William Halal

William E. Halal (born June 29, 1933) is an American aerospace engineer, air force officer, academic, author, consultant, and speaker. He is professor emeritus of Management, Technology & Innovation at George Washington University, Washington, DC as well as the Founder and President of TechCast, a web-based system that uses knowledge to forecast breakthroughs on emerging technologies and social trends.

He is known for his work in the areas of emerging technology, strategic planning, and innovation, with a particular focus on strategic foresight, social evolution, knowledge, intelligence, consciousness, and institutional change. His research has been featured in newspapers, including Newsweek, The Washington Post and New York Times to newsletters. His latest book is One World: The Digital Revolution and the Rise of Global Consciousness.

Education Halal completed his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University in 1956. Later in 1970, he completed his Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley followed by a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the same institution in 1971. Halal has been rated among the top .5 % of scholars worldwide in publications and citations.

Halal is the founder of TechCast, a web-based system that pools the knowledge of experts to forecast the entire tech revolution and its profound social impacts, including breakthroughs in roughly 50 emerging technologies, 30 social trends, and 25 wild cards. The TechCast Project has won awards, been cited by the National Academies, featured in the Washington Post and published in Newsweek and The Futurist. Halal's publications in this field include his book, Technologies Promise, and several research articles, such as Forecasting the Technology Revolution.

His book, The New Capitalism, outlined how the Information Age is transforming business and society by extending Western ideals of free enterprise and democracy into corporations and other social institutions. His book also questioned current beliefs about the economy, society, and politics by discussing how certain unstoppable forces are influencing modern-day nations and institutions. In his book review, Lawrence J. Lad, stated that The book is a rich and easy treatment of what's wrong with old capitalism and what's right about new capitalism in its flexible, client-centered symbiotic, network organized approach to business.

Halal examined the impact of the information technology revolution on remote work and dynamic business units, market mechanisms replacing bureaucratic hierarchies within corporations, allowing employees to function as partially autonomous entrepreneurs. This idea is part of his broader TeleLiving vision, encompassing telework, telemedicine, e-commerce, and distance learning all conducted online. In his further research on knowledge management, he proposed the utilization of online learning and research systems, citing their resourcefulness for organizations in making well-informed forecasts, evaluating strategies, and reaching decisive conclusions.

His investigation into the Global MegaCrisis revealed that a significant deterioration could occur, leading to disaster or gradual worsening of severe problems. To address this, he proposed sustainable practices, renewable energy, and global collaboration as viable measures. His further research found that factors like climate change and financial instability posed a high risk of significant global disasters or even civilization collapse in several regions across the globe. The findings of the study also suggested that green business, e-commerce, alternative energy, climate control, and AI could play a significant role in promoting a sustainable future. His article “Through the MegaCrisis” that was awarded Outstanding Paper of the Year by Emerald. A seminal article, The Collaborative Enterprise, presented survey data showing the emergence of a stakeholder model of the firm uniting principles of profitability with responsibility and how they form a competitive advantage. Coauthored with Kenneth Taylor, 21st Century Economics was published as an anthology containing essays by scholars anticipating political economy on this side of the Millennium. sponsored by General Motors, and plotted the stages of technological development making up the Life Cycle of Evolution.

Halal's article The ‘democratic enterprise’ will redefine our society in Fortune argues that the traditional shareholder-focused capitalism is outdated and contributes to economic inequality and reduced productivity, he also advocates for a shift toward a "democratic enterprise," where businesses prioritize all stakeholders including workers, customers, and the public promoting collaboration and shared value creation.

Halal's book, Beyond Knowledge, was published in 2022.

His book One World? offers a vision of global convergence being forged in the crucible of digital revolution.