Mo Gowdat

Former Chief Business Officer at Google X, Four Times Bestselling Author, Founder of One Billion Happy & Co-Founder of Emma Love & Unstressable

Mo Gowdat’s Biography:

Mo Gawdat is a software engineer, entrepreneur, author, podcaster and public speaker best known for his work on happiness and artificial intelligence. As former Chief Business Officer at Google X, he operated at the forefront of breakthrough technologies while grappling with the ethical implications of rapid innovation. Today, Mo is recognised globally for his early whistleblowing on the unregulated development of AI and for becoming one of the most consulted voices on its societal impact. Through bestselling books and international speaking engagements, he bridges technology, mental health and human wellbeing.

Mo studied civil engineering at Ain Shams University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1990, before earning an MBA from Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands. He began his career at IBM Egypt as a systems engineer and later joined NCR Abu Dhabi, where he covered the non-finance sector. Moving to Microsoft, he held a variety of senior roles over seven and a half years, gaining extensive experience in global technology operations before joining Google in 2007.

At Google, Mo rose to become Chief Business Officer of Google X, contributing to some of the company’s most ambitious innovation projects. Following his corporate career, he turned his focus to wellbeing and ethical AI. He is the Founder of One Billion Happy, Co-Founder of Unstressable and Chief AI Officer at Flight Story. He also hosts Slo Mo, the world’s leading mental health podcast, where he interviews thinkers, scientists and change-makers about life, happiness and resilience. In 2025, he began writing ‘Alive: Conversations About Life When Technology Becomes Sentient in collaboration with his Substack community’.

Mo is the author of ‘Solve for Happy: Engineering Your Path to Joy‘, Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence’ and ‘How You Can Save Our World’, ‘That Little Voice in Your Head: Adjust the Code That Runs Your Brain’ and ‘Unstressable: A Practical Guide to Stress-Free Living’, co-authored with Alice Law. His work has positioned him as a leading commentator on happiness, stress management and responsible AI development.

Why Hire Mo Gowdat?

Mo is hired as a speaker for his rare ability to combine deep technological expertise with profound human insight. Drawing on senior leadership experience at Google X and decades within global technology firms, he delivers credible, strategic analysis of artificial intelligence, innovation and the ethical responsibilities facing leaders in an increasingly automated world. His perspective is grounded in first-hand experience at the frontier of technological change.

Beyond technology, Mo delivers transformative keynotes on happiness, mental health and resilience, grounded in both engineering logic and personal experience. As host of the Slo Mo podcast and a featured guest on leading platforms including ‘The Diary of a CEO’ with Steven Bartlett, he reaches global audiences with clear, thought-provoking conversations about AI, purpose and emotional well-being. His bestselling books and major media appearances reinforce his authority and broad appeal.

Mo Gowdat’s Career Highlights:

Here are some of the key milestones that define Mo Gowdat’s impressive career:

• 2025 – Began writing Alive: Conversations About Life When Technology Becomes Sentient in collaboration with his Substack community.
• 2024 – Co-authored Unstressable: A Practical Guide to Stress-Free Living with Alice Law and co-founded Unstressable.
• 2022 – Published That Little Voice in Your Head: Adjust the Code That Runs Your Brain, expanding his work on mental wellbeing.
• 2021 – Published Scary Smart through Macmillan, addressing the future of artificial intelligence and global responsibility.
• 2017 – Published Solve for Happy: Engineering Your Path to Joy, outlining his engineering approach to happiness.
• 2007 – Joined Google and later rose to Chief Business Officer at Google X.
• 2000 – Held senior leadership roles at Microsoft over seven and a half years.
• 1990s – Joined NCR Abu Dhabi to lead coverage of the non-finance sector in the UAE.
• 1990 – Began his career at IBM Egypt as a systems engineer.
• 1990 – Graduated from Ain Shams University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.