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Parag Khanna Profile

Dr. Parag Khanna is a visionary strategic futurist and globally bestselling author. He is the founder and managing partner of FutureMap, a boutique advisory firm that marries rigorous data analysis, sophisticated scenarios, and cutting-edge mapping to generate foresight for confident decision-making. A world-renowned authority on globalization, Dr. Khanna was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century” and featured on WIRED’s “Smart List”.

Khanna is the leading forecaster of how our complex global system is rapidly evolving. He delivers data-rich visualizations that distill geopolitical, economic, and technological megatrends, and gives tailored and detailed presentations embodying his deep expertise and firsthand experiences in more than 150 countries. His engagements deliver strategically insightful and actionable value, including from FutureMap’s proprietary software Climate Alpha, the leading platform for forecasting asset values under diverse scenarios.

Khanna has provided his foresight to over thirty governments, including serving as an advisor to the U.S. National Intelligence Council and on the Singapore government’s Committee on the Future Economy. He has also served on the boards of numerous financial firms and technology companies.

Parag’s analyses are regularly featured in influential media such as CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, BBC, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Financial Times, National Geographic, TIME, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy. Khanna was a featured speaker at TED in 2016 and TED Global in 2009, with his talks garnering more than three million views online.

Khanna’s newest book is MOVE: The Forces Uprooting Us (2021), which was named one of the best books of 2021 by Financial Times and endorsed by famed experts Nouriel Roubini, Kim Stanley Robinson, Alec Ross, Balaji Srinivasan, and others. His book The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict, and Culture in the 21st Century (2019) earned high praise from Larry Summers, Jim Rogers, and many other luminaries. It was called “dazzling” by Kirkus Reviews and hailed as “authoritative… a standard reference,” by the Financial Times.

Khanna is also the author of an authoritative trilogy on the future of world order beginning with the bestseller 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). These books garnered accolades from leading figures such as Eric Schmidt, Chuck Hagel, Fareed Zakaria, Mark Mobius, Robert Kaplan, Kevin Kelly, Martin Sorrell, and Klaus Schwab. The New York Times Book Review hailed Khanna as “a foreign policy whiz kid.”

Khanna also authored two other books, Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info-State (2017) and Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization (2011) (co-authored with his wife Ayesha Khanna). The former was strongly endorsed by notable intellectuals such as Tyler Cowen and Lawrence Lessig, and the latter was celebrated by Alvin Toffler, Peter Diamandis, Peter Schwartz, and others. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages and received feature coverage in leading publications across the world.

Before founding FutureMap, Khanna was a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the National University of Singapore, as well as a senior fellow at New America and the Brookings Institution. In 2007, he deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a senior geopolitical advisor to U.S. Special Operations Forces. He also worked at the World Economic Forum in Geneva and the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Dr. Khanna holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, and a B.A. and M.A. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He speaks German, Hindi, French, Spanish, and basic Arabic. He is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

Parag Khanna Speaking Videos

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Parag Khanna's Speech Descriptions

Global Scenarios for the Post-Pandemic World

The two words that best capture the post-pandemic world are “continental drift.” The global economy is rapidly becoming more regional. Globalization continues in many areas such as commodities, capital flows, and digital services, but from energy to electronics, North America, Europe, and Asia are becoming more self-sufficient through trade agreements and industrial policy aimed at controlling the supply chains. At the same time, a new era of competitive connectivity has begun as the tug-of-war heats up between China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the West’s “Build Back Better World” (B3W) agenda. Drawing on the copious research presented in his acclaimed book Connectography, Parag Khanna provides cutting-edge insights into the geopolitical, geoeconomic, and geotechnological shape of the future, with specific recommendations on how and where to invest in a volatile world.

The Global War for Young Talent

The lasting impact of the pandemic will be both demographic and geographic. We are reaching “peak humanity,” a global population not likely to cross nine billion people, 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, workers, homeowners, and entrepreneurs of the future. Companies must do the same -- but in a remote working world, millennials and Gen-Z are a moving target. How can corporations attract young employees to headquarters while also building a decentralized workplace culture? Drawing upon the insightful research from his latest book MOVE, 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.

Climate Adaptation: This Century’s Highest Priority

Deadly disasters are intensifying, with ever greater costs to societies everywhere. Rising sea levels and floods, droughts and heatwaves, cyclones and forest fires, cause upwards of $200 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. That is why climate adaptation must be every nation and company’s foremost priority. This includes fortifying and redesigning our homes and buildings, investing in renewable energy and resilient food production, and relocating our businesses, citizens, and workers to more stable habitats. The climate will not adapt to us; we will have to adapt to it. Drawing up FutureMap’s proprietary Climate Alpha software, Parag Khanna provides tailored analysis of the locations across the globe best suited to your business requirements and guides you in creating a tailored strategy for climate resilience.

The Future is Asian: Billions of People, Trillions of Dollars

Asia remains the world’s growth engine, representing more than half the world’s population and fifty percent of global GDP. China is neck-and-neck with the US as the top destination for foreign investment, and has accelerated its quest for technological autonomy and expanded use of its currency. Meanwhile, the world’s largest trade agreement -- Asia’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) -- has come into effect. The next chapter of Asia’s economic story is also being written by the “fourth wave” regions of South and Southeast Asia, with countries such as India and Vietnam delivering the world’s fastest growth and taking the lead in new unicorn companies. As the author of the landmark book The Future is Asian, there is no better guide than Parag Khanna to the geography that drives the world economy.

What People are Saying about Seeing Parag Speak

Rating Entries

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

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Books by Parag Khanna:

Move The Forces Uprooting Us

A compelling look at the powerful global forces that will cause billions of us to move geographically over the next decades, ushering in an era of radical change.

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.

Move is a fascinating look at the deep trends that are shaping the most likely scenarios for the future. Most important, it guides each of us as we determine our optimal location on humanity’s ever-changing map.

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.

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