CHANTELL ILBURY

Scenario strategist and future thinking expert

Her career is backed by a blend of scientific and business disciplines:

Scientific Training: She holds a BSc in Chemistry and a post-graduate Higher Diploma in Education from the University of Natal.
Business Leadership: She earned an Executive MBA from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (where she first met Clem Sunter in 2000) and studied Strategic Negotiation at Harvard Business School.
Early Entrepreneurship: Before becoming a full-time strategist, she pioneered a radical learner-based approach to science education, designing and exporting creative science kits for students.

Strategy Facilitation: As a founding partner of Mindofafox, she has spent over 20 years guiding executive teams and governments through strategic conversations. Her work spans sectors including mining, energy, agriculture, and retail across the UK, US, Australia, and throughout Africa.
Education & Mentorship: She is a founding partner of Growing Foxes, the educational arm that brings scenario planning to schools. She also lectures at several top international business schools and is an Executive Fellow at Strathmore University.
Board Leadership: She currently serves as a Non-Executive Director for the South African Chamber of Commerce in the UK.

Chantell has authored or co-authored several seminal books that have defined modern scenario planning:

The Mind of a Fox (2001): A global bestseller that gained fame for identifying a scenario similar to the 9/11 attacks before they occurred.
Games Foxes Play (2005) & Socrates & the Fox (2007): Furthering the methodology into business “game” theory and strategic dialogue.
A Fox’s Tale (2016): An insightful memoir detailing her journey as a woman in a male-dominated corporate world and her experiences navigating global uncertainty.