Chandran Nair (businessman)
Chandran Nair is a Malaysian businessman and founder of The Global Institute for Tomorrow, an independent think-tank based in Hong Kong.[1] He is also Project Director for The Other Hundred, an international photography competition and photo-book project.[2][3]
Background
Nair was born in Malaysia, the seventh of eight children. His parents were immigrants to Malaysia from India, and not well off, with all the children sharing a room. He studied chemical engineering in the UK, where he then worked for a few years. At 28, he joined the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, building sanitation and water systems by day on a stipend and playing the saxophone in his free time in a band.[4] He later earned a masters in environmental engineering from Bangkok.
Activities
Nair is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council for Sustainability[5] and has argued at numerous forums including the WEF, APEC[6] and OECD[7] about the need for radical reform of the current economic model and strict limits on consumption.[8]
Nair was previously Chairman of Environmental Resources Management (ERM), building the company to be the leading environmental consultancy in Asia Pacific. He left in March 2004.[9]
Nair is a frequent contributor to media outlets including The Financial Times,[10] The Guardian,[11] The Huffington Post[12] and The New York Times.[13] He is the author of Consumptionomics: Asia's role in reshaping capitalism and saving the planet, named one of the top ten books of 2011 by The Globalist.[14]
References
- Romann, Alfred. "A GIFTed man". China Daily. China Daily. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- "'The Other Hundred' - World's untold photo stories". CNN. October 14, 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- Nair, Chandran. "The Other Hundred: The Non-Rich, Non-Celebrity List". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- Up close & personal with Founder of Gift and author Chandran Nair, The Star (Malaysia), 21 May 2011
- "Global Agenda Council for Sustainability 2012-2014". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- "National Center for APEC". APEC. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- "Speakers - OECD". OECD. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- "Global Economic Symposium". Interview with Chandran Nair. Global Economic Symposium. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- "Chandran Nair" (PDF). Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- Nair, Chandran. "We should stop talking of an Asian century". The Financial Times. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- Nair, Chandran. "Why is the west seen as the greatest threat? From Asia, the answer's clear". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- Nair, Chandran. "If Asia wants to prosper, don't listen to the IMF". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- Nair, Chandran. "Focusing Science on the Damage". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- "The Globalist's Top Books of 2011 - The Globalist". 22 December 2011.