Dennis Draeger

Change Agent, Christian, Entrepreneur, Idea generator, Writer/Editor

Dennis Draeger is a serial entrepreneur whose passion is helping other entrepreneurs visualize and achieve their goals. He has been a strategy consultant since 2009 with Shaping Tomorrow out of the UK and his own consulting business Aiglatson Strategy & Foresight. Initially, he consulted on strategic planning with small and medium-sized businesses in the US, and he advanced to consult on strategic foresight with multinational corporations and government agencies in Europe, North America, and Asia. Having lived in Hawkes Bay since 2009, he has always wanted to focus on the local community and help the Bay expand its influence throughout New Zealand and around the world. Dennis has circumnavigated the globe. He met his Kiwi wife in Seoul while she was teaching children and he was assisting CEOs and other executives with their business language skills. They bonded over their love of travel but eventually settled in Napier because of its beauty and culture. They now have two children and are hoping to one day claim ownership of a cat.

I love helping SMEs and entrepreneurs optimize their strategies to achieve their vision. I also love a good bushwalk especially when a waterfall is involved.

Aiglatson is a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the future. It is the positive emotion people feel when thinking about the future. The term is the reverse of nostalgia and was introduced to the futures studies academic literature by Jim Dator from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. When we stop our daily fretting over tedious issues and our obsession with a halcyon past, we can develop a hope for the future that will encourage us to fulfill our dreams.

foresight research, futures studies, horizon scanning, market research, project management, scenario analysis, strategic foresight, strategic planning, trend monitoring

Since moving to Hawkes Bay in 2009, I have always felt that Hawkes Bay was full of untapped potential. I want to help the Bay achieve its potential, and what better event to hold than a TEDx event to not only stimulate ideas but more importantly motivate people to achieve? I want this TEDx event to inspire people to take the next steps necessary to reach their ideals. Unfortunately, many citizens of Hawkes Bay are hindered by their own culture. They are ingrained with a belief that all their hard work to achieve their own dreams will be frowned upon by society. Yet, culturally speaking, Kiwis (particularly in Hawkes Bay) are resilient and imaginative, a combination that could help Hawkes Bay become a significant contributor to human progress in multiple fields.

I'm very humble. I even won a medal for being humble, but they actually took it away when I wore it. I also won a medal for being funny, and no one has taken that away. However, no one thinks it's funny when I wear it.