Parag Khanna

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.

Global Financial Services

Dr. Khanna has a long track record of advising the financial services industry across institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, private equity and hedge funds, wealth management, (re-)insurance, and other verticals. His briefings to financial institutions often cover the shifting trajectories of the world’s three economic megaregions — North America, Europe, and Asia — based on the latest monetary, fiscal, trade, and other policy decisions. He also specializes in how demographics, technology, and climate change intersect to shape the global economy, which geographies and asset classes to combine for a high-yield portfolio, and how and where the next generation of investors and entrepreneurs should plan to allocate capital.

Transportation and Mobility: Automotive and Aviation

Dr. Khanna’s mapping of the future of demographics and infrastructure is highly sought after in the transportation sector. He brings to life the cities, nations, and regions that will drive demand for mobility services, and flows of goods and people between them. He also answers big questions such as how sustainable and multimodal transport can cater to the next generation of workers and travelers, and what transportation will look like in the cities and habitats of the future.

Government and Public Institutions

Dr. Khanna is a trusted advisor at the highest levels of many governments around the world. His firm FutureMap has conducted detailed research on economic strategy, investment promotion, and government reform for some of the forward-looking countries. His briefings to cabinet ministers and government agencies often cover how fiscal policy and technology platforms can prepare society for disruptions ranging from labor automation to climate change, how to structure public-private partnerships to finance new infrastructure, the strategic master-planning of cities and special economic zones, how to reform immigration policy to recruit top talent across sectors, and how to enhance sustainability in critical habitats while maintaining economic growth.

The Environment: Energy, Agriculture, Water, and Health

Dr. Khanna is a leading expert on the governance of our natural commons, and the new global division of labor emerging as we adapt to climate change. He dissects the geography and composition of energy, food, water, and other resources and the new technologies and trade patterns shaping these markets. He also covers how our social policies and safety nets should evolve to cope with accelerating climate disruptions while improving social safety nets. Drawing upon the innovative Climate Alpha toolkit, which analyzes hundreds of variables to make real estate price predictions, he also reveals the emerging “climate oasis” geographies best suited for large-scale population resettlement and how their resources can be sustainably cultivated.

Advertising and Marketing, Retail and Entertainment

Dr. Khanna is the leading next-gen global public intellectual with his finger on the pulse of consumer preferences around the world. His work on youth demographics reshapes our understanding of the mass market of young, single, urban professionals, capturing their needs and hopes. His presentations capture how the values of connectivity, mobility, and sustainability impact societal behavior and spending priorities. He explains how brands should position themselves to appeal to millennials, Gen-Z, and Gen-Alpha in major markets around the world. And he also reveals what you need to know about the countries and cities that are the most desirable locations for the next generation.

Management Consulting, Professional Services, and Human Resources

Dr. Khanna’s expert synthesis of megatrends has long made him a go-to resource for the world’s leading consulting and professional services firms. His presentation of inter-disciplinary scenarios broadens the knowledge and foresight capabilities of corporate leaders as they confront a complex future. Additionally, his specific strategic guidance is tailored to client’s needs and informs management as they navigate and respond to geopolitical tensions, economic fragmentation, and the competition over global rules and standards. And his insights into which countries are the most attractive to next-gen talent helps you better build global teams with remote workers.

Academia and Higher Education, Civil Society Social Organizations

Dr. Khanna is an acclaimed scholar who has lectured at dozens of major universities around the world and whose books are taught across numerous departments from colleges to high schools. His interdisciplinary blend of geography, politics, economics, demographics, environment, philosophy, and social analysis provides the holistic foundation students and youth at all levels need to prepare for a complex future. He is often consulted by academic institutions, foundations, and charities on how they can strengthen their impact in addressing key societal challenges, both domestically and internationally. Some of the major themes civic groups seek his insight on include the key areas to promote skill-building programs, how youth should navigate professional and geographic opportunities across the public and private sectors, and how they can use their skills to engage in constructive activism.

Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality

Dr. Khanna has traveled to more than 150 countries and is widely consulted by travel and tourism companies seeking to understand future demographic, migration, and cultural trends. He has also advised many governments seeking to promote their nations as tourist and remote work destinations. As cries of “toxic tourism” give way to a “war for tourists”, he explains what measures are most essential to ensuring safe and sustainable experiences. He also provides cutting-edge guidance on how the global travel sector can promote new modes of digital identification–from immunity certificates to blockchain passports–to make post-pandemic travel more seamless. And as digital nomads scatter in search of locations offering the best work-life balance, he advises on how cities and nations can brand themselves as destinations for long-term residency.

Real Estate, Construction, Infrastructure, and Logistics

Dr. Khanna has long been one of the most sought after experts for the residential and commercial real estate industries due to the forecasting of high-growth cities and emerging infrastructures contained in his visionary book Connectography. Today global real estate is being shaken up by demographic deflation, supply chain disruptions, climate change, corporate relocations, and remote work, all forces he details in his new geographic tour de force MOVE. As real estate firms grapple with these new realities, Dr. Khanna provides sharp analysis on the next thriving residential markets and business hubs. He also delivers guidance on how construction and logistics firms should incorporate the latest technologies to deploy energy self-sufficient and even “mobile real estate” and infrastructure. Importantly, drawing up his firm FutureMap’s proprietary Climate Alpha software, he helps clients seize first mover advantage in the most valuable geographies of the future.

Technology, Media, and Telecom

Dr. Khanna coined the term “geotechnology” to capture how the balance of innovation has superseded the traditional balance of power in global affairs. He has advised the world’s leading technology companies from Silicon Valley and Europe to India, China, and Japan on how the Internet of Things, AI, crypto-currencies and other frontier technologies will reshape societies, economies, and politics. His latest book MOVE captures how the “mobility of everything,” physical and digital, will result in a new hierarchy of countries, cities, and companies across the world.