Killian
MacDonald
Senior Associate Director, AI & Integrated Campaigns
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Killian MacDonald is a narrative futurist and multimedia creator specialising in data-driven storytelling and genAI technologies. As a senior associate director based in Edinburgh, UK, Killian supports the firm’s global strategy and planning team where she helps drive growth and integrated programs, fostering the development and integration of AI tools for clients and colleagues alike.
If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?
Her prior role as deputy chief of staff in the Office of the Executive Chairman and chair of the firm’s North America DEI Council honed her expertise in executive advisory, multicultural VIP stakeholder engagement and the operationalization of new service offerings, notably in the development of international advisory boards. She has a versatile background working with clients across cultural heritage, tourism, NGOs and consumer brands, augmented by her on-the-ground experience in markets such as China, India, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Her earlier career includes roles at the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s protocol team.
In addition to her corporate roles, Killian is a novelist, co-author of ‘The Kepler Files,’ and theatre producer. She is also the curator of the World Economic Forum Global Shaper’s Edinburgh Hub and actively contributes to the preservation of intangible cultural heritage in Scotland as an apprentice Traditional Scottish Storyteller, beginner Gaelic speaker and member of multiple heritage organisations.
Killian holds a dual B.A. in Public Communication and Religious Studies from American University, and a MSc in Narrative Futures: Art, Data, and Society from the University of Edinburgh’s Futures Institute. Her insightful research into the application of generative AI for creating multimedia fantasy worlds was shortlisted for a Creative Edinburgh 2023 award. She also holds certifications from the McKinsey Management Programme, the Digital Marketing Institute and the Protocol School of Washington.