CEO of OpenGenius, developers of Ayoa
A world leading expert and keynote speaker on innovation, creativity and mind mapping
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Chris is the founder of OpenGenius, a company focused on helping transform thinking, creativity and learning. His technology solutions have been used by millions of individuals to clarify thinking, generate game-changing ideas, and turn ideas into action. He is a bestselling author on creativity, mind mapping and innovative thinking skills, with his latest book published by Kogan Page, ‘The Creative Thinking Handbook’ now available in 10 languages. Previous titles include ‘GRASP The Solution’ that ranked as the #1 book on Amazon under ‘Decision Making’, and ‘Mind Maps for Business’ co-authored with Tony Buzan.
Chris speaking at the London and Shenhzen Stock Exchanges
As a serial entrepreneur, Chris doesn’t just talk the talk, and has founded several businesses. He set-up his first company aged 18, which he sold when he was 26. His companies have ranked in the ‘European Deloitte Fast 50’ and the ‘Sunday Times / London Stock Exchange Fasttrack 100.’ Chris has launched four apps that have each grown to over 1m users. Chris often talks about how teams can build grit and resilience. He has had many difficult times as well as good, and shares this in an open and honest way during his talks. He helps audiences understand that failure and success are not opposites, but are part of the same process, empowering teams to take a chance on change.
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Chris regularly contributes articles to a number of major publications. These articles span topics as varied and important as the future of work, rebooting a creative mindset, being positive in work and many, many more. Recent articles and comments have appeared in GQ, The Telegraph, Director Magazine, Minute Hack and Chris regularly contributes to Forbes.com. As a world leader in the innovation field, Chris regularly takes part in interviews on TV, the radio and podcasts. This includes several appearances on BBC News.
A selection of outlets Chris has been featured in:
Chris also donates his time to ‘not for profit’ initiatives, helping even the brightest of minds to drive innovation to change the world for the better. This includes facilitating brainstorming sessions at The Petra Nobel Conference, held in Jordan, where over 40 Nobel Laureates gathered to discuss strategies to end child hunger and poverty.
Chris with the Dalai Lama at the Petra Nobel Conference
Chris’ past events as a guest speaker and consultant have included:
See Chris on the
TEDx Cardiff stage 
Chris discussing well-being in the workplace on BBC News
Chris speaks about daydreaming on Heart Radio
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Chris delivered a series of events on innovation for over 200 staff members of all levels, for AXA Wealth, in a bid to get staff thinking differently and boost innovation within the organisation. Feedback from the attendees was summarised by AXA Wealth into the wordle shown here . . .
Chris Griffiths advises the largest companies in the world to be better.
Forbes Magazine, ICON Event, Prague
... a powerful, hands-on approach to tap into our creative flow and become masters in our chosen field. An essential resource for anyone looking to ‘be different’ and create at their highest capacity!
Jan Mühlfeit, Executive coach/mentor, former chairman of Microsoft Europe, author of The Positive Leader
Organisations are proclaiming the need to work smarter – Chris Griffiths provides a map of how to do that.
Bob Urichuck
The course was the cherry on the cake for me. It offered many new insights. I was inspired by the course, instructors and other delegates alike.
Mike Palmer
(It's) profoundly changed my way of thinking and creating solutions, and has sounded a creative voice that I did not know existed.
Ed Allan
Chris shows with clarity and persuasiveness that creative thinking is not magic, but a process that can be learned, developed, and most importantly applied to the challenges, whether business or personal, that confront us all.
Tim Hurson
Truly life changing… opened my eyes to thinking differently and being more creative. Many colleagues noticed the change and the business is ultimately seeing the benefit.
Dominic McKenny
A really inspiring and pragmatic guide to innovation and creativity, key drivers of great businesses.
Peter Estlin
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Chris is a strong supporter of neurodiversity, and through the charity The Inspire Genius Foundation, he is on a mission to help promote inclusion and raise awareness of how neurodivergent thinkers can add massive value to any organisation. Chris also donates the profits from his latest book to the charity.
Chris is considered one of the world’s leading experts on systemising innovation and he talks about creativity, decision making, strategic thinking, resilience and how to obtain an ‘everything is possible’ mindset. Minds, like parachutes, work best when open, and Chris strives to kick-start events by motivating audiences to think ‘without the box!’
A mix of sharing his knowledge and personal experiences, combined with active participation. Chris believes the best way to help people understand is to get them actively participating in fun challenges that have an underlying serious meaning. These consist of thought experiments done either individually or with people working next to each other. All that is needed is pen and paper.
Chris and his team often facilitated these types of events. This will normally consist of a keynote from Chris, and then the group facilitation led by his team of Innovation Experts.
Yes. Whilst he is based in the UK, Chris has delivered many keynote sessions and provided consulting services worldwide.
Absolutely. Chris has delivered many keynotes via video conferencing.
Chris strongly conveys that innovation and creativity require system and process to be effective and will share links to free resources for use after his session. These include a selection of canvas templates and checklists to download and use, either for working alone or in teams. Each template has all the components you need to help capture your ideas and thoughts as you progress through the stages of the Chris’ Solution Finder. Chris can also get his team to personalise the Ayoa.com app specifically for your audience – please speak to us for more details.
Top comment:
"Great info for being successful in current times."