Parag Khanna is a leading global strategy advisor, world traveller, and best-selling author.
Current Work:
He is Founder & CEO of Climate Alpha, an AI-powered analytics platform that forecasts asset values to future-proof global real estate, and Founder & Managing Partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario based strategic advisory firm.
Parag's latest book is MOVE: Where People Are Going for a Better Future (2021), which was preceded by The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict & Culture in the 21st Century (2019). He is author of a trilogy of books on the future of world order beginning with The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order (2008), followed by How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance (2011), and concluding with Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization (2016). He is also author of Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info-State (2017) and co-author of Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization (2012). His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. Parag was named one of Esquire's “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” and featured in WIRED magazine's “Smart List.”
A widely cited global intellectual, Dr. Khanna provides regular commentaries for international media. His 2008 cover essay for the New York Times Magazine titled “Waving Goodbye to Hegemony,” is one of the most globally debated and influential essays since the end of the Cold War. Khanna's essays, reportage, and columns have appeared in major international publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, National Geographic, TIME, Foreign Affairs, Scientific American, Popular Science, Axios, Forbes, The Atlantic, Quartz, Foreign Policy, Noema, Harper's, BusinessWeek, The Guardian, The National Interest, McKinsey Quarterly, The American Interest, Global Policy, Stratfor, Esquire, Slate.com, and Die Zeit.
Dr. Khanna also appears frequently in media around the world such as CNN, BBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera and other broadcasters. In 2010, he became the first video-blogger for ForeignPolicy.com and from 2010-12, co-authored the Hybrid Reality blog on BigThink. From 2008-9, Parag was the host of “InnerView” on MTV. He was a consultant to the National Geographic series Origins. Khanna spoke at TED in 2016, TED Global 2009, was a guest host of TED Global 2012, and lead speaker at TEDxGateway in 2018. His TED talks have been viewed more than three million times. The maps customized for Dr. Khanna's books have been displayed in numerous prestigious international art exhibitions.
Parag lectures frequently at international conferences and gives tailored briefings to government leaders and corporate executives on global trends and scenarios, systemic risks and technological disruptions, and market entry strategies and economic master planning. He has provided expertise to many governments including the US, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, UK, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Italy, Estonia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mongolia, Bhutan, Chile, Malta, and numerous others. In 2016, he served on the Singapore government's Committee on the Future Economy and currently sits on the UAE Ministry of Economy's International Advisory Council. He also currently serves as a senior advisor to Gulf Capital, sits on the board of directors of the Out of Eden Walk, and as a member of the advisory boards of GeoQuant, Graticule Asset Management Asia (GAMA), Datarama, and Henley & Partners, and previously on the Innovation Advisory Board of DBS Bank and Globality.
Previous Experience:
Parag has been an adviser to the US National Intelligence Council's Global Trends program. From 2013-2018 he was a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. From 2006-2015, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the New America Foundation. During 2007, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a senior geopolitical adviser to United States Special Operations Forces. From 2002-5, he was the Global Governance Fellow at the Brookings Institution; from 2000-2002, he worked at the World Economic Forum in Geneva; and from 1999-2000, he was a Research Associate at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
Dr. Khanna holds a PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics, and Bachelors and Masters degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. In 2017, he was awarded a Richard von Weizsaecker fellowship of the Robert Bosch Academy. He has been a Senior Fellow of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Visiting Fellow at LSE IDEAS, Senior Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, Distinguished Visitor at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, Distinguished Visitor at the American Academy in Berlin, Next Generation Fellow of the American Assembly, Visiting Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Non-Resident Associate of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, and a Visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. He has received grants from the United Nations Foundation, Smith Richardson Foundation, and Ford Foundation.
Born in India, Parag grew up in the United Arab Emirates, New York, and Germany. He is an accomplished adventurer who has travelled to more than 150 countries on all continents. Some of his lengthy journeys include driving from the Baltic Sea through the Balkans and across Turkey and the Caucasus to the Caspian Sea, across the rugged terrain of Tibet and Xinjiang provinces in western China, and ten thousand kilometres from London to Ulaanbaatar in the Mongolia Charity Rally. He has climbed numerous 20,000-foot plus peaks, and trekked in the Alps, Himalayas, and Tien Shan mountain ranges.
Parag has been honoured as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and has served on the WEF's Global Future Council on Mobility, Global Agenda Council on Geoeconomics, and advisory board of its Future of Urban Development Initiative. He also serves on the board of trustees of the New Cities Foundation, Council of the American Geographical Society, advisory board of Independent Diplomat. He is a former term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, International Institute for Strategic Studies, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. In 2002, he was awarded the OECD Future Leaders Prize. He speaks German, Hindi, French, Spanish and basic Arabic.
Talking Points
Winners and Losers in the New Global Macro
Investors are actively seeking portfolio diversification across asset classes and geographies – but what makes for a safe haven in today’s volatile and unpredictable world? Dr. Parag Khanna has spent a quarter century traveling to more than 150 countries, advising the largest and most prestigious asset managers as well as the most respected and successful governments. His deep and interdisciplinary analysis paints a data-rich picture of megatrends spanning economics, geopolitics, demographics, technology and climate. Distilling these themes into actionable insights for investors, he confidently forecasts which societies and sectors are most likely to succeed in this complex new investment landscape.
Winners and Losers in the New Global Macro
The Global War for Young Talent
Our species is rapidly reaching “peak humanity.” The global population may cross nine billion people during the 2030s, after which it will rapidly decline. In fact, many aging societies from Europe to East Asia are already depopulating due to collapsing fertility and low immigration. But most of the world’s people are still young — and as they vote with their feet, they determine the winners and losers of the 21st century. Countries are now vigorously competing in a global war for youth to attract the taxpayers and homeowners, laborers and caregivers, students and entrepreneurs of the future. Companies must do the same – even though in a remote working world, millennials and Gen-Z are moving targets as they abandon national loyalty in favor of the most affordable and liberal lifestyle. Which societies are winning the war for young talent? How can corporations attract young employees to their headquarters while also building a decentralized workplace culture? Drawing upon the cutting-edge research in his latest book MOVE, Dr. Parag Khanna presents the world from the standpoint of the youth who will define it, guiding your talent acquisition and retention strategies for the years ahead.
The Global War for Young Talent
The Future is Asian: Billions of People, Trillions of Dollars
Asia is the world’s undisputed economic core. More than half the world’s population and GDP, as well as most of the world’s fast-growing economies and rapidly expanding middle class, are contained with its increasingly dense trade and investment agreements. Asia used to produce for the world, now the world produces for Asia. After Japan and China, the next chapter of Asia’s economic story is being written by the “fourth wave” regions of South and Southeast Asia, with countries such as India and Vietnam becoming key destinations for high-tech manufacturing as they capture key value chains and lead the world in minting unicorns. As the author of the landmark book The Future is Asian and strategic advisor to numerous Asian governments and corporations, there is no better guide than Dr. Parag Khanna to the geography that is defining the 21st century economy.
The Future is Asian: Billions of People, Trillions of Dollars
Navigating the New Geopolitical Marketplace
America no longer runs the world, nor will a “new Cold War” between the US and China determine global order. Instead, we find ourselves in a hyper-competitive “geopolitical marketplace,” the term Dr. Parag Khanna coined to capture how a half-dozen major powers are vying to be the trusted providers of military security, financial capital, energy resources, industrial equipment, digital technology, transport infrastructure and other vital services. Meanwhile, rather than choose sides, smart countries practice a deft “multi-alignment,” doing business in all directions to get the best deal for themselves. With his extensive experience advising heads of state and global corporations, Dr. Khanna guides you in finding opportunities in this complex new global system.
Navigating the New Geopolitical Marketplace
Climate Adaption: How to Future-Proof Your Company and Country
Net zero is not enough. Climate disasters are intensifying, with ever greater costs to societies everywhere. Hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, and other catastrophes are causing upwards of $250 billion in damage annually. Climate refugees now outnumber political and economic migrants. The world will not only be hotter but also more violent, with conflicts over food and water and uncontrolled mass migrations across the continents. That is why climate adaptation must be every nation and company’s foremost priority. This includes fortifying and redesigning our cities and buildings, accelerating renewable energy, boosting food production, and relocating our businesses, citizens, and workers to more livable habitats. The climate will not adapt to us; we will have to adapt to it. Drawing up Climate Alpha’s proprietary software, Dr. Parag Khanna provides detailed analysis of the locations across the globe best suited to your business requirements and guides you in creating a customized strategy for climate resilience.
Climate Adaption: How to Future-Proof Your Company and Country
Formats
Dr. Khanna offers the following formats for his engagements:Formats
* TED-style keynotes with large-screen maps and data visualizations
* Formal corporate presentations with industry relevant data and advisory
* Interactive panel dialogues as moderator or speaker
* Exclusive boardroom briefings for senior management delivering actionable strategic insight
* Leadership retreats mixing foresight workshops with casual dialogue
* Online webinars featuring presentations and interactive Q&A
Video
The Global War for Youth | Dr Parag Khanna | Saxton Speakers
Athens Democracy Forum | 30 Sept 2021 As the world faces a demographic contraction, today's populism will give way to a global war for young talent, argues Dr. Parag Khanna in his opening provocation at the 2021 Athens Democracy Forum.Cutting Edge: Why the future of AI is in Asia | Dr Parag Khanna | Saxton Speakers
AI has expanded rapidly in Asia over the last decade. China now leads the world in annual R&D spending with nearly $275 billion. We speak with thought leader Parag Khanna, Managing Partner of FutureMap, about some of the most exciting AI developments emerging from this dynamic area of the world and why AI's future goes beyond China to other parts of Asia.Move: Mapping Humanity | Dr Parag Khanna- Talks at Google | Saxton Speakers
Parag Khanna discusses his book "Move: The Forces Uprooting Us", an illuminating and authoritative vision of the next phase of human civilizationone that is both mobile and sustainable. As the book explores, compelling global forces will cause billions of us to move geographically over the next decades, ushering in an era of radical change and returning us to our nomadic roots while building more secure habitats.Why Mobility is Destiny | Dr Parag Khanna | Saxton Speakers
In the 60,000 years since people began spreading across the continents, a recurring feature of human civilization has been mobilitythe ever-constant search for resources, stability and opportunity. Driven by global events from conflicts, famine, repression and changing climates - to opportunities for trade, social advancement and freedom of thought - humans have relocated around the globe for millennia. But what happens when billions of people are on the move? As climate change tips toward full-blown crisis, economies collapse, governments destabilize, and technology disrupts, we're entering a new age of mass migrations. Futurist Parag Khanna uncovers the deep trends that are shaping the most likely scenarios for our future and asks what map of human geography will emerge.
