Marcus Barber

Utilising a wealth of process methods, Marcus’ world class facilitation & consulting skills enable Boards, Senior Management teams and diverse stakeholder groups to gather insights aimed at answering a core question: ‘What do you want to achieve, and by when?’ Marcus is a Strategic Futurist and Value Systems specialist assisting clients in strategy, risk & innovation and employee engagement.

Multi Disciplinary Experience & Client Port Folio:

Government Clients:

International

OIC COMSTECH (Pakistan+); Ministry of Manpower (Singapore); FBI Futures Working Group (USA); Defence New Zealand; Asia Productivity Organisation (Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Malaysia, Philippines), Development Academy of the Philippines

Federal Level

Regional Development (Victoria); DEST; Centre for Defence & Strategic Studies (Department of Defence); ABC Radio; Australian Sports Commission; Department of Agriculture, Forests & Fisheries; Australian Defence Simulation and Training Centre

State Level

VicUrban; Sport & Recreation Victoria; DIIRD; Department of Planning & Community Development; Victoria Police, Victorian Managed Insurance Agency, Queensland Rail; Department of Health & Human Services;

Local Level

Yarra Valley City Council; South East Business Networks (CGD); Moonee Valley City Council; Gold Coast Water; Gold Coast City Council; City of Wangaratta; City of Greater Dandenong; Albury City Council; Melton City Council; Local Government Professionals Association, Knox City Council. Frankston City Council

 

Other

Victorian Water Association; CSIRO; Community Sector Services (WA); CaFNEC; Central Highlands Water; Western Water; South East Networks (SEM) City Deals Partnership

Manufacturing & Production Clients:

Young Dairy Network; Turners & Growers, New Zealand (ENZA); Pacific Brands (Grosby, Everlast); Hilton Manufacturing; Conductix-Wampfler (Delachaux Group); Barleycorn Brewers; General Motors; GMH; Fosters Australia; Newcrest;

Professional Services Clients:

AIMIA; The CEO Institute; Selection Partners; PageUp People; KMPG; Frontier Media; Employee Assistance Professionals Association of Australia; Asia Business Forum; Audiology Australia; Parenteral Drug Association; Ernst & Young; CPA Australia, Assure Programs; Centre for Organisational Development; Australian Organisation of Occupational Hygienists; Centre for Australian Foresight; The Australian Strategic Planning Institute; Swedish International Water Institute; Mayo Clinic (Mayo-In-Oz); Grant Thornton Australia

Associations & Not for Profit Clients:

Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA); GPN South Gippsland; South East Manufacturing & Marketing Alliance (SEMMA); Queensland Supply Chain & Logistics Council; Queensland Dairy Farmer’s Organisation; Parenteral Drug Association (Australia); Homeground Services; Brisbane Institute; Australian Toy Industry; Beacon Foundation; Australian Computer Society; Australian Podiatry Council; Association of National Tourist Office Representatives in Australia (ANTOR); Audiology Australia; Australasian Institute of Occupational Hygienists; Australian General Practise Network (AGPN); RSCA; Association of Professional Futurists; Cairns & Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC), Dandenong Chamber of Commerce

Education Sector Clients:

Learn Local Metro; Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Korowa Anglican Girls School; Australian Scholarships Group; Swinburne University; Adult Community & Further Education (Loddon Mallee); Deakin University; Teach the Future (USA); Association of School Administrators; Kambrya College; Association of School Business Administrators; Carwatha College; Dandenong Primary School; Bentleigh West Primary School; Sandringham East Primary School; Noble Park Secondary College; St Margaret’s and Berwick Grammar School, Caulfield Grammar, Brighton Secondary College, GO TAFE

Broad Portfolio Clients:

Telstra; Sportsmans Warehouse; Leightons Holdings; ESPN; ARRB Group Ltd; Insurance Australia Group; AP Touring; Panthers Entertainment Group; Kimberley Clark;

 

Reputation & Standing

He delivered the strategic futures block at the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies (Australian War College) in Canberra, the premiere management training program for the Department of Defence that brings military personnel from around the globe to a year long residential strategy training program for 15 years

An engaging and thought provoking speaker, his public forums include UNESCO’s ‘Committing Universities to Sustainability’ conference in Austria, ‘World Futures Conference’ in Vancouver and ‘World Water Week’ in Stockholm along with many others in Australia on behalf of Ernst & Young, Victorian Water Association, CaFNEC, VicUrban, City of Greater Dandenong, Young Dairy Farmers, RSCA and many more.

Marcus was co-presenter on the National Geographic Channel’s TV series ‘Future Matters’, author of ‘The Money Tree and How to Grow One – Creating Success in Your Business‘ and in 2012 finished ‘Getting Your Future Right. He is now finishing ‘Killing Trends: the Graceful Art of Innovation‘ and also ‘Recession Proof Marketing’ (being co authored with Tod O’Reilly); he is the founder of The Australian Strategic Planning Institute was an advisory board member of the Australian Bill of Rights Initiative and is part of the Lifeboat Foundation’s Futures advisory Board.

He was on the Board of the Association of Professional Futurists for almost five years and is one of the co founders of the Centre for Australian Foresight. Marcus has been published in a number of Journals around the world, is often interviewed on radio and for articles in newspapers and magazines discussing leadership, management and ‘the future of…’ and was a regular contributor to Australasia’s innovation magazine ‘Fast Thinking

Qualifications

Master of Science, Strategic Foresight; Swinburne University of Technology

Master Practitioner Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), International NLP Training Association

Multiple Certification in Human Values Systems; National Values Centre, USA

Graduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning; Napier University, Scotland / SUT

Certificate IV in Training & Assessment; Holmesglen

Applied Sustainability; Fanshawe College, Canada

Professional Memberships

Professional Life Member of the World Futures Society

Past Board Member of Association of Professional Futurists, Current Member

Previously on Board of Management, Dandenong Neighbourhood House

 

Need to Find a Futurist? Email us today

Key Note Speaking information, including copies of a number of presentations can be found in the Free Articles section

Australia, We Are Killing Ourselves

Jan 28, 2019

Every where we look we are being given clear signs of the blatant stupidity and arguably outright criminality of a toxic system of decision making. The Menindee Lakes and Darling River disaster is one example   A couple of years ago I was invited to speak at a Private Equity conference at a lovely resort…

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2019 The International Year of the Cooperative

Dec 30, 2018

Every year I aim to identify what I think a major focus of the upcoming year will be and in that light I’m declaring 2019 the International Year of the Cooperative. I’m prompted by a multitude of signals that my daily research has uncovered, many of which will be familiar to you – Cost of…

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Can the United States Survive the Childish Tantrums of an Incompetent President?

Dec 23, 2018

Here we are with the last posting of the year looking at the potential for wide ranging strategy for a country like the United States. Arguably the United States is undergoing its own version of #Brexit though without the vote of the people. Instead the dictatorial nature of what I see as an incompetent strategic…

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When will the next Federal Election be held in Australia?

Dec 3, 2018

I’m reluctant to make predictions but am getting a few calls so: My tip is on a March 2019 election – the 9th or 16th But that will be an attempt to protect the existing NSW Government hoping that voters will have sufficiently vented. That said though, it also required a Federal Minoroty Government to…

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Asia on the Rise – why Australia’s Neighbours Will Leave us Behind

Oct 30, 2018

The Asian Productivity Organisation has shifted gears from being a centre for member countries to talk about productivity, to one that now wants to upskills its member countries. We’ve just completed the first chunk of helping National Productivity secretariats to ready their staff for a more proactive, future facing approach to their Country’s development  …

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10 years on from the Australia 2020 Futurists Summit

Oct 18, 2018

The question is, ‘how does the thinking inside this document stack up?’ Turns out, pretty good. What we spotted and what problems we said we’d have to watch out for, are just about spot on   When it was discovered that the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was going to hold the Australia 2020 Summit,…

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BBC Article on the Future of work and the likely skills needed

Oct 14, 2018

it’s OK not to know your career path when you leave university – sometimes that won’t emerge until much later down the track,” Barber says. “We should remind kids that the pathway they select to start off with is unlikely to be their final pathway,   Was interviewed by #TheodoraSutcliffe who wrote this article for…

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Inverting the City/Country Dynamic

Aug 17, 2018

At a recent session with the Gen Y group working on the ‘Future Melbourne’ project for the City of Melbourne I suggested that the group consider what the result might be if they could ‘invert’ the way the State of Victoria operates. What would you be likely to see if more of the functions of…

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When it comes to decision making ‘Bias’ can be friend or foe

May 19, 2018

McKinsey’s interview with Richard Thaler on ‘debiasing the corporation’ is a really good one. I’ve spent the best part of two decades trying to help organisations unpack their biases through the use of foresight. I recommend this article to you   Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler offers some great insights as to how to make more…

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Disaster Ahead for the People of Ipswich

Apr 22, 2018

As the Ipswich Council has determined that recycling schemes are too expensive and indicates it will end collections, the question is ‘what happens next’? If result of the explosion in Tip fees by Councils around Australia is anything to go by, what happens next will not be good   China recently decided to end acting…

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