Photo by Paula G. Vidal

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Not Dead Yet

Business Lessons from Cancerland

Photo: Paula G. Vidal

The Story

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Louisa Heinrich has been working in the digital world almost as long as there has been such a thing. Since 1997, she and her teams have helped deliver some internet ‘firsts’ - online banking, tax filing, car configuration and catch-up TV, to name a few.

In 2021, Louisa was diagnosed with Stage IV Colorectal Cancer and given 1.5-5 years to live. This news brought everything in her life to a standstill - and then she got to work on finding a way to survive. Today, she has already outlived the predictions of world-renowned experts and remains, rather obstinately, not dead yet.

Cancer has helped clarify a lot of ‘whats’ and ‘whys’ of Louisa’s life. As she researched, strategised and navigated her cancer journey, Louisa noticed parallels between her challenges and those of the businesses she's worked with over the past 27 years, which led to new insights on managing both - and making change happen quickly. Her new talk brings five lessons from Cancerland that will help your business survive and thrive well into the future.

Not Dead Yet is not a talk about death, or even about illness. It's about survival, and finding a path through difficult times. It is a story told with humour and passion by a master storyteller.

in brief

The lessons:

    1. Articulate your purpose.
    2. Understand the system you're a part of.
    3. Measure the right things.
    4. Be brave, not fearless.
    5. Don't wait.

Talk length: 18, 30, 45, 60 minute versions available, with 20-30 minute Q&A included

Louisa doing jazz hands, by Daniel Fürg

Praise for Louisa's talks

"Powerful, Insightful and highly relevant, Louisa's take on Business Oncology is breathtaking. An absolute must-see for any business event or conference."

Marcus John Henry Brown, Founder, Speakery

"A brilliant and inspiring speaker, Louisa leaves the room simultaneously stunned and energetic. She has a rare talent to both show the big picture and dive deep into a topic. With her energetic presentation style, she always keeps the audience engaged while sharing valuable insights. I absolutely recommend getting her onstage if you get the chance."

Peter Bihr, NEXT, ThingsCon

"Louisa is simply impressive: she uniquely combines being visionary, professional, charismatic and joyful. Working with her is a pleasure in every ways. She always make you move forward with your ideas and business whilst fueling you with the necessary optimism and energy to do so."

Sarah Hemar, MIPTV

"Louisa's talent is rare. Her ideas are original and she sees the future potential of digital experiences before the majority. As a speaker, she's unusual in also being able to communicate these ideas in a free flowing presentation style which engages her listeners and creates a conversation. As a workshop facilitator, she achieves outstanding results by setting challenging exercises, involving all participants and ensuring her team's outputs are clear and memorable. As a result, I've invited her as a speaker and facilitator on several occasions and have been impressed every time."


Marek Pawlowski, MEX

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    Selected Previous Appearances

    • Speakery Masterclass (October 2023, Berlin)
    • IBC (September 2017, Amsterdam)
    • Royal Society, Future of Teaching Symposium (July 2017, London)
    • PICNIC (November 2016, Rio de Janiero)
    • IoT Asia (March 2016, Singapore)
    • Data Natives (November 2015, Berlin)
    • Silicon Beach (September 2015, Bournemouth)
    • ThingsCon (May 2015, Berlin)
    • Internet of Experiences (May 2015, Brussels)
    • YLE Prophecy (May 2015, Helsinki)
    • MIPTV (April 2015, Cannes) - Trending Topics panel, Content & the Geek: Enriching content with technology (moderator), Drawing Creativity from Data (moderator), Engaging One, Engaging All (Legally) (Moderator)
    • MEX (March 2015, London)
    • Mobile Convention London (March 2015, London)
    • DIGIT-ICT (November 2014, Brussels)
    • Propeller (facilitator) (August 2014, Berlin)
    • Silicon Beach (September 2014, Bournemouth)
    • Mobile Convention Amsterdam (May 2014, Amsterdam)
    • NEXT14 (May 2014, Berlin)
    • ThingsCon (May 2014, Berlin)
    • MIPTV (April 2014, Cannes) - The Rules of Engagement (moderator), The Do-it-all Producer (moderator), Show Me the Money (moderator)
    • EU Futurium (November 2013) - Interview about the Future of Social Interaction (part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4)
    • Frontiers of Interaction (October 2013, Milan) - TV appearance (Italian)
    • MIPCOM (October 2013, Cannes) - Wrap Panel, Access is the New Ownership
    • Retune (September 2013, Berlin)
    • MLOVE (June 2013, Beesenstedt)
    • Creative Drive In (May 2013, Heerlen)
    • re:publica (May 2013, Berlin)
    • UIKonf (May 2013, Berlin)
    • NEXT (April 2013, Berlin)
    • MIPTV (April 2013, Cannes)
    • FINHTML5 (January 2013, Helsinki)