About Tim
Shaping Tomorrow, Today
Tim is a future-shaping practitioner and unique technology and policy operator bridging industry gaps to build the future, today. He is a recognized authority on built-world intelligence: the intersection of ai ecosystems, resilient supply chains, and the infrastructure of cities. As a regular contributor to the Forbes innovation section and a thought leader with a significant following among senior leadership and vp-level executives on LinkedIn, Tim provides a rare, unsanitized perspective on the forces reshaping global business.
As the founder and ceo of ETA Advisors, Tim partners with leaders who are ready to learn, empowering investors, governments, and fortune 500 companies to navigate the never-normal landscape of emerging technology and geopolitics. His guidance is anchored in elite-tier execution, having served as a key advisor at X, The Moonshot Factory (Google parent Alphabet’s innovation lab). Holding the rare distinction of commercializing two successful moonshots, including Waymo ( AI for mobility), and now Anori ( AI for buildings), he focuses on transitioning applied AI and robotics from behind glass screens into the built physical world. He is known to be the practitioner who can bring these ideas from sci-fi to sci-fact.
Tim teaches leaders how to move beyond innovation theater to true scaling. He instills a culture of curiosity, helping teams make space for iteration and the discipline of falling in love with the problem rather than the solution. By focusing on customer delight and the radical simplicity of deleting unnecessary complexities, he prepares organizations to de-risk innovation. His vision for the future of work is one of augmentation, not replacement. He understands the human and agentic collaborative workflows to amplify human potential, ensuring the focus remains on human-centric creativity and high-trust collaboration.
Tim’s unique edge lies in his dual-operator background and his fierce independence. Because he is actively building the future rather than just writing about it, he speaks without hype about what he is seeing, applying, and proving in real time. This allows him to translate early signals and signs into tangible steps for business leaders who want to seize opportunities before they become common knowledge. His track record is backed by powerful testimonials from clients and audiences who credit his sessions with fundamentally shifting their strategic trajectory.
Previously, Tim served as the first Chief Innovation Officer for San Francisco’s transport agency, where he mastered the art of change management and digital transformation within complex regulatory environments. He is known in Silicon Valley and globally as a bridge-builder who translates complex systems into practical next-step strategies. His ability to collaborate with teams to deliver tangible results has made him a sought-after partner for leading financial institutions, the UN, the World Bank, and the OECD.
Whether in a keynote or an executive workshop, Tim moves leaders beyond AI FOMO toward outcome-based accountability. He is always 5 years ahead because he isn’t just predicting 2030; he is part of the team building it.
For leaders looking to de-risk innovation and scale what’s next, Tim provides the blueprint and the know-how.
Unconventional Explorer, Purposeful Connector
Tim's a trailblazer who swaps four wheels for two, choosing the open road on his bike over a car in a garage. He leads a growing movement of digital nomad families with his baby daughter and spouse with a purpose, drawn to explore the world and its cultures rather than settling for a fixed location. This unconventional lifestyle fuels his systems thinking, allowing him to spot trends and patterns that others miss, and also teaches his daughter that the world isn't fixed and constantly in flux.
More than just an adventurer, Tim's a seeker of knowledge. He's a dedicated student of indigenous wisdom, from where he was born in Australia to where he met with his medicine teacher from the Diné people in Arizona, weaving their sacred teachings into his daily life. He is deeply spiritual and extends this curiosity to understanding the links between mind, body, and soul, and earth and sky above. He focuses on his physical and mental health and fitness, being a role model for his family and community, where he thrives on living as close to his ancestral ancient Greek Mediterranean lifestyle.
Tim's passion for building bridges extends beyond physical journeys. He's an active advocate for women and varied cultures and orientations in tech, mentoring future leaders and offering career and lifestyle change advice based on his own experiences. His empathy fuels his work with groups that have been passed by mainstream systems, whether it is people who are immigrants (whom he shares his lived experience), different generations, people with disabilities, neurodivergent and marginalized queer communities ( like himself), as he understands the challenges they face.
Tim's approach to fitness is about longevity based on his curiosity for functional health, not just looking good. He champions a weight program designed to keep him healthy and strong for the long haul to keep up with his daughter!
But he isn't all work and no play. He's a joy seeker who finds humor in most situations, making him easygoing and a delight to collaborate with. Tim has been fortunate to travel to over 100 countries, getting to know their people, cities, regions, economies, and systems. He has also been able to immerse himself and experience their unique customs, culture, and cuisine on six continents. He enjoys family connections and savors spending time on his family's ancestral farm on the north Aegean islands, where the swimming, local produce, and day and night sky hikes are magical. He takes life seriously, but not himself. He values the meaningful friendships built along the way. Chances are, he knows someone in the city he visits for a speaking engagement.
He has bases in San Francisco, Athens, and South Florida, making him accessible to the major world hubs. Tim's genuine curiosity and dedication to going the extra mile leave his clients satisfied and coming back for more. He's a reminder that a life less ordinary can lead to extraordinary connections and a positive impact on the world.
