Official Bio

Kirsten Stendevad is the founder of Illumina Future Leadership Academy. She is the (co-)author of 8 trendsetting books (in Scandinavian) about 21st Century paradigms which she has lectured about at Harvard Business School, MIT, McKinsey & Company and more.

She is known for her ability to create transformational networks centered around natural leadership.

Her lifechanging programs enable leaders, business owners and changemakers embody the inner OS that is required in the era of AI and quantum computing for new era success.

Kirsten is a popular speaker and an inspiring workshop leader. She has often been quoted in the press for her visionary  perspectives and time has proven her spot on in all of her trendsetting books.

She is born in Scandinavia and grew up in an international environment in the heart of Europe. She has an Masters degree in Humanistic Sciences & Culture from University of Copenhagen and did much of her graduate program at New School for Social Research in New York. She is certified in a number of "inner career" disciplines such as Kundalini-Yoga and Evolutionary Coaching and continually in trainings to keep herself and her leadership participants on the cutting edge of what´s next.

She currently serves a global audience with keynotes, retreats and customized leadership trainings. However you never hire a one-woman band. One of Kirstens greatest assets is an extraordinary network of worldclass experts that can care for the upgrade of entire companies.

She lives in a sunlit sanctuary by the beautiful lakes in Copenhagen and is the mother of three, whereof two on Earth and one in Heaven.

MY INVITATION TO YOU
 

We stand at the edge of either breakthrough or breakdown for humanity. This work isn't about my success - it's about creating a legacy our children can thank us for. The window for conscious leadership is  still open. Join me as a co-creator of the future we know is possible.

After a decade-long adventure in interim corporate roles across diverse organizations, I had enough work experience to conclude that business as usual is out of balance for everyone and even more so for women and other "minorities".

I chose to let go of paycheck and a conventional career track and instead pursue a quest for solutions to the many problems I had observed.

I spent a decade as a US correspondent for Scandinavian media in New York City, focusing on megatrends, and taking numerous trainings on how to SHAPE the future. Then I went back to Europe to put my insights into practise and share them with others.

I have given countless talks and workshops in corporate environments, but I sensed from the beginning:  The era where leadership only comes from appointed authorities is passé. Today, everybody must grab a task to help solve the many complex issues facing us collectively. That´s why I expanded to also work with entrepreneurs, investors and  changemakers, animating Initiative, Purpose and New Ways of Working  in everybody who crossed my path.

In my perspective it is important that we all take co-responsibility for co-creating our destiny, both our own and the common so that the future becomes a present we would like to experience. This can NOT be taken as a given these days. Either you lead, or you get led. In the "free" world, we have choice. And a responsability to use it on behalf of those who don´t (yet).