Chandran Nair is the Founder of Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT) which is the first Asian private non-profit organisation and Hong Kong based  international think tank and institute which keeps it vision on role of business in society, inter-related issues of globalisation, governance and ethics, leadership development, and the development needs of Asia. Before founding GIFT in 2004 he built Asia’s leading environmental consultancy, ERM( Environmental Resources Management )  and ran it for 13 years  which yielded good profits. By pushing his creative limits he led the ERM at top position in its field with 20 offices in the Asia-Pacific region. He took his Master’s degree at the Asia Institute of Technology in Bangkok and worked as director of operations with a leading Thai-American consultancy providing environmental and engineering services prior to arriving in Hong Kong in 1991 to run ERM. In the 13 year span of his career, his success started from a single office of 10 people to a network of companies in 12 countries in Asia Pacific employing 500 people.

                  

  Chandran Nair eventually became an international expert and a leading Asian advisor to multinationals, government agencies and development agencies such as the UN and Asian Development Bank on a vast range of issues including the challenges of globalisation, investment geo-politics, environmental management, sustainable development, stakeholder rights, privatisation of infrastructure projects and corporate social responsibility. He has lectured on these subjects with great passion by drawing on his global outlook, which earned him the reputation for making insightful observations on geo-political realities with refreshingly unique perspective. But more than being just a speaker and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (Hong Kong) , he seeks practical, long-term solutions through his innovative Global Young Leaders Programme.

Later in the year 2004, he started this GIFT with a main motto to do some thing else irrespective of making money through it. Ultimately, he says, “it’s about making a contribution, the quality of work, life-long learning and what you believe in.”

Mr Nair’s Other shades:

Though he is a  visiting scholar at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s School of Business as a sportsman, Mr Nair managed the Hong Kong hockey team for 7 years, taking it to the 2002 Asian Games in South Korea. He is extremely self-aware and self-assured and possesses a tremendous ability to focus, identify issues, and accept the realities of business.

Popularity: 7%