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Question of the Week: If Anyone Could Keynote…

  • May 13, 2025
  • 20 replies
  • 287 views

danielleatsafe
Safer
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We're still buzzing from the energy of Peak of Data and AI last week in Seattle! The insights, innovations, and inspiring speakers gave us a lot to think about.

Now we're turning it over to you:

If you could see any speaker - real or fictional - give a keynote at a conference, who would it be, and why?

Drop your pick in the comments below!

New to the Question of the Week? 

Every week, we’ll post a simple but thought-provoking question that could be about your FME journey, the power of spatial data, FME innovation, or the future of FME.

Each weekly question you answer earns you an entry in our monthly draw for exclusive Safe swag ($50 value) and points toward badges! Answer our May Questions of the Week by May 31, 2025 at 5:00 pm PDT to be entered in this month’s draw.

Answer your first question and you’ll get the Socializer (Ice Breaker) badge. Answer five questions and you’ll get the Socializer (Talker) badge.

20 replies

danilo_fme
Celebrity
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  • Celebrity
  • May 13, 2025

Hi ​@danielleatsafe first, nice to see in person!

It’s a great question. I would like to see the Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos. 

I believe that their lectures would be very interesting because of the technology that surrounds us.


danielleatsafe
Safer
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It was great to finally meet you in-person too ​@danilo_fme! We’ll see what we can do for the next Peak 😜


danilo_fme
Celebrity
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  • Celebrity
  • May 13, 2025

It was great to finally meet you in-person too ​@danilo_fme! We’ll see what we can do for the next Peak 😜

Sure. London!


crutledge
Influencer
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  • Influencer
  • May 13, 2025

Simon Sinak or Marshall Mcluhan (you said anyone). Both have messages and thoughts that continue to resonate. And have greatly influenced how I interact with the world.


philippeb
Enthusiast
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  • Enthusiast
  • May 13, 2025

For sure my dream is to see FME Lizard on stage, but my second option would be Alex Ferguson from Scotland, legendary former manager of Manchester United.


mark2atsafe
Safer
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Ideal keynote? Let’s see… 

Fictional speakers? I think Doc Emmett Brown from Back to the Future would be pretty amazing!

Since the next FME conference will be in England, how about Sherlock Holmes? Well, it’s elementary!

For real people, how about Tim Berners-Lee? Or Hannah Fry - mathematician and lecturer at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis? I think she’d be an awesome keynote.


danilo_fme
Celebrity
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  • Celebrity
  • May 14, 2025

It was great to finally meet you in-person too ​@danilo_fme! We’ll see what we can do for the next Peak 😜

Thanks!


redgeographics
Celebrity
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+1 for Hannah Fry, she would be awesome!

Other suggestions: Randall Munroe from XKCD, who is not only wickedly smart and funny (check out his What If… channel) but also often has mappy content, such as… Map Projections 😃

 

A few years ago at my annual cartography conference the keynote speaker was Geoffrey Mandel. From the programme: “His first industry job was as an art department assistant on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and since 1995 he has been working as a graphic designer for films and TV shows, including Space: Above & Beyond, JAG, NCIS, Star Trek: Voyager, Spider-Man 2, Serenity, Blades of Glory, Dirt, X-Men: First Class, Gangster Squad, Parks & Recreation, Mad Men, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Muppets, Black Mass, La La Land, and the upcoming Downsizing and American Made.

In his spare time, Mandel designs and illustrates props, blueprints and star maps for various science fiction franchises, including the Serenity blueprints, and maps of the Star Trek, Firefly and Battlestar Galactica universes.”


filipovitz
Contributor
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  • Contributor
  • May 15, 2025

Best partner for FME Lizard would be of course David Attenborough ;)

Also it would be nice to listen Geoffrey Hinton talking about his point of view on the use of AI in geospatial industry


geomancer
Evangelist
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  • Evangelist
  • May 15, 2025

I would like to see (and meet) Jack Reacher (the one from the books, not so much his on-screen incarnations). 📚😀


raghavendrans
Enthusiast
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I would like to see Dale Lutz as the keynote speaker after stepping down from his leadership position at Safe Software. The outsider view of an ex Insider!

 


liamfez
Influencer
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  • Influencer
  • May 15, 2025

@philippeb I too would like to see FME Lizard on stage.

I would also love to attend an XKCD keynote ​@redgeographics.


TandraAtSafe
Safer
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John Green is an author, health advocate, and internet personality who is just really wise and down to earth. I’d love to see him give a talk on his life and experiences and how data has shaped the world. A lot of his current work has been raising awareness and money for maternal health in Africa and tuberculosis. 


dmitribagh
Safer
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  • Safer
  • May 15, 2025

Ivan Sutherland, a computer graphics pioneer and an inventor of VR/AR!


natalieatsafe
Safer
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Thinking of the fictional character angle here, I’d love to see and meet Ted Lasso as keynote speaker...just so much positivity packed into one person!


ajbaum77
Contributor
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  • Contributor
  • May 19, 2025

I think Douglas Adams would have been an excellent Keynote speaker. As a real/fictional combo I’d love to see Harry Shearer as his Spinal Tap character Derek Smalls...


runneals
Supporter
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  • Supporter
  • May 19, 2025

Someone that’s obsessed about collecting and managing data in sports… Maybe like a director of data for an F1 team or hockey team?


sammy
Supporter
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  • Supporter
  • May 19, 2025

Robin Williams because Robin Williams


redgeographics
Celebrity
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I think Douglas Adams would have been an excellent Keynote speaker. As a real/fictional combo I’d love to see Harry Shearer as his Spinal Tap character Derek Smalls...

If Harry could also channel Mr Burns that’d be…. excellent…. 😂


danielleatsafe
Safer
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Congratulations ​@philippeb! You won our May prize draw for Question of the Week. We’ll send you a private message with details on receiving your FME swag prize pack!