Steven D. Flinn

Steven Flinn uniquely combines the perspectives of an experienced global senior executive, strategist, scientist, technologist, entrepreneur, and inventor. Mr. Flinn is a founder and CEO of ManyWorlds, Inc., which conducts R&D in the area of next generation systems and business processes, delivers the results to leading companies around the world, and often serves as a "consultant to the consultants."

Mr. Flinn is a pioneering inventor in the field of machine learning and its applications and has been awarded over 80 patents, with many more pending. He is widely sought as a speaker and executive educator and has delivered the keynote addresses at international conferences on innovation, business strategy, intellectual capital and knowledge management, and IT strategies and futures. In addition to his books related to machine and human learning processes, Mr. Flinn has also published on frontier scientific issues ranging from the origins of music to the deep correspondences between information theory and evolution.

Prior to founding ManyWorlds, Mr. Flinn was an executive at Royal Dutch Shell, at the time the most valuable company in the world. Among the leadership positions he held was Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Strategy and Strategic Alliances. In these roles he was a driving force in establishing Shell directions at the intersection of business and technology. He was also a leader in applying advanced techniques to promote more effective organizational learning at Shell, including methods informed by the field of cognitive science, as well as the application of Shell's famous scenario process to enterprise IT strategy.

Mr. Flinn studied economics, mathematics and computer science as an undergraduate, and holds graduate degrees in engineering-economic systems from Stanford University and business from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.