Julian Mancia is an experienced strategist based in New York City.

Julian Mancia is an experienced strategist based in New York City.

About me.

I get energy from two things: challenging established orthodoxies to create what seems impossible, and mentoring productively impatient people to do the same. Over the past decade as Managing Director and Futures Practice lead of ?What If! Innovation (part of Accenture), I’ve channeled these passions into building breakthrough products with the world’s largest organizations, and leading an 80-person multidisciplinary creative practice within a $60B global enterprise. Today, I leverage this experience, as well as my engineering foundation and entrepreneurial background, to directly help organizations adapt their strategies, products, and people to future change.

What I do for my clients.

Organizations are built to deliver the core business, not adapt for the future. I help organizations by providing what they are challenged to have internally — a deeper understanding of the world outside their business, freedom from their institutional assumptions and organizational silos, and license to experiment with new directions.

I work to develop new strategic directions by understanding how the world is changing and collaborating on what that means for a client's organization. I also work to equip teams — using the time developing strategy together to prepare the team to execute going forward. This dual mandate yields the most impact, as the only way to truly help organizations become more resilient is through their people.

In short, I help organizations adapt to change.


…develop
(new strategic directions)

I answer client questions such as:

  1. Where is our next wave of growth?

  2. How do we evolve ourselves to stay at the top / avoid disruption?

  3. What products and services will my future customers demand?

…by offering services commonly known as:

  1. Growth Strategy & Strategic Foresight

  2. New Product Definition / Development

  3. Consumer Insight / Product Experimentation

…equip
(a future-ready team)

I answer client questions such as:

  1. How can I activate my new company / organization strategy with my team?

  2. How can I "future-proof" my team?

…by offering services commonly known as:

  1. Strategy & Culture Alignment

  2. Coaching and skill-building in Critical Thinking, Strategic Foresight, and Innovation


Where I've done it before.

I have worked with clients across nearly every industry, including CPG (e.g. Pepsico), Financial Services (e.g. Vanguard), Technology (e.g. Google), Media & Entertainment (e.g. Disney), Retail (e.g. CHANEL), Pharmaceuticals (e.g. AbbVie), Logistics (e.g. FedEx), Airlines (e.g. JetBlue), and NGOs (e.g. The Rockefeller Foundation), to name a few.

To get a feel for the type of work I do, here are a few select examples:


Shipping & Logistics Client

A global logistics company needed to evolve the value they offer customers in the changing digital commerce landscape. We defined new value to prevent future commoditization, designed and launched new data-led products, and scaled their transformation enterprise-wide.


Media & Entertainment Client

A global media conglomerate needed to rethink their entertainment-experiences flywheel for a generation less engaged by traditional media. We redefined their business in the context of consumer value, established new products that ignored old organizational silos and leveraged emerging technologies, and shifted leadership thinking on growth beyond typical levers.


Technology Client

A premier technology company needed their executives ready to lead the AI future. We designed and ran an executive program that enabled leaders to spot paradigm shifts and meet them with a "healthy disregard for the impossible," preparing 60+ executives to lead through unprecedented change.


CPG Client

A global beverage company needed to figure out what a brewery should offer for a future consumer who no longer drinks alcohol. We defined future consumer needs, designed and launched new products outside of alcohol, and built their corporate venturing function to scale into new categories.


Additional details and cases can be provided upon request.

I have worked with clients across nearly every industry, including CPG (e.g. Pepsico), Financial Services (e.g. Vanguard), Technology (e.g. Google), Media & Entertainment (e.g. Disney), Retail (e.g. CHANEL), Pharmaceuticals (e.g. AbbVie), Logistics (e.g. FedEx), Airlines (e.g. JetBlue), and NGOs (e.g. The Rockefeller Foundation), to name a few.

To get a feel for the type of work I do, here are a few select examples:


Shipping & Logistics Client

A global logistics company needed to evolve the value they offer customers in the changing digital commerce landscape. We defined new value to prevent future commoditization, designed and launched new data-led products, and scaled their transformation enterprise-wide.


Media & Entertainment Client

A global media conglomerate needed to rethink their entertainment-experiences flywheel for a generation less engaged by traditional media. We redefined their business in the context of consumer value, established new products that ignored old organizational silos and leveraged emerging technologies, and shifted leadership thinking on growth beyond typical levers.


Technology Client

A premier technology company needed their executives ready to lead the AI future. We designed and ran an executive program that enabled leaders to spot paradigm shifts and meet them with a "healthy disregard for the impossible," preparing 60+ executives to lead through unprecedented change.


CPG Client

A global beverage company needed to figure out what a brewery should offer for a future consumer who no longer drinks alcohol. We defined future consumer needs, designed and launched new products outside of alcohol, and built their corporate venturing function to scale into new categories.


Additional details and cases can be provided upon request.

I have worked with clients across nearly every industry, including CPG (e.g. Pepsico), Financial Services (e.g. Vanguard), Technology (e.g. Google), Media & Entertainment (e.g. Disney), Retail (e.g. CHANEL), Pharmaceuticals (e.g. AbbVie), Logistics (e.g. FedEx), Airlines (e.g. JetBlue), and NGOs (e.g. The Rockefeller Foundation), to name a few.

To get a feel for the type of work I do, here are a few select examples:


Shipping & Logistics Client

A global logistics company needed to evolve the value they offer customers in the changing digital commerce landscape. We defined new value to prevent future commoditization, designed and launched new data-led products, and scaled their transformation enterprise-wide.


Media & Entertainment Client

A global media conglomerate needed to rethink their entertainment-experiences flywheel for a generation less engaged by traditional media. We redefined their business in the context of consumer value, established new products that ignored old organizational silos and leveraged emerging technologies, and shifted leadership thinking on growth beyond typical levers.


Technology Client

A premier technology company needed their executives ready to lead the AI future. We designed and ran an executive program that enabled leaders to spot paradigm shifts and meet them with a "healthy disregard for the impossible," preparing 60+ executives to lead through unprecedented change.


CPG Client

A global beverage company needed to figure out what a brewery should offer for a future consumer who no longer drinks alcohol. We defined future consumer needs, designed and launched new products outside of alcohol, and built their corporate venturing function to scale into new categories.


Additional details and cases can be provided upon request.

My Thinking.

Productively Contrarian (Substack)

What made strategy consulting valuable now makes it obsolete (fastcompany.com, January 2026)

Winning Business Strategies are Adaptive (Agile Amped Podcast, August 2022)

Lets chat.

Interested in working together? Partnering? Just catching up? Please reach out — always happy to chat.

© 2026 Julian Mancia