Advisory Board
Cat
Zuzarte-Tully
Hugh
Forrest
Meabh
Quoirin
Steve
Higham
Cat Zuzarte Tully leads the School of International Futures (SOIF), a not-for-profit international collective who use futures thinking to inspire change at the local, national and global levels.
SOIF has worked with the UN, Omidyar, NATO, the Royal Society and national governments to build a sustainable and fairer world for current and next generations. SOIF also supports a growing network of Next Generation Foresight Practitioners.
She previously served as Strategy Project Director at the UK Foreign Office and as Policy Advisor in the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. She is a non-resident fellow at the US Government Accountability Office’s Center for Strategic Foresight and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Chilean Council of Foresight and Strategy. She is also a board member of Teach the Future, British Foreign Policy Group and Academics Stand Against Poverty.
Hugh Forrest worked at South by Southwest (SXSW) for more than 35 years, serving as President as well as Chief Programming Officer until April 2025. In this role, he led the overall direction of the event, as well as supervised the creation of content for the SXSW Conference, SXSW EDU and the SXSW Music, Film and Comedy Festivals.
He started his career at SXSW in 1989 and was involved with SXSW offshoot projects including North by Northwest (Portland, Oregon), SXSW V2V (Las Vegas), MeCon (Frankfurt, Germany and Stockholm, Sweden) and South by South Lawn (Washington DC).
Alongside fellow SXSW Directors Roland Swenson, Louis Black and Nick Barbaro, he was named “Austinite of the Year” in 2012 by the Austin Chamber of Commerce and Austin Entrepreneurs of the Year in 2014 by Ernst & Young. He was awarded a Key to the City of Austin by Mayor Steve Adler in 2023. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in from Kenyon College, his alma mater, in 2018 and was awarded Diversity Champion of the Year by the Austin Black Business Journal in 2021.
Meabh Quoirin is CEO and Co-Owner of Foresight Factory, a global leader in using data-driven foresight for transformational impact. A LinkedIn Top Voice, she partners with over 200 brands across a range of sectors, including FMCG, automotive, alcohol, and travel, to showcase how foresight can fuel growth and drive innovation.
Meabh leads a 70-strong team in London and New York who specialise in decoding consumer behaviours and emerging trends, helping leaders make strategic decisions that future-proof their businesses and unlock new opportunities. Their insights set the standard for brands navigating an unpredictable world.
A sought-after public speaker, she frequently delivers keynotes at events like TEDx and Dubai Future Forum. She also lectures at Dublin University and serves on Advertising Week’s Advisory Board, combining academic depth with practical expertise.
Steve Higham is a senior leader with over 25 years’ experience in national security. He served as a senior aide to two UK Prime Ministers in No10 Downing Street and has recently advised senior members of Sir Keir Starmer’s office and supported the Tony Blair Institute on defence and foreign policy work.
An expert in geopolitics, legal advisory, international relations and Government liaison, his previous clients range from Middle Eastern Governments to law firms in the US and UK.
He has served as the commander or master of 5 major naval ships and has supported military and intelligence operations in the Gulf, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan and Libya and was the commanding officer for a UK navy aircraft carrier from 2021-2022.