Otto Scharmer

Otto Scharmer is a Senior Lecturer in the MIT Management Sloan School and cofounder of the Presencing Institute. He chairs the MIT IDEAS program for cross-sector innovation and introduced the concept of “presencing”—learning from the emerging future—in his bestselling books Theory U and Presence (the latter coauthored with P. Senge et al). He is coauthor of Leading from the Emerging Future, which outlines eight acupuncture points for transforming capitalism. His most recent book, The Essentials of Theory U, outlines the core principles and applications of awareness-based systems change.

In 2015, Otto cofounded the MITx u.lab, a massive open online course (MOOC) for leading profound change, which has since activated a global ecosystem of societal and personal renewal involving more than 140,000 users from 185 countries. In 2019, he launched an annual innovation infrastructure called Societal Transformation Lab that supports place-based teams on reinventing economies, advancing democracies and regenerating learning and leadership systems worldwide.

Otto earned his diploma and PhD in economics from Witten/Herdecke University in Germany. A member of the World Future Council, he received the Jamieson Prize for Excellence in Teaching at MIT, and the European Leonardo Corporate Learning Award.The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General appointed him to the UN Learning Advisory Council for the 2030 Agenda.

For more information: www.ottoscharmer.com and www.presencing.org