Travels from Singapore
Parag Khanna's speaking fee falls within range: $50,000 to $70,000
Parag Khanna is a leading global strategy advisor, world traveler, and bestselling author. He is Founder & CEO of AlphaGeo, the leading AI-powered geospatial analytics platform with a mission promote resilient investing in an age of rising complexity.
Dr. Khanna is the internationally bestselling author of seven books including MOVE: Where People Are Going for a Better Future (2021), preceded by The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict & Culture in the 21st Century (2019), as well as 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 the 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.
Dr. Khanna is a member of the Global Advisory Board of Henley & Partners, Asia Advisory Council of the Milken Institute, Councilor of the American Geographical Society, and the board of directors of the Out of Eden Walk. For 2025-26, Parag has been named a Visiting Research Fellow of ADIA Labs in Abu Dhabi, and for 2025-27, he is a Visiting Senior Fellow of the LSE Data Science Institute. During 2022-23, he was an inaugural YPO Leadership Fellow, providing strategic guidance to numerous chapters and communities of the 30,000 member YPO global network. During the early 2010s, he served as 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 deployed to 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.
A widely cited global intellectual, Dr. Khanna’s 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 worldwide media 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 executives on global trends and scenarios, systemic risks and technological disruptions, and market entry strategies and economic master planning. He has provided expertise at the highest levels of government in the US, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, UK, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Italy, Estonia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, Pakistan, Malaysia, 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 has sat on the UAE Ministry of Economy’s International Advisory Council. He has served on the Innovation Advisory Board of DBS and been a senior advisor to Gulf Capital and Globality.
Dr. Khanna holds a PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the School of Foreign Services at Georgetown University, where he studied geopolitics, diplomacy and philosophy. He was awarded a Richard von Weizsaecker fellowship at 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 traveled 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 kilometers 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 is also a competitive tennis player.
Parag has been honored as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” and featured in WIRED magazine’s “Smart List.” He has served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Mobility, Global Agenda Council on Geoeconomics, and advisory board of its Future of Urban Development Initiative; the board of trustees of the New Cities Foundation; and the advisory board of Independent Diplomat. He has been a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Young Leader of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. In 2002, he was awarded the OECD Future Leaders Prize. He speaks English, German, Hindi, French, Spanish and basic Arabic.
Geopolitical Economy: Winners and Losers in the New Global Macro
Today’s global macro landscape features a volatile mix of geopolitical upheaval, economic fragmentation, market gyrations, technological disruptions, demographic headwinds and climate shocks. What new regime is likely to emerge and how can investors find alpha across geographies and asset classes? In a world beset by complexity, Dr. Khanna offers something rare: clarity. While headlines fixate on instability, He delivers high-conviction predictions that can anchor your strategic decisions. For the past quarter century, Parag has been a highly sought-after adviser to the largest and most prestigious institutional investors and asset managers from sovereign wealth funds and pensions to investment banks, private equity and family offices. His data-rich analysis paints an interdisciplinary picture of key megatrends, confidently forecasting which markets and sectors will outperform in the turbulent years ahead. A globally renowned futurist with real-world experience in more than 150 countries, Parag brings a distinctly global and comparative vantage point as a trusted advisor regularly immersed with top corporate and government leaders. With confident insights drawn from his acclaimed books such as Connectography and The Future is Asian, he maps the structural forces driving capital across the planet in search of alpha.
The Geopolitical Marketplace: Navigating the New Strategic Landscape
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. Khanna coined two decades ago in his classic strategic travelogue The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order, which documented how the US, China and EU – the “Big Three” – are vying to dominate their own regions and become the trusted providers of vital services across the military, financial, energy, industry, technology, infrastructure and other domains. Meanwhile, rather than choose sides, smart countries practice a deft “multi-alignment,” doing business in all directions to get the best deal for themselves and forming new institutional arrangements that are shaping the future of diplomacy and governance. Based on his pioneering research and extensive experience advising dozens of heads of state and global corporations, and his boots-on-the-ground frontline role advising US Special Operations Forces in combat zones as well as the US National Intelligence Council, Dr. Khanna translates his insider status in leading capitals into actionable strategies to guide you through this complex new global landscape.
The Global War for Young Talent: Capturing the Mobile Generation
Our species is rapidly reaching “peak humanity.” The global population may cross nine billion people during the 2030s, but 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 young talent to attract the taxpayers and homeowners, laborers and caregivers, students and entrepreneurs to build and finance their future. But 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 – and select brands on the basis of community and authenticity. Drawing upon the extensive global fieldwork captured in his far-sighted book MOVE, Dr. Khanna presents the future from the standpoint of the most mobile generation in history, explaining their values and priorities – and guiding your talent and marketing strategies for the years ahead. He offers a compelling roadmap for corporate leaders to align hiring, retention, and brand strategies with the realities of a borderless digital workforce.
Adapting to Climate Chaos: How to Future Proof Your Company and Country
The climate will not adapt to us – we have to adapt to it. Natural disasters are intensifying, with hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, heatwaves and other catastrophes inflicting ever greater economic and societal damage everywhere. Climate refugees now outnumber political asylum seekers, and conflicts over food and water are sparking uncontrolled mass migrations. Promises to reduce greenhouse emissions are clearly not enough. That is why climate adaptation must urgently become our foremost priority. This includes redesigning our cities, accelerating renewable energy deployment, boosting local food production, and relocating our businesses and operations to more resilient habitats. As Founder & CEO of AlphaGeo, the leading geospatial AI software, Dr. Khanna draws upon his proprietary platform to deliver detailed analysis of your local, national and global footprint, customizing an investment strategy to guide you towards resilient geographies and supply chain networks. Amidst rising climate chaos, the most circular economies, adapted societies and agile companies will emerge as future-proof.
The Future is Asian: Accessing the World’s Economic Epicenter
Asia is not just the future – it is the present. With billions of people and trillions of economic growth generated each year, Asia is the world’s undisputed economic core and strategic cockpit. Most of the world’s population and more than a third of its GDP are contained within this increasingly dense mega-region of 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 as countries such as India and Vietnam become key destinations for high-tech manufacturing, capturing value chains in ever more sectors and leading the world in minting unicorns. Yet navigating Asia’s dizzying diversity of cultures and regulations requires both macro and micro expertise, as well as a keen understanding of current geopolitical tensions. As the bestselling author of the standard reference book The Future is Asian, there is no better guide than Dr. Khanna to the region that will define the rest of this century.
Citizen of Everywhere: A Conversation with Dr. Parag Khanna
What does it mean to be a worldly person? How should you raise kids with skills necessary for tomorrow’s world? What are the best places to live and retire? Born in India, raised in the UAE, New York and Germany, and having lived in Switzerland, London and Singapore, Dr. Khanna has cultivated a lifestyle as a “citizen of everywhere.” This approach has yielded profound insights captured in his many books spanning geopolitics, technology, governance and travel – and elevated him to the status of a trusted advisor to many world leaders and corporate figures. Executives will savor this philosophical yet grounded conversation drawing on Parag’s unique life experiences as an adventurous scholar who’s visited more than 150 countries and earned comparisons to Henry Kissinger and Alvin Toffler. His worldview presents the essential middle ground between the forces of nationalism and globalism.
Parag is a brilliant, energetic, and mesmerizing speaker who carried the opening day at our recent symposium, the largest annual gathering of geospatial intelligence practitioners in the world. Our almost 4,000 attendees bring wide-ranging areas of expertise regarding myriad emerging technologies, including remote sensing, data analytics, and intelligence for national security. They were universally blown away by Parag’s talk, and the concepts he raised were grist for superb conversations and debates during the entirety of our event. – US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation
Business speakers have an impossible challenge to advise, inspire and keep their audience at the edge of their seats. In looking for the right speaker, we have the added pressure to ensure our clients walk away with value for the time they set aside to listen. Parag’s presentation was thought provoking and stimulating for our sophisticated clients. – CBRE Capital Markets
Parag brought a sophisticated and optimistic vision for the future of the world economy to our colleagues. – Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Parag’s insight and analysis on the crucial role multi-generational families play in the world economy, and the range of investible assets that present great opportunities for the years ahead, provided Campden Wealth’s community with a stimulating and essential contribution to our North American Family Investment Conference. – Campden Wealth Management
Parag was a highly rated keynote speaker at our recent European conference. During a particularly challenging and volatile time in the markets, his speech focusing on the mega-trends shaping the macro environment offered a thought provoking and cutting edge perspective for our clients. – Barclays
Parag’s keynote was exactly the macro view we needed to stimulate conversations on the intersection of financial services and emerging digital technologies. Very stimulating for our executives and clients.
– SAS
UPS’s clients are looking at logistics and digital solutions on a global scale. Dr. Khanna’s concept of the ‘supply chain world’ and his detailed analysis of the current trends in globalization and obstacles to smoother integration was exactly what we were looking for. – UPS
Volatility has returned to global markets, but Dr. Khanna made a very persuasive case for the huge continued long-term opportunities in emerging markets, especially Asia. His presentation on the growing attractiveness of infrastructure as an asset class was first-rate. – Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
I’m pleased that Parag was able to speak at our Sustainable Financing Forum. We have received exceptional customer feedback. Customers and other attendees made special mention of the quality of the speakers, the depth and breadth of insights shared and relevance of the subject matter. Please extend my thanks to Parag for his valuable contribution and for sharing his insights with such clarity. – HSBC
Clyde & Co. is rapidly expanding worldwide in vital industries such as insurance, transport and infrastructure. Parag provided a sharp and rapid-fire perspective on how these crucial sectors are evolving in a volatile world and mapped out pathways that benefited all our partners. Our collective view was: ‘Wow!’ – Clyde & Co.
Dr. Khanna was a ‘home run’ at this year’s ECC Conference. His presentation on his original work in Connectography was a perfect fit for our conference theme of innovation. Parag was an excellent speaker with a unique presentation on taking a different perspective on world geography. His research and theories gave our conference some great insights on where we might best focus our efforts to insure sustainable future growth in global commerce. – Albemarle Corporation
Dr. Khanna’s opening keynote address at our recent foreign direct investment forum was engaging, insightful and stimulating for our diverse audience of senior decision makers from government and international corporations. His thought provoking perspectives set the scene perfectly for the day ahead. – Financial Times Live
Investor AB’s 100th anniversary celebration was a major milestone in one of Europe’s leading family firms. Dr. Khanna’s opening keynote speech was inspirational to our senior management and the heads of our many portfolio companies. His vision of the future is precisely what we believe all investors should focus on. – Investor AB (Sweden)
Parag offered our members a knowledgeable and fascinating perspective on the ways in which an increasingly urban world will renegotiate the historical boundaries of our geopolitical landscape. The various visuals and extensive research he provided made for a fact-packed program that fully engaged everyone in the room. – Economic Club of Chicago
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Speaker rating
Comments about seeing this speaker live? (This field not required to submit a star rating.)
Name *
Email *
Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Move: Where People Are Going for a Better Future
In the 60,000 years since people began colonizing the continents, a recurring feature of human civilization has been mobility—the ever-constant search for resources and stability. Seismic global events—wars and genocides, revolutions and pandemics—have only accelerated the process. The map of humanity isn’t settled—not now, not ever.
As climate change tips toward full-blown crisis, economies collapse, governments destabilize, and technology disrupts, we’re entering a new age of mass migrations—one that will scatter both the dispossessed and the well-off. Which areas will people abandon and where will they resettle? Which countries will accept or reject them? As today’s world population, which includes four billion restless youth, votes with their feet, what map of human geography will emerge?
In Move, celebrated futurist Parag Khanna provides an illuminating and authoritative vision of the next phase of human civilization—one that is both mobile and sustainable. As the book explores, in the years ahead people will move people to where the resources are and technologies will flow to the people who need them, returning us to our nomadic roots while building more secure habitats.
The Future Is Asian: Commerce, Conflict and Culture in the 21st Century
In the 19th century, the world was Europeanized. In the 20th century, it was Americanized. Now, in the 21st century, the world is being Asianized.
The “Asian Century” is even bigger than you think. Far greater than just China, the new Asian system taking shape is a multicivilizational order spanning Saudi Arabia to Japan, Russia to Australia, Turkey to Indonesia – linking five billion people through trade, finance, infrastructure, and diplomatic networks that together represent 40 percent of global GDP. China has taken a lead in building the new Silk Roads across Asia, but it will not lead it alone. Rather, Asia is rapidly returning to the centuries-old patterns of commerce, conflict, and cultural exchange that thrived long before European colonialism and American dominance. Asians will determine their own future – and as they collectively assert their interests around the world, they will determine ours as well.
There is no more important region of the world for us to better understand than Asia – and thus we cannot afford to keep getting Asia so wrong. Asia’s complexity has led to common misdiagnoses: Western thinking on Asia conflates the entire region with China, predicts imminent World War III around every corner, and regularly forecasts debt-driven collapse for the region’s major economies. But in reality, the region is experiencing a confident new wave of growth led by younger societies from India to the Philippines, nationalist leaders have put aside territorial disputes in favor of integration, and today’s infrastructure investments are the platform for the next generation of digital innovation.
If the 19th century featured the Europeanization of the world and the 20th century its Americanization, then the 21st century is the time of Asianization. From investment portfolios and trade wars to Hollywood movies and university admissions, no aspect of life is immune from Asianization. With America’s tech sector dependent on Asian talent and politicians praising Asia’s glittering cities and efficient governments, Asia is permanently in our nation’s consciousness. We know this will be the Asian century. Now, we finally have an accurate picture of what it will look like.
Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info
American democracy just isn’t good enough anymore. A costly election has done more to divide American society than unite it, while trust in government–and democracy itself–is plummeting. But there are better systems out there, and America would be wise to learn from them. In this provocative manifesto, globalization scholar Parag Khanna tours cutting-edge nations from Switzerland to Singapore to reveal the inner workings that allow them that lead the way in managing the volatility of a fast-changing world while delivering superior welfare and prosperity for their citizens. The ideal form of government for the complex 21st century is what Khanna calls a “direct technocracy,” one led by experts but perpetually consulting the people through a combination of democracy and data. From a seven-member presidency and a restructured cabinet to replacing the Senate with an Assembly of Governors, Technocracy in America is full of sensible proposals that have been proven to work in the world’s most successful societies. Americans have a choice for whom they elect president, but they should not wait any longer to redesign their political system following Khanna’s pragmatic vision.
Call us / email us / check availability and fee for your favorite speaker.
