviously, this is just about as close to being perfect as you can get. We have enjoyed many top-ranked speakers over the years, including Dr. Victor Frankel, Mother Teresa, David Brinkley, George Will, Chris Matthews, Cokie Roberts, Congressman Claude Pepper and Senator Ted Kennedy, but no one was ever better received than you."
"Ken Dychtwald’s presentation to 500 of the most influential decision makers in the global travel industry was an overwhelming success. In an era of millennial mania; Ken combined cutting-edge demographic trends and entertaining messages to demonstrate that the Boomer and Millennial markets are not mutually exclusive and represent enormous economic power."
"Ken’s keynote presentation for our Health Technologies Forum was off the charts. He is utterly smart, inspiring, and charming. In a word, it was ‘awesome’. A very tough act to follow."
"Our Retirement Income Summit is the financial services industry’s premier event for advisors seeking insights into helping investors achieve a successful future. Ken’s involvement made the Summit even more of a must-attend event, and his keynote presentation – an overview of important research findings and practical takeaways delivered with wit and style – was an overwhelming hit. We couldn’t have asked for more."
"One word describes Ken Dychtwald’s presentation – BRILLIANT. He meaningfully impacted everyone at the event and those watching on livestream. Feedback has been unequivocally positive. I’ve had the privilege of watching Ken speak for more than 20 years, and he is just getting better and better."
"This presentation brings tears to my eyes. It’s amazing. The graphics and layout are terrific. It’s packed with data and yet so engaging. We are so honored to start the Metabesity conference with it—and could not have a better way to start, and the ending is inspiring."
"You are a ROCK STAR! You have upped the ante and are even more brilliant and impactful with such simplicity. Thank you for how crisply and powerfully you are changing not only the imagery of aging with the power of age, but also how we might age optimally."
"Ken Dychtwald’s session to kick-off the CIEBA 2022 Annual Meeting truly had a profound impact on the conference and attendees. Ken had the unenviable assignment of trying to reframe the question of ‘what does retirement look like?’ for a roomful of experienced chief investment officers who do this for a living…and Ken completely nailed it!"
"Ken Dychtwald was a featured speaker at News Corporation’s global management conference in July 2006, where he joined a line-up of powerful speakers that included Senator John McCain, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and former president Bill Clinton. Not only did Ken command the audience, but his was one of the most enlightening, thought-provoking, and entertaining presentations of the conference."
"Your presentation and the discussion that followed were both interesting and enlightening and we appreciate your contributions. Many times people referred back to your presentation over the two day retreat."
"The main stage audience could not get enough of you. The Vision for the 21st Century of Aging and all of your educational sessions were extremely well received. And comments from the Leadership Academy participants were over the moon."
"I was thrilled to be a part of your Court of the Table presentation. In my opinion, you were by far the best speaker at the meeting. Your presentation was energetic, informative, and clearly right on target."
"Ken Dychtwald is a rock-star speaker who captures an audience with exceptional insight, compelling data, and self-effacing humor. Each attendee leaves with information they can apply the very next day"
"Ken provides a perfect blend of style and content for a truly riveting presentation. His session at our annual meeting received both a standing ovation and record-high ratings."
"You were a huge hit! Not only is your content very compelling, but your energy and passion for the topic take the speech from good to great."
Available for
Languages:
- English
Ken Dychtwald's 2024 biography
Ken Dychtwald’s Background
Over the past 45+ years, Dr. Ken Dychtwald has emerged as North America’s foremost visionary and original thinker regarding the lifestyle, marketing, health care, economic and workforce implications of the age wave.
Ken is a psychologist, gerontologist, and best-selling author of 19 books on aging-related issues, including Bodymind; Age Wave: The Challenges and Opportunities of an Aging Society; Age Power: How the 21st Century Will Be Ruled by the New Old; Healthy Aging; Gideon’s Dream: A Tale of New Beginnings; A New Purpose: Redefining Money, Family, Work, Retirement, and Success; What Retirees Want: A Holistic View of Life’s Third Age; and Sages of Aging: A Guide for Changemakers. His memoir was updated and re-released in September 2023 as Radical Curiosity: My Life on the Age Wave. He was the executive producer and host of the highly rated/acclaimed PBS documentary, The Boomer Century: 1946–2046 which aired over 2,000 times on PBS stations nationwide as well as the public television special, Life’s Third Age. Sages of Aging is Ken’s latest national public television program featuring profound conversations with twelve of the leading pathfinders in the fields of aging.
Since 1986, Ken has been the Founder and CEO of Age Wave, an acclaimed think tank and consultancy focused on the social and business implications and opportunities of global aging and rising longevity. His client list has included over half the Fortune 500. He has served as a fellow of the World Economic Forum and was a featured speaker at two White House Conferences on Aging. In 2023, Ken has received the distinguished American Society on Aging Award for outstanding national leadership three times and, most recently, was awarded the President’s Award from ASA. American Demographics honored him as the single most influential marketer to baby boomers over the past quarter century. His article in the Harvard Business Review, “It’s Time to Retire Retirement,” was awarded the prestigious McKinsey Award, tying for first place with the legendary Peter Drucker. He was honored by Investment Advisor as one of the 35 most influential thought leaders in the financial services industry over the past 35 years. Ken and his wife, Maddy, recently received the Esalen Prize for their outstanding contributions to advancing the human potential of aging men and women worldwide. In 2018 he was awarded the Inspire Award from the International Council on Active Aging for his exceptional and lasting contributions to the active-aging industry and for his efforts to make a difference in the lives of older adults globally. In 2020, he was the first recipient of the Pioneer Award from the Retirement Coaches Association.
During his career, Ken has addressed more than two million people worldwide in his speeches to corporate, association, social service, and government groups. His strikingly accurate predictions and innovative ideas are regularly featured in leading print and electronic media worldwide and have garnered over twenty billion media impressions.
Ken Dychtwald's 2024 talks & topics
THE NEW RETIREMENT IN THE AGE OF LONGEVITY
With the convergence of rising longevity, the aging of the massive Boomer generation, and widespread financial insecurity, we are already seeing retirement begin to morph. This presentation draws on Age Wave’s most recent cutting-edge research spanning five generations of adults to explore the most pressing questions and concerns in retirement planning today. The forces shaping the new retirement planning will be described along with key ways that financial professionals can ready themselves to demonstrate greater empathy and understanding to deliver targeted solutions that safeguard a well-lived retirement for these uncertain times.
Topics to be covered include:
- Why has financial peace of mind become far more important than wealth?
- What are the greatest worries for pre-retirees and retirees in achieving a financially secure retirement?
- What are the “generational generosity” warning signs for financial professionals and their clients that could jeopardize retirement?
- How is women’s rising longevity coupled with their growing financial power transforming retirement planning and how should you respond?
- How will the growing demands of caregiving impact retirement planning?
- How can financial professionals best manage the greatest generational hand-off in history and guide clients to leave their legacy?
ALCHEMY OF TRAVEL: IN SEARCH OF PEAK EXPERIENCES
Amidst our high-tech, high-anxiety, and workaholic culture, there is an awakening appreciation for the immeasurable value of great times with friends and loved ones, the satisfaction of continued personal growth, and the excitement of encountering new people, places, and cultures. Fueled by COVID fatigue as well as the dual Boomer liberations of empty-nesting and retirement—and turbo-charged by Millennial FOMO—hundreds of millions of men and women worldwide are hoping to enjoy more “time affluence” than at any other point in history.
This dynamic new presentation by Age Wave guru and author of his new memoir, Radical Curiosity: My Life on the Age Wave, explores the forces causing an unquenchable curiosity for stimulating and nourishing “peak experiences” of every form and flavor.
Dr. Ken Dychtwald will uncover the abundant opportunities for both entrepreneurs and industry leaders who understand how to serve this emerging new travel consumer.
Topics to be covered include:
- Longevity: more life, more time, more personal reinventions, more travel
- How will the unprecedented “age wave” demographic phenomenon both boost and transform the travel marketplace worldwide?
- Why the “freedom zone” is now the most liberated and liberating time in life?
- Life’s true valuables: the growing importance of experiences over things
- 5 trillion hours to fill: tapping the enormous “longevity economy”
- How can you transform your marketing strategies to meet the needs of today’s discerning travelers searching for “peak experiences?”
RADICAL CURIOSITY FOR LIFE
Based on his newly updated book, Radical Curiosity, Dr. Ken Dychtwald reveals in this special presentation the critical importance of maintaining lifelong curiosity in today’s ever-changing world. Through his enormously entertaining stories about mind-boggling encounters with an impressive cast of characters—from hippies to Hells Angels to presidents, CEOs and world-leaders—Ken shares key lessons about the challenges and opportunities of continuing to grow as we grow up.
He playfully examines how curiosity has guided him through every era of his life, from his humble beginnings in Newark, New Jersey to his “enlightening” years spent at the world-renowned Esalen Institute in Big Sur during the height of the human potential movement, and from igniting the holistic health and healthy aging movements to his fellowship at the Davos World Economic Forum and ultimately creating his globally acclaimed company Age Wave, with a client list that includes half the Fortune 500.
Ken’s fascinating journey is replete with trials and errors every step of the way, and eye-opening lessons for all ages learned from a rich life that’s still a work in progress.
BREAKTHROUGHS AT THE TIPPING POINT: THE FUTURE OF HEALTH, MEDICINE, AGING AND LONGEVITY
Rising longevity and the aging of Boomers worldwide are radically altering both the demographic landscape and every aspect of our personal, social, financial, and political lives.
How will these irreversible trends toward increasing longevity impact healthcare, medicine, nutrition and environmental safety? As the massive global Baby Boom generation ages, how can we also ensure that our healthspans and brainspans match our lifespans? And how can we ensure abundant lifelong health for all – not just the wealthy?
In this revealing glimpse into the future, Age Wave Founder and CEO, Ken Dychtwald, PhD, will address the implications of rising longevity and how your organization needs to envision the future to prepare for it.
- How will maturity change as tens of millions of us live to 80, 90 or 100+?
- With continued breakthroughs in longevity, at what age will old age begin?
- Will the boomers opt for “pro-aging,” “anti-aging” or “ageless aging?”
- How will boomer women and men approach aging differently?
- Who will pay for the multiplying needs of a multiplying cohort of older adults?
- How will we match our healthspan to our lifespan?
- Are we prepared to reengineer many of our products and services to meet the needs of aging boomer consumers?
- How will boomers deal with “right-to-death” issues?
- Can our political system handle the demands that tens of millions of elder boomers will place on our social and economic infrastructure?
- How will your business be ready for this unprecedented longevity revolution resulting in dynamic forces that will forever change our relationship with health and medicine?
THE BIGGEST UNTAPPED MARKET OPPORTUNITY – IT’S HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT!
These dynamic forces are shaping your business; are you prepared?
Men and women over 50 now make up 33% of the total U.S. population and 44% of the adult population but control more than 70% of total wealth.
Due to the combination of rising longevity, declining fertility, and the aging of the Baby Boom generation, this group is now bigger than the entire market of most countries.
As active and curious consumers, they are responsible for: 45% of new car and truck purchasing, 53% of all food and grocery purchasing, 55% of all travel and leisure consumption, 68% of OTC drugs, 77% of all Rx drug consumption, and 80% of all retirement accounts.
We will explain how your business can best target this massive, misunderstood, misrepresented, and wildly untapped new market. We’ll illustrate why 20th century notions of “lifetime brand loyalty,” “retirement,” and “seniors” have become obsolete and how with impending breakthroughs in precision medicine, living to 100+ will soon become commonplace. And we’ll provide a mind-stretching preview of the products, services, marketing, and advertising that will succeed at meeting the needs and aspirations of this new “Third Age” while eliminating the ageism that has impeded shareholder value for too long.
Ken Dychtwald's 2024 speaking fees
- United States
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