Clay Chandler Keynote Speaker

Managing Director at SEMAFOR
Executive Editor at Fortune (2019 - Feb 2026)
Leading analyst of business and technology trends in Asia’s key economies

Clay Chandler's Biography

Clay Chandler is a Managing Director at SEMAFOR. Previously, he was Executive Director and Asia Editor for Fortune (2019–Feb 2026). From his base in Hong Kong, Clay oversaw Fortune’s editorial operations throughout the region, including its Chinese-language edition, and regularly contributed features, commentary and news analysis to the English-language magazine and fortune.com. Clay edited the Sino-Saturday edition of Fortune’s popular CEO Daily newsletter, and wrote a weekly column on Chinese technology for Data Sheet. He also led Fortune’s Asia-based conferences, serving as chairman of Brainstorm Design (Singapore/May), co-chairman of the Fortune Global Sustainability Forum (Yunnan province/September), and co-chairman of the Fortune Global Technology Forum (Guangzhou/November).

Clay returned to Fortune in 2017 following a six year stint at McKinsey & Company, where he led a series of high-profile research and publishing projects, and edited three best-selling essay collections aimed at “reimagining” the futures of South Korea, Japan and India.

Clay Chandler previously served as Fortune’s Asia Editor from 2002 to 2008. Prior to this, Clay covered business, technology, and economic policy in the U.S. and Asia as a senior staff writer for the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. Those assignments have taken him to every major Asian economy. Clay has lived in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing and speaks Japanese and Mandarin. He is a graduate of Harvard College.

The Rise of China & India

Technology in China

Green Energy in Asia

ASEAN start-ups

Design Thinking

He brings unmatched authority on Asia’s business, technology and policy landscape, shaped by decades leading editorial coverage for Fortune, Semafor and major global newsrooms from the region itself.
He translates complex geopolitical and economic shifts across China, Japan, Korea and emerging Asia into clear strategic insight for leaders navigating risk, growth and global competition.
He combines journalistic rigour with advisory depth from his time at McKinsey, offering audiences practical frameworks for understanding long-term change, not just headline volatility.
He draws on first-hand experience moderating and shaping Fortune’s most influential global forums, helping executives think more clearly about sustainability, technology and leadership in a multipolar world.
He delivers perspective grounded in deep regional immersion, multilingual fluency and on-the-ground reporting, enabling organisations to make better-informed decisions in Asia and beyond.