Laurens Waling on stage with open arms in front of the screen reading ‘the future starts here’
Keynote speaker on AI, skills and the future of work

AI is changing work. Time to rethink how we organise it.

AI is taking on tasks and opening up new possibilities. What does that mean for our work, our organisations and the people in them? I help your audience understand what is already possible, make better use of talent and identify where to start. Through relatable examples, audience interaction and a positive outlook on the future.

From jobs to tasks. From planning to matching.

300+ talks delivered Dutch and English Chief Evangelist at 8vance
Trusted by
Netflix Amsterdam UMC ABN AMRO Rijkswaterstaat Rabobank UMCG Accenture Defensie Radboudumc UWV Center Parcs Ministerie van EZ

Laurens makes topics like AI and skills-based working both accessible and inspiring, with great energy and directly applicable insights.

Jolanda SappelliCHRO, a.s.r.
Still from the clip on future-proofing your career with AI
Laurens on stage

A fresh perspective on work

In this short stage clip, I explore what it means to stay relevant as AI takes on more tasks. It gives you a first impression of how I bring the future of work into a conversation about people’s own careers.

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On the conference stage

From planning to matching

Opening keynote · Vlirdens WFM Congress · 4 June 2026

My opening keynote at the Vlirdens WFM Congress explored the future of work. What changes when we organise work around tasks, skills and the possibilities of AI? A concrete example of the perspective I bring to a conference audience.

Explore my approach as a speaker →

Laurens Waling on stage at the Vlirdens WFM Congress, in front of a large screen showing a visualisation of work and skills
Practical experience

Grounded in practice.

As Chief Evangelist at 8vance, I work with organisations on AI, skills and talent mobility. I see how technology reveals new possibilities and the questions it raises for the people using it. I connect that experience with more than twenty years of entrepreneurship and organisational change.

More about my background →

Laurens Waling on stage with live audience research on AI
What your audience takes away

Understand the change. See the possibilities. Take the first step.

A keynote needs to connect with what matters to the people in the room. I link developments in AI to recognisable questions about work, talent and collaboration.

01

A clear picture of AI and work

Your audience understands how AI changes tasks and roles, and the choices this creates for their own organisation.

02

Curiosity about the future

Examples and interaction bring the possibilities closer to home. We make room for questions and explore which parts of their work people would like to change.

03

A practical first step

We close with a question, decision or experiment that fits your event’s purpose and gives the conversation somewhere to go next.

From the conference stage to the boardroom, I tailor the examples, interaction and depth to the people in front of me. AI, work and talent provide the foundation. Your organisation’s questions determine where we focus.

Laurens Waling walking onto the stage, still from the short documentary
Why I do this work

What I am really building.

AI, talent and organising differently all come down to one thing for me: giving people more choice. This short documentary is where that mission comes from. Spoken in Dutch, with English subtitles.

Book cover of The Art of Matching, by Laurens Waling
My book

The Art of Matching

What if the quality of our society is mostly determined by the quality of the matches we make? I’m writing this book in the open; you can already read along at theartofmatching.com.

What conversation do you want your event to start?

Tell me who will be in the room and what you want to achieve. Together, we can find the keynote or session that fits your programme.

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