Ken Dychtwald

Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D.
Born	Kenneth M. Dychtwald 1950
Residence	Orinda, CA
Occupation	Gerontologist, psychologist, author, consultant, professional speaker
Spouse(s)	Maddy Dychtwald
Website	www.agewave.com

Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D. is a gerontologist, psychologist, educator, lecturer, consultant, entrepreneur, and expert on aging-related issues; has appeared in numerous films and TV interviews; and is the author of sixteen books. He is also the founder and CEO of Age Wave,^[1] a company that conducts benchmark field research and provides consulting services to corporations and non-profits organizations worldwide on a broad range of issues relating to aging populations.^[2][3]

Dychtwald was honored in 2015 by Investment Advisor Magazine as one of the 35 most influential thought leaders in the financial services industry over the past 35 years. He has twice received the distinguished American Society on Aging Award for outstanding national leadership, and American Demographics honored him as the single most influential marketer to baby boomers over the past quarter century. Dychtwald's article in the Harvard Business Review “It’s Time to Retire Retirement” won the first place McKinsey Prize as the best article of the year. Dychtwald and his wife, Maddy Dychtwald, are the recipients of the Esalen Prize for their outstanding contributions to advancing the human potential of aging men and women worldwide.

Dychtwald has served as a fellow and presenter at the World Economic Forum in Davos and was a delegate and featured presenter at both the 1995 and 2005 White House Conferences on Aging.^[4]

During his career, Dychtwald has addressed more than two million people worldwide in his speeches to corporate, association, social service, and government groups. His imaginative ideas and strikingly accurate predictions are regularly featured in leading print and electronic media worldwide. His work has garnered over ten billion media impressions worldwide.^[1]

Background

Ken Dychtwald grew up in Newark, NJ. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Union Graduate School. In 1973, at age 23, he became co-director of the SAGE Project.^[5] Funded by the National Institutes of Health, SAGE investigated how newly popular mind/body disciplines, such as yoga, meditation, nutrition therapy, and biofeedback could improve the health and well-being of older adults. At age 27, he published his first book, Bodymind,^[6] based on his doctoral thesis. In 1982, Dychtwald joined a panel created by the Office of Technology Assessment, a think tank for the US Congress, to examine how population aging would impact America in the 21st century.^[7]

In 1986, Dychtwald founded the California Bay Area-based think tank Age Wave, the world’s leading advisor to companies and government groups regarding product and service development for men and women aged 50+.^[8] His client list has included over half the Fortune 500, and his innovative solutions have catalyzed a broad spectrum of industry sectors—from pharmaceuticals and medical technology, to automotive design and retail merchandising, to financial services and healthcare.

Dychtwald produced and hosted the 2007 two-hour PBS special, The Boomer Century: 1946-2046.^[9] His most recent PBS special With Purpose: Going from Success to Significance In Work and Life aired nationwide in 2009 to coincide with the book release of the same title.^[10][11]

In 1996 and again in 2013, Dychtwald received the American Society on Aging Award for outstanding national leadership in the field of aging.^[12]

Dychtwald is deeply involved in numerous activities for the public good including the Alzheimer’s XPRIZE, which he co-envisioned with XPRIZE Founder Dr. Peter Diamandis in 2012. The Alzheimer’s XPRIZE team is now preparing to globally crowdsource a new 21st century approach to ending Alzheimer’s disease.^[13]

In 1983, Dychtwald married Maddy Kent Dychtwald, a professional lecturer, author and co-founder of Age Wave.^[14] They have two children, Casey and Zak.

Consumer and social theories

Books

• Bodymind, Tarcher Putman, 1986^[16][17]
• Age Wave: How the Most Important Trend of Our Time Will Change Your Future, with co-author Joe Flower, Bantam Books, 1990^[18][19]
• Healthy Aging: Challenges and Solutions, Aspen, 1999^[20][21]
• Age Power: How the 21st Century Will Be Ruled by the New Old, Tarcher Putnam, 2000^[22][23]
• Leaving a Legacy: The Essential Resource for Financial Professionals, with co-authors Mark Zesbaugh and Catherine Fredman, Age Wave Press, 2006^[24]
• The Power Years: A User's Guide to the Rest of Your Life, with co-author Daniel J. Kadlec, Wiley, 2005^[25][26]
• Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills and Talent, with co-authors Tamara J. Erickson and Robert Morison, Harvard Business Review Press, 2006^[27][28]
• Handbook of the New American Workforce, with co-authors David Baxter, Tamara Erickson and Robert Morison, 2006^[29]
• Gideon’s Dream: A Tale of New Beginnings, co-authored with Maddy Dychtwald, Grace Zaboski, and Dave Zaboski (who also illustrated the book), HarperCollins 2008^[30][31][32]
• With Purpose: Going From Success to Significance in Work and Life, with co-author Daniel J. Kadlec, William Morrow, 2009^[33][34]
• A New Purpose: Redefining Money, Family, Work, Retirement, and Success, with co-author Daniel J. Kadlec, Harper Paperbacks, 2010^[35][36]

Film and TV work

• Age Power! With Ken Dychtwald: How the 21st Century Will be Ruled by the New Old, PBS, 2000^[37]
• The Boomer Century: 1946-2046, PBS, 2007^[9][38]
• With Purpose: Going from Success to Significance In Work and Life, PBS, 2009^[39]
• The Arc of Life: Huston Smith on Life, Death & Beyond, mondayMEDIA, 2012^[40][41][42]

References