Nicholas Haan

Dr. Nicholas Haan is a moonshot agitator for solving the world’s biggest challenges and creating a future that’s good for people and the planet. He draws from his multifaceted background to enable leaders to cultivate new mindsets, insights and skills necessary to thrive in the digital transformation era.

Nicholas is a Swahili-speaking, US–East Africa hybrid–originally from California and living in Kenya, Tanzania, and throughout Africa for 30+ years. His expertise crosscuts technology, innovation, impact, food security, disaster aid, climate change, energy, education, genetics, and information systems. He is a sought-after speaker and innovation advisor to corporations, governments, and startups around the world.

Nicholas has been with Singularity University since 2012, serving in various roles including as Vice President for Impact, Faculty Chair of Global Grand Challenges, and Managing Director for the Global Startup Program.

Nicholas has a successful track record for creating moonshots, including the global standard used for classifying and analyzing food insecurity, called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Advanced Technology and Artificial Intelligence Working Group of the United Nations. Nicholas was awarded the NASA Earth Systems Science Fellowship and selected for the New Zealand Edmund Hillary Fellowship for Global Impact leaders. Nicholas is an entrepreneur, co-founding multiple startups including Kizo Africa (kizoafrica.org) to empower African youth to thrive in the digital era and FieldReady.org.

Nicholas is an expedition sea kayaker and is ‘in his zone’ while doing extreme adventures in remote terrain. He and his kayak partner are the first-ever to paddle the entire lengths of Lake Victoria and Lake Turkana.

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