Kate Raynes-Goldie
PROFILE
In the age of AI, it won’t be the tech skills that matter the most, but the human ones. Since 2003, as technology has reshaped how we live and work, Dr Kate Raynes-Goldie has been advocating for a human future, helping organisations grow human capability and empowering their people to get more curious, connected and ready for what’s next.
A multi-award winning, globally recognised LEGO® Serious Play® expert, cultural futurist, Business News tech & innovation columnist and curiosity keynote speaker, Dr Kate is the creator of SUPERCONNECT®, an internationally used, evidence-based method built on LEGO® Serious Play® that optimises for curiosity, human connection, belonging and psychological safety.
Dr. Kate’s sessions create transformative, human-centred experiences that don’t just talk about these concepts, but actually brings them to life in the room. She’ll inspire you to think differently, embrace change, and unlock your creative potential to shape the future.
Combining her engaging and interactive speaking style with her deep expertise in innovation and future focused leadership, Dr Kate has delivered her trainings, workshops and interactive keynotes to thousands of participants across Australia, North America, the Middle East, Asia and Europe including Microsoft, Google, The Mozilla Foundation, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Deakin University, The Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab, Nine, RSM, Indeed, BDO, Youi Insurance, RAC, CPA Australia, Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Department of Finance (WA), WiTWA, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
She’s spoken at TEDxPerth, SXSW (in both Australia and the United States), SXSW Sydney, Remix Summit, PAX Australia and The International LEGO Serious Play conference at Legoland in Denmark, and has been featured in MTV, NPR, Triple J’s Hack, ELLE Magazine, The Australian Financial Review and the Globe and Mail (Canada).
Dr. Kate is the Chief Curiosity Officer at The Up Next Company, where she specialises in helping different leaders stay in alignment with their values while growing or pivoting their businesses during times of change and transition. She is also a past TEDx speaker coach and was recently appointed as the Ambassador for Play and Innovation at Barking Gecko Arts.
What makes Dr Kate different – and what clients consistently say sets her apart – is the depth and rigour behind her work. Most experts come from one discipline. Dr Kate brings four: the PhD-trained cultural anthropologist who understands how and why humans connect; the multi-award winning game designer and graduate of the Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab who knows how to design compelling and connective experiences; the internationally-trained relationship coach and certified energy practitioner, backed by accredited Mental Health First Aid training, who knows how to safely create and hold space to enable transformation; and the cultural futurist and past senior researcher who sees why the human matters now, and what it means for what’s next. Her SUPERCONNECT®-powered interactive keynotes are where all four converge – and it’s what makes the experience unlike any other.
She is a Professional Member of Professional Speakers Australia and was named one of Western Australia’s 40under40, the Australian Computer Society’s Digital Disruptors Professional of the Year and Incite Achiever of the Year. Whether it’s a strategy session for a leadership team of four or a keynote for 800, clients say Dr Kate brings a unique mix of credibility, creativity and warmth to every room she steps into – thought-provoking, captivating and unlike anything else.
SPEAKING TOPICS
CURIOUSLY CONNECTED: Rebuilding Trust and Human Connection in the Age of AI
We live in a paradox. After years of social media, algorithms and now AI, we live in the most connected time in human history. And yet, we’ve never felt more disconnected, while trust is at an all-time low. Human connection is becoming a luxury good.
AI can do a lot of things, but it can’t build real relationships.
So, in the age of AI, the future belongs to those who can bring tech together with what makes us uniquely human: trust, connection, belonging and getting curious about each other.
It’s time to get reconnected!
In this interactive keynote, Dr Kate Raynes-Goldie doesn’t just talk about the importance of human connection, she actually creates it using curiosity and purposeful play as an engine for reconnection.
Powered by SUPERCONNECT® – an evidence-based method built on LEGO® Serious Play® that optimises for human connection, trust, belonging and psychological safety – participants use LEGO bricks to create what’s on inside their minds and hearts. Their thoughts and feelings become something they can see, hold and share… with more depth, and clarity, while giving others a way in. Barriers break down. Suddenly they’re having better conversations about what really matters and connecting in a new way. It’s what Dr Kate calls “mutually assured vulnerability” – and it’s the fastest path to real trust and connection.
SUPERCONNECT® levels the playing field so everyone can meaningfully participate – introvert or extrovert, new starter or CEO, neurodivergent or neurotypical – making it one of the most inclusive team experiences you can offer.
Your people will leave feeling reconnected with a renewed sense of belonging and understanding – of each other and of themselves – whether they’ve worked together for years or have never met. Clients call it a game changer. This isn’t just a morale boost. It’s the foundation your team needs to do their best work, together.
In the words of past participants: it “seriously created trust, understanding, empathy and deep connections so easily” and “helps bring humans together to connect, make sense of things and have real breakthroughs.”
Includes a customisation session to tailor the experience to your audience and goals.
Key Takeaways:
- Why human connection is now mission critical – not just nice to have – and the business impact of trust and belonging on collaboration, culture and performance
- A firsthand experience of SUPERCONNECT® and LEGO® Serious Play® that builds real trust and connection between participants, fast
- A felt understanding of “mutually assured vulnerability” – participants don’t just hear about it, they experience what it feels like to be seen, heard and understood
- Participants feel a renewed sense of connection, belonging and understanding – of each other and of themselves
- An experience of a truly level playing field, where every voice is heard regardless of role, personality type, organisational role or communication style – so participants leave knowing what inclusive collaboration actually feels like
THE CURIOSITY EFFECT: Creating a Human Future in the Age of AI
AI is changing the way we work. But for most organisations, the real challenge isn’t the technology itself. It’s the human side. It’s tech fatigue, disconnection, and uncertainty about how to move forward when certainty is no longer possible.
Everything is changing so rapidly, it’s almost impossible to know what comes next. And when AI levels the playing field for so many capabilities, those capabilities stop being a competitive advantage. Your edge becomes the one thing AI can’t replicate: curiosity. The organisations that will thrive won’t be the ones that try to predict the future, they’ll be using the power of curiosity to create it.
Here’s what the research is making clear: curiosity is what unlocks the potential of AI – and what keeps the future human. The organisations that will thrive are the ones that deliberately build cultures of curiosity and experimentation, where people are open to possibility, adapt faster, innovate more freely, and bring the human judgement that AI on its own can’t provide.
In this interactive keynote, Dr Kate Raynes-Goldie shows why curiosity is the number one skill of the 21st century – and then helps your people reignite theirs. They won’t just learn about curiosity. They’ll reconnect with their own, and experience firsthand how it helps them think more creatively and critically, stay open to possibility, and let go of the things that hold them back. They’ll unlock fresh thinking and leave with the clarity and forward momentum to navigate what’s next.
Grounded in key cultural trends and backed by behavioural insight and research, this isn’t just a keynote about curiosity. It’s an interactive keynote designed to make people leave more curious than when they arrived.
Powered by SUPERCONNECT® and LEGO® Serious Play®, participants don’t just hear about curiosity – they experience it. Built on LEGO® Serious Play® – a method developed by the LEGO Group and two European business professors, and used by global brands including Virgin, IKEA and Samsung – SUPERCONNECT® uses LEGO bricks to engage with ideas in a way that’s open, creative and collaborative.
Through a psychologically safe, playful and thought-provoking shared experience, Dr Kate invites people to step into a space apart from the everyday. They explore what boosts their curiosity, what gets in its way, and how to intentionally cultivate it in their work and life. And because curiosity is also how we connect and reconnect as humans, something else happens along the way – participants build greater trust and understanding, have better conversations about what really matters, and gain fresh insight into themselves and those around them. It’s two outcomes in one – a practical curiosity toolkit and a powerful team experience.
In the words of past participants: it “brought awareness on many levels that are still unfolding to this day” and offered “a different way of looking at things.” As one participant reflected: “[The session] had me thinking all last night… It seems to have actually sparked in me a genuine curiosity about myself… I have committed to exploring [myself] much more deeply.”
Your people will leave feeling braver, bolder, more curious and energised – with a practical pathway to increase their adaptability and resilience into how they work, think, lead and navigate the future.
Key Takeaways:
- A firsthand experience of curiosity and its benefits in action – including how it helps people think more creatively and critically, stay open to possibility and let go of the things that hold them back
- A hands-on exploration of what blocks curiosity and what helps it thrive – including the powerful relationship between curiosity, play and psychological safety
- A reignited sense of curiosity, greater confidence and adaptability, a practical pathway for cultivating it beyond the session, and fresh insight into themselves and those around them
- The bonus of an embedded team cohesion experience that fosters trust, understanding and better conversations about what really matters
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