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Parag  Khanna

Parag Khanna

Bestselling Author, Founder & CEO of AlphaGeo

Parag Khanna

Bestselling Author, Founder & CEO of AlphaGeo

Biography

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. AlphaGeo's mission is to future-proof global investing in an age of rising volatility.

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. Parag was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” and featured in WIRED magazine’s “Smart List.”

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 in New York.

A widely cited global intellectual, Dr. Khanna provides regular commentaries for international media. His 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 media around the world 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 government leaders and corporate executives on global trends and scenarios, systemic risks and technological disruptions, and market entry strategies and economic master planning. He has provided expertise to many governments including the US, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, UK, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Italy, Estonia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, Pakistan, 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 currently sits on the UAE Ministry of Economy's International Advisory Council. He also currently serves as a senior advisor to Gulf Capital, sits on the board of directors of the Out of Eden Walk, and as a member of the advisory board of Henley & Partners and previously on the Innovation Advisory Board of DBS Bank 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. In 2017, 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 has served on the WEF’s Global Future Council on Mobility, Global Agenda Council on Geoeconomics, and advisory board of its Future of Urban Development Initiative. He also serves on the board of trustees of the New Cities Foundation, Council of the American Geographical Society, and advisory board of Independent Diplomat. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, International Institute for Strategic Studies, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. In 2002, he was awarded the OECD Future Leaders Prize. He speaks German, Hindi, French, Spanish and basic Arabic.

Speaker Videos

Coalitions of the willing and the future of diplomacy

Abu Dhabi’s Rise as a Global Hub

Speech Topics

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.