Richard Florida is a 2012 ULI Senior Visiting Fellow. He is the author of the global best-seller The Rise of the Creative Class, as well as Who’s Your City?, a national and international best-seller and Amazon.com book of the month. His book, The Great Reset, explains how new ways of living and working will drive post-crash prosperity.

Florida is the author of The Flight of the Creative Class and Cities and the Creative Class. His previous books, especially The Breakthrough Illusion and Beyond Mass Production, paved the way for his provocative looks at how creativity is revolutionizing the global economy.

Florida is senior editor for The Atlantic and a regular CNN contributor. He has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Economist, the Globe and Mail, and the Harvard Business Review. He has been featured as an expert on MSNBC, BBC, National Public Radio, and CBS, among other media outlets.

Florida has also been appointed to the Business Innovation Factory’s Research Advisory Council and was recently named European Ambassador for Creativity and Innovation.

Florida’s ideas on the “creative class,” commercial innovation, and regional development have been featured in major advertising campaigns from BMW and Apple, and are being used globally to change the way regions and nations do business and transform their economies.

Florida is one of the world’s leading public intellectuals on economic competitiveness, demographic trends, and cultural and technological innovation. International diplomats, government leaders, filmmakers, economic development organizations, and leading Fortune 100 businesses have benefited from his global approach to problem solving and strategy development.

He is one of the world’s most sought-after speakers on global trends, economics, prosperity, competitiveness, and growth. With his combination of in-depth analysis, understanding of cutting-edge trends, a fascinating personal story, and just a touch of self-deprecating humor, it is no wonder Florida was recently named one of Esquire Magazine’s Best and Brightest, alongside luminaries such as Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Sachs.