Selbey Labs will help clients identify, understand and respond to emerging opportunities and threats through foresight, research, machine learning and strategic consulting.

The practice will work closely with other Selbey Anderson group agencies and partners, and will help identify macro trends, key sector and market trends, and audience insights.

Gerry Hopkinson (pictured), who set up the practice, has been named as chief executive officer for Selbey Labs.

Other team members include Sean Pillot de Chenecey, head of foresight and strategy, Helen Pillot de Chenecey as insights and trends researcher, and Ian Henderson as chief creative officer.

The management team is supported by a panel of faculty partners, including futurist Carsten Beck of The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS), Dr Elizabeth Stephens, geopolitical risk advisory lead, social psychology lead Dr Rachel Lawes and Georgina Lee, innovation lead.

Selbey Labs has also signed a partnership agreement with the CIFS to help develop new products and services, as well as with Lumilinks to research and develop a bespoke predictive analytics tool.

Hopkinson said: “Selbey Labs is all about delivering on our group positioning as difference makers and our mission to find and unlock value and bring clarity to a complex world.

“Historically, futurists have found it difficult to separate signals and noise – but by engaging machine learning alongside senior consultancy, we can focus on the signals and forget the noise.”

Dom Hawes, group chief executive officer at Selbey Anderson, said: “This is a significant development in the life of Selbey Anderson, giving us a foothold in the world of insight and innovation as well as a pathway to developing our own intellectual property.

“More importantly, it provides a new way of looking at the world, helping clients make sense of it with practical, useful and effective strategies to adapt, evolve and thrive.”