<p>Combining his exceptional breadth of global knowledge, a deep cultural perspective, and engaging anecdotes, Afshin Molavi examines the most critical issues impacting our world—and our businesses—today.</p><p>One of the world’s most trusted authorities on global economic trends and geopolitics, Afshin Molavi helps organizations better understand the changing world and prepare for an uncertain future. Covering topics ranging from US-China relations and the ongoing volatility in the Middle East and Ukraine to shifts in energy policy and how the 2025 change in administration might impact the global landscape, Molavi identifies the risks—and opportunities—businesses can expect to navigate in the coming years.</p><p>Peppering his talks with anecdotes from his travels, a deep reading of history, and broad industry knowledge of commodities and supply chains, Molavi argues that globalization remains a potent force shaping our world in everything from your morning coffee (“Globalization in a Mug”) to pop culture (“Gangnam Style Globalization”). In an engaging, approachable style, he explains how everything is inter-connected and how small events can have major impacts to the ways we produce, consume, work and live.</p><p>With wide experience on the ground in the Middle East and Asia, including journalist postings in Riyadh, Dubai, Tehran, and Cairo, and wide travel across Asia from India to Japan to South Korea to China, Afshin is now a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, co-founder of the emerge85 Lab, and founder of the Emerging World newsletter. His articles and op-eds frequently appear in publications like <em>The New York Times</em>, <em>The Economist</em>, <em>Businessweek</em>, and <em>Institutional Investor.</em> His journalism credits include Reuters, <em>The Washington Post</em>, and the <em>Financial Times</em>. He was a senior global advisor at Oxford Analytica, and was selected by the World Economic Forum in Davos as a Young Global Leader.</p><p>From Amsterdam to Abu Dhabi, from San Diego to Singapore, Molavi has delivered impactful keynotes for a wide range of audiences, from global asset management firms and leading investment banks to travel and tourism boards, trade associations, and leading educational institutions.</p>
Geopolitics and Global Economics Expert; Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University SAIS
<ul><li><strong>The New Geopolitical Risk (and Opportunity) Map in the Trump 2.0 Era</strong></li><li>In an engaging, global tour of the key geopolitical and geo-economic shifts, Afshin Molavi explores the rapidly changing world facing the Trump presidency and how policy in the Trump 2.0 era may interact with that world and shape our future. With insight drawn from years of experience engaging with many of the key foreign policy players in the incoming Administration and decades of international experience from Shanghai to Mumbai to Dubai, Molavi presents a nuanced look at how the world has changed considerably since President Trump's first term. He explores how these changes might impact the accelerating showdown between Washington and Beijing in the Trump 2.0 era, as well as some of the key flashpoints from Ukraine to Venezuela to the Middle East. He also dissects shifts in global supply chains, energy markets, and trade corridors and points to the opportunities amid the shifting order. Audiences walk away with a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for American businesses.</li><li><strong>The New World Disorder: Navigating the New Power Shifts and Strategic Realignments</strong></li><li>In this tour d'horizon of the major global trends, world economic outlook, and geopolitical hotspots, Afshin Molavi explores in a tailored way how each of these will affect your business and our collective future. Weaving in anecdotes from nearly three decades of on-the-ground international experience, a broad historical understanding of key global trends, and a unique ability to geo-locate today's headlines into a broader global outlook, Molavi's insights help navigate the choppy waters and storms that surround us, pointing at the opportunities beyond the clouds and the fog.</li><li><strong>The Five Disruption-Proof Trends Shaping Our World and Their Impact on Politics, Business, Society, and Technology</strong></li><li>From rapid urbanization and growing middle classes to unprecedented connectivity and technology acceleration, Afshin Molavi navigates audiences through five key demographic and universal growth trends that are reshaping our world. He describes these shifts as “disruption-proof” in that they transcend our day-to-day political, economic and trade developments. Understanding their importance will help any organization navigate the competitive global landscape for the next twenty-five years. </li><li><strong>Vladimir Putin’s Bomb, the Global Shrapnel, and Our Collective Future</strong></li><li>When Vladimir Putin chose to invade Ukraine in February 2022, he unleashed a geopolitical and geo-economic bomb. The shrapnel from that bomb will be felt in every corner of the world from Chile to China. Diving into supply chain disruptions, commodities forecasts, and the re-ordering of geopolitical alliances, Afshin Molavi explores the fall-out from Russia’s invasion, arguing that the action “will shape our world profoundly, fueling greater instability worldwide, exacerbating inequalities, re-ordering alliances, and posing challenges to established leaders everywhere.”</li><li><strong>Shanghai, Mumbai, Dubai or Goodbye: The New, New Emerging Markets Transformation and What It Means for Our World</strong></li><li>Afshin Molavi takes a tour around the new geo-economic horizon reshaping our world, and what it means for markets, cultures, societies, and politics. As a former Dubai-based journalist and Asia risk strategist, Molavi brings personal anecdotes, deep economic insights, and broad trends analysis into an illuminating, entertaining tour of our evolving world. Molavi goes beyond the BRICs and beyond the usual markets analysis to dive deep into newly forming alliances, key consumer trends, and major macro shifts shaping what he calls the “85 world” - where 85% of the world’s population lives, from Asia to Africa to Latin America to the Middle East.</li></ul>