Ahsan Akbar is the Founder and Director of The Future Forum, a cultural institution established in London to convene those shaping the future of culture, ideas, and capital.

He previously founded the Dhaka Literary Festival - originally established as Hay Festival Dhaka - now one of South Asia’s leading international literary gatherings. His work focuses on building cultural institutions that bring together the worlds of the arts, intellectual life, and global capital.

 

Born in London and raised between Dhaka, Paris, and Washington, DC, Akbar studied at Exeter before beginning his career in London and Southeast Asia in equities trading and private banking.

 

His collection of poems, The Devil’s Thumbprint, is taught on the English literature programme at SOAS, University of London.

 

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and has previously served on the boards of the Working Men’s College and the Royal Female School of Art.