Chandran Nair is the Founder and CEO of the Global Institute for Tomorrow (GIFT). A bio-chemical engineer by training, Chandran was the Asia Pacific Chairman for a leading global consulting firm until 2004, and was responsible for opening offices in over 12 countries and establishing Asia as the business’s most successful region.
He strongly advocates for a more sustainable approach to development in Asia, advising governments and multi-national corporations to instil these principles into their policies. In addition to his work with GIFT, Chandran provides strategic management advice to business leaders and senior management teams including HSBC, BASF, Bosch, Petronas, Maxis, TEMASEK and PwC among others.
Chandran is a regular speaker at the World Economic Forum, APEC Summits, OECD Annual Conferences, ESCAP events and Khazanah Megatrends Forum. His articles on topics ranging from economic policy to geopolitics frequently appear in leading publications such as the Financial Times and The New York Times. He is regularly interviewed on global media networks including BBC, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg and Channel News Asia.
Chandran has served as Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology where he taught a course at their MBA programme. He is the only Southeast Asian full member of The Club of Rome and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Chandran is the author of Consumptionomics: Asia’s Role in Reshaping Capitalism and Saving the Planet which has been translated into Chinese, German and Bahasa. His second book The Sustainable State: The Future of Government, Economy and Society is being released in October 2018.
A keen sportsman, Chandran managed the Hong Kong hockey team for seven years, taking it to the 2002 Asian Games in South Korea. He has lived and worked in Asia, Europe and Africa.