Chandran Nair

Chandran Nair is a true internationalist, a conviction deepened by having lived in Asia, Europe and Africa. But the world’s growing complexity concerns him—enough to leave a successful career in business. Enough to want to contribute to promoting better understanding on at least some of the most pressing of those concerns through his own think tank, the Global Institute For Tomorrow (based in Hong Kong). He is concerned enough to want to try to make a difference by investing in the global forum of ideas.

As founder and chief executive of GIFT, he defines its work around the questions he asks of himself and others. Challenging, sometimes uncomfortable, always thought-provoking. Always constructive.

Nair firmly advocates a sustainable approach to growth in Asia and sees it as part of the equation of how nations deal with one another. He throws his energies into promoting ideas and encouraging constructive dialogue so Asia can decide for itself how its unprecedented economic development should take shape and so contribute to a fairer world. He would rather do this than leave the discourse on Asia purely to people from outside, a failing he believes has become the norm because civil society in the region is still relatively weak. The think tank is, in this, a first. And it pursues an unbiased agenda to communicate an international view from Asia to enrich the global debate.

But before you think GIFT’s – and Nair’s – agenda is Asian and high-brow to the exclusion of all else, stop. Chandran Nair’s work is very much hands-on, because in defining the way forward for Asia in the globalization frenzy many issues come to light, and not just about Asia. These are raw, distressing, and require urgent – but thoughtful, practicable and long-term – solutions. These issues are of business ethics, from boardroom decisions to their consequences in the real world. They are of the environment, from institutional shortcomings and technological applications to individual responsibilities. And they are of society and leadership development. To all this, Nair brings years of experience working across Asia, in Europe and in Africa to bear; and a pragmatism rare among thinkers.

He has aired his opinions and viewpoints on BBC World and on Bloomberg. They have appeared in print in the Financial Times, the South China Morning Post, Asia’s leading English-language newspaper, The Economist, and in other well-regarded publications on specific issues, such as Leading Perspectives, the magazine of Business Social Responsibility. He has addressed politicians on the political objectives of sustainable development, advised business leaders on how to operate in Asia, convinced bankers and investors on the opportunities in environmentally sound and friendly technologies, and kept audiences and panel members on their toes at conferences and debates with his sharp insights.

He has spoken at forums around the world, often returning to London, New York, Sydney, and all the major Asian capitals. Of note, he presented to 100 CEOs hosted by the Prince of Wales aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia in Hong Kong in 1997, the topic: the role of business in Asia and the emerging issues of corporate social responsibility. A keynote address to hundreds at the annual Credit Suisse Asia Investment Conference was on globalization and sustainability, their impact on Asia and the role of the financial sector in addressing these challenges. A briefing shed new light on the challenges of globalization, corporate ethics, the management of reputation and the opportunities in Asia to 50 business leaders from leading Fortune 500 companies in the US. On behalf of The Economist Nair led a panel discussion in Hong Kong and Singapore to a video-linked audience of regional CEOs on the challenges of globalization in Asia and corporate ethics.

While he believes that size is important – Nair has advised governments and multinationals on issues of institutional strengthening, public policy formulation, and sustainability – he isn’t convinced it’s all that matters. He often speaks to a group of people he believes is one of the most important – school students, as well as their teachers.

It is with the future in mind that Nair has devised the Young Leaders Programme (YLP), a leadership training project like no other. The approach has found praise, not least from former US President Bill Clinton, who in endorsing the YLP at his Clinton Global Initiative in 2005, called the program an “excellent initiative,” adding “training young leaders and changing people’s attitudes, it seems to me, is profoundly important.” Its strength lies in taking candidates outside the classroom into the real world where they can make the connections for themselves between business practices and their consequences, and his many takes on business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainable growth. These are integral to the program and forms the core of the curriculum, Tomorrow’s Edge: Leadership for Asia, which is also a book in the making.

He keeps in touch with his seminal interests in the well-being of the planet, advising the World Wildlife Fund in Asia, and the Jane Goodall Institute. He has for ten years been an advisor to the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum.

With what little time he has left, Nair teaches, and is a visiting scholar at Kellogg’s affiliate business school at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology on leadership in Asia. Nair was chairman of the top environmental consultancy in the Asia Pacific, ERM, until March 2004. He is widely recognized as the consultant and business brains behind developing it into the leader in its field in the fastest-growing and arguable most challenging region, from one small office of 10 people in Hong Kong in 1991 to its present strength of 500 in 12 countries.