Chandran Nair is a Malaysian businessman and scholar. He is the founder of

The Global Institute for Tomorrow The Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT) is a Hong Kong–based think tank focusing on economic, political and social issues from an Asian perspective. Founded in 2006 by Chandran Nair, its stated mission is to advance “a deeper understanding o ...

, an independent think-tank based in Hong Kong. He is also Project Director for The Other Hundred, an international photography competition and photo-book project.

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 Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

in the UK, where he then worked for a few years. At 28, he joined the

anti-apartheid movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-white population who were oppressed by the policies ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, building sanitation and water systems by day on a stipend and playing the saxophone in his free time in a band. He later earned a master's degree in environmental engineering from Bangkok.

Career

Nair is a member of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Global Agenda Council for Sustainability and has argued at numerous forums including the WEF, APEC and OECD about the need for radical reform of the current economic model and strict limits on consumption. Nair was previously Chairman of

Environmental Resources Management Environmental resource management or environmental management is the management of the interaction and impact of human societies on the environment. It is not, as the phrase might suggest, the management of the environment itself. Environment ...

(ERM), building the company to be the leading environmental consultancy in Asia Pacific. He left in March 2004. Nair is a frequent contributor to various media outlets including

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

. and

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

. 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 ''The Globalist'' is a daily online magazine that "focuses on the economics, politics and culture"The Globalist: About U ...

. In 2018 he published ''The Sustainable State: The Future of Government, Economy, and Society''.

Controversy

On August 26, 2021, Nair wrote an op-ed in ''Time'' magazine accusing

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

of using her "

White Privilege White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the Social privilege, societal privilege that benefits white people over Person of color, non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or ...

" to avoid being quarantined when arriving in Hong Kong to film the

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

series ''

Expats An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

''. Hong Kong's

Commerce and Economic Development Bureau The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau is a policy bureau of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for policy matters on Hong Kong's external commercial relations, inward investment promotion, intellectual property protection, indust ...

(CEDB) responded in a press statement that Kidman received a quarantine exemption for the purpose of performing designated professional work and necessary operation of Hong Kong's economy, and a CEDB permanent secretary wrote a letter to the editor of ''Time'' stating that Nair's claim was "not only just misplaced but absurd".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, Chandran Living people Malaysian businesspeople Malaysian people of Indian descent Year of birth missing (living people)