Julian Fairfield

“Julian has always been different.”

“Julian has always asked lots of questions – and he’s often come up with some amazing answers – and then even more interesting questions!”

Perhaps it’s some legacy of living in different cultures (UK, USA, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, Africa…). Perhaps it’s a challenging life lived interestingly. Perhaps he was just born that way?

But whether working on the factory floor with blue-collar workers, employed as an international consultant for McKinsey & Co., or contributing to international aid projects as a concerned individual, Julian somehow helps people see things about themselves and the world that sometimes surprise even Julian.

From the brutal harshness of a British boarding school, to the factories of middle America, to international management consultancy, to humanitarian aid work in some of the poorest countries in the world, to successful business entrepreneur, Julian Fairfield is very much a practical “doer” who also just happens to keep thinking about things.

Including what’s right and what’s wrong. He has always been guided by a sense of common justice, which he expressed even as a boy: “If it’s not fair, and it’s not right, then I’m just not doing it!”

Julian is just as happy working with his hands as with his intellect – and he has plenty of experience doing both. His work and personal experiences have exposed him to an enormous diversity of people from many different cultures and walks of life.

Whether he’s talking to an audience of one or thousands, he makes you laugh while you’re thinking – even about the big questions.

Throughout it all, he seems to have a knack for helping people surprise themselves and become aware of all that they – and everyone else – can be.

Now, at 79, Julian can reflect not only on a full life, but on what is possible for all of us now that we have AI as a facilitator.