Peter de Jager
Peter de Jager, born in 1955, is a South African-born Canadian computer engineer who is the Owner of de Jager and Company Ltd. and a keynote speaker, writer, and consultant with over 35 years of experience in change management and technology consulting. He is best known to IT and Fortune 500 audiences for his efforts to create responsible awareness of the Y2K issue, for which he became the namesake of the de Jager Year 2000 index, which began trading on the American Stock Exchange in 1997.
Peter currently operates de Jager and Company Ltd., which he has owned since January 1990, focusing on presentations, workshops, and consulting assignments relating to change management issues. He has published hundreds of articles internationally on topics ranging from Problem Solving, Creativity, and Change to the impact of technology on areas such as privacy, security, and business.
His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Futurist, and Scientific American. He writes regular columns for Municipal World, Globe & Mail online, ABA Bankers Journal, and CIPS Across Canada. Peter conducts monthly webinars through his Technobility platform and has spoken in over 45 countries to audiences including the World Economic Forum, The World Bank, and the Bank for International Settlements. Read Busted: Managing the Myths of Change.
In 1993, Peter authored the seminal article “Doomsday 2000” in Computerworld, which launched an industry-wide response to Y2Kand alerted the world to the potential catastrophe of the millennium bug. In 1996, he testified before the US Congress and the Canadian parliament about the Y2K crisis. His tireless efforts included visiting 45 countries and participating in thousands of interviews to warn about Y2K issues, ultimately contributing to the expenditure of up to $600 billion globally in preparation for Y2K.
In 1998, Peter authored and published Countdown Y2K: Business Survival Planning for the Year 2000. which became an international bestseller. He built and operated year2000.com, which he later sold. To demonstrate confidence in Y2K remediation, he spent the dawn of a new century mid-air, flying from Chicago to London Heathrow. Read Peter de Jager: Where is The Computer Consultant Today? and Y2K: More Signs of the Time. Listen to Doomsday 2000/2038/2100.
Between 1983 and 1993, Peter served as Information Centre Manager at Dylex, where he began as an IC Analyst and ultimately became Systems Manager for Fairweather, a division of Dylex. From 1980 to 1981, he worked as a Programmer at Loblaw Companies Limited. His career in technology began in 1977 when he started as an operator with IBM. On his first day on the job, he noticed that their systems were using two-digit years, an observation that would later inform his Y2K advocacy work.
Peter earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Toronto – New College in 1979, majoring in mathematics. He attended Brettonwood High School from 1969 to 1970. His educational background in both theoretical mathematics and practical computer science provided the analytical foundation for identifying and articulating complex technological challenges.
In May 2001, Peter was honored by CIPS for his work in Y2K and was at that time appointed as an Associate Director of The Global Future Forum, a past Unisys Corporation initiative. He has been a member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) since September 2015. Peter serves on multiple advisory boards and continues to be sought after for his expertise in organizational transformation and technology adoption.
In December 2009, Peter received our prestigious Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award. The 2009 Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award was given to Peter on the tenth anniversary of Y2K, which he helped avert. This award is in recognition of his 1993 warning, which alerted the world to the potential disaster that might have occurred on January 1, 2000, and his subsequent efforts to create global awareness of the problem and its possible solutions.
His presentations, articles, and more than 2,000 media interviews contributed significantly to the world’s mobilization to avoid that fate. This recognition places him alongside previous winners, including Stephen Hawking, Ray Kurzweil, and Sir Martin Rees. Listen to Y2K: An Autobiography.
As a thought leader, Peter has developed a distinctive approach to change management that challenges conventional wisdom. His presentations and workshops are highly interactive, fun, irreverent to mistaken ideas, and most distinctively — provocative. His work forces you to think differently about things you thought you were already sure you knew.
He has appeared on major media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, and has been profiled by the Financial Times of London and The New York Times. His speaking engagements have been rated as top presentations at conferences globally, with participants praising his interactive and insightful delivery style. Watch From Y2K To Books For Success — Peter de Jager Reveals His Secrets! and Peter de Jager Change Management. Listen to History Fix Episode 42: Y2K With Peter de Jager.
Peter has authored several books, including A Pocketful of Change published in Toronto in January 2001, which explores organizational change in all its forms. He also wrote Managing 00: Surviving the Year 2000 Computing Crisis and continues to produce educational content on change management, problem-solving, and creativity. His work extends beyond Y2K to encompass broader themes of technological disruption, privacy, ethics, and the human factors in technology adoption. Read Pioneers in Tech: Peter de Jager, the oracle of Y2K.
Peter was born in Durban, South Africa, in 1955, and currently resides in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. He describes himself as “Born in South Africa, Raised in Ireland, live in Canada,” bringing a multicultural perspective to his work. His unique background and extensive international experience inform his approach to global organizational challenges and technological change.
Read Have we learned nothing from Y2K?, What Y2K can teach us about pandemic stocks, Y2K bug was real and could have killed says man who found it — here’s when it could hit again, and I’m Busy – Go Away!
Visit his LinkedIn profile, Personal Homepage, and Vimeo channel. Follow him on Amazon and Facebook.