Joseph Coughlin

Joseph Coughlin is the founder and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. His research provides insights on how demographic change, technology, social trends and consumer behavior will converge to drive future innovations in business and government. Based in MIT’s Engineering Systems Division, Coughlin teaches policy and systems innovation and is author of the online publication Disruptive Demographics. He is one of Fast Company magazine’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” and was named by The Wall Street Journal as one of “12 pioneers inventing the future of retirement and how we will all live, work and play tomorrow.” Coughlin is a behavioral sciences fellow of The Gerontological Society of America and a fellow of Switzerland’s World Demographic & Ageing Forum, advising and speaking to businesses, governments and non-profits worldwide. He has served on numerous advisory boards, including those for British Telecom Health, Daimler, Fidelity Investments, Gallup, Healthways, Nissan, Putnam Investments, Sanofi-Aventis and Toyota. He was also appointed by President Bush to the White House Conference on Aging Advisory Committee. Coughlin has worked with governments in Asia and the European Union, the World Economic Forum, OECD and the Council on Foreign Relations on demographic change, technology and strategic advantage. He has been featured on ABC News, BBC, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, NBC’s TODAY and The Dr. Oz Show, as well as in News Asia, The Economist, Financial Times, The Straits Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other media outlets throughout the world.