Speaking

AI and the future of work, without the hype

Derek Laney, Helikona’s founder, has spent two decades on stages across Asia Pacific translating frontier technology for the people who have to make decisions about it — from conference keynotes to closed-door board briefings. He speaks about what AI actually changes about work, what the evidence says, and what leaders can do about it.

Organising an event? Jump to the promotion kit ↓

The talk

AI and the Future of Work

The signature keynote. A grounded tour of what AI is really changing about work — and how leaders move from watching to acting with confidence. Five movements, tailored to every room.

  1. Where we really are

    Separating what today’s AI genuinely does from what the demos promise. A grounded read on frontier capability — drawn from live enterprise systems, not vendor slides.

  2. Work changes shape

    What actually happens to roles, judgement, and expertise when AI is in the room. The everyday texture of AI-augmented work — and why it arrives unevenly.

  3. The gap is clarity

    Why most organisations stall. Not because the technology is too hard, but because no one has translated it into language and evidence the organisation can act on.

  4. Evidence beats opinion

    How fast, working prototypes turn speculation into evidence — letting leaders see what holds up before strategy gets locked in.

  5. Leading through the shift

    The human side: trust, safety, and capability. What leadership looks like while the ground is moving — and what to do next quarter, not next decade.

Formats

Three ways to bring it to your audience

Conferences & company events

Keynote

The full arc of the talk, 20–45 minutes, for a broad audience. Examples and depth tuned to the room — industry, function, and how far along the audience is.

Boards & executive teams

Executive briefing

A closed-door session, 60–90 minutes, built around your organisation’s situation. Half talk, half working conversation — the questions are usually the best part.

Panels & interviews

Panel or fireside

A moderated conversation on AI and the future of work — as panellist, interviewee, or moderator. Comfortable holding the calm, evidence-led end of a lively debate.

About the speaker

Why Derek

  • More than 25 years in enterprise technology across ANZ and Asia Pacific — developer, architect, consultant, and evangelist.
  • Regional thought leader on AI and the future of work at Slack and Salesforce, delivering keynotes, webinars, and papers at flagship events.
  • C-suite AI conversations at more than 100 of the region’s largest enterprises, including Australia’s major banks.
  • Deep fluency in regulated industries — financial services, government, not-for-profit — and the constraints they carry: APRA, data sovereignty, privacy.
  • Longtime press and analyst spokesperson — at home in any room, from developer meetups to boardrooms.

For event organisers

Promotion kit

Everything on this page may be reused to promote a confirmed talk. Copy a blurb below, download a photo, and if you need anything else — a tailored abstract, AV requirements, a different image — just ask.

One-liner

Social posts and programme listings

Derek Laney is the founder of Helikona, an advisory practice helping organisations navigate AI and the future of work — with evidence, not hype.

Short bio

Event pages and host introductions

Derek Laney is the founder of Helikona, an advisory practice helping organisations make sound, human decisions about AI. Over 25 years in enterprise technology across Asia Pacific — most recently as a technology evangelist at Slack and Salesforce — he has helped many of the region’s largest organisations translate frontier technology into practical change in how work gets done.

Full bio

Printed programmes and speaker pages

Derek Laney is the founder of Helikona, an advisory practice helping organisations navigate the shift to AI-augmented work. He has spent more than 25 years in enterprise technology across ANZ and Asia Pacific — as a developer, architect, consultant, and most recently as a technology evangelist at Slack and Salesforce, where he led executive AI conversations with more than 100 of the region’s largest enterprises, including Australia’s major banks. Derek speaks and writes about AI and the future of work: what today’s systems genuinely change about how organisations operate, and how leaders can move from watching to acting with confidence. He is known for a calm, evidence-led register — deeply fluent in regulated industries, and more interested in what holds up than what demos well.

Talk description

For the session listing

AI and the Future of Work — AI is already in the room; what’s scarce is clarity. Derek Laney separates what today’s AI genuinely does from what the demos promise, shows how work changes shape when AI joins it, and makes the case that evidence — not opinion — is how leaders find what holds up. Practical, grounded, and free of hype.

Bring this to your event

Tell us about the room — the audience, the date, the brief — and we’ll come back to you quickly. Email hello@helikona.com or message us on Slack.