Greg Clark

Greg Clark, CBE, FAcSS is one of the world’s foremost authorities on cities, urban investment, and the sustainable urban transition. Over a career spanning more than three decades, he has advised over 400 cities, 50 national governments, and 20 multilateral institutions, including the OECD, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank, on how to design smarter, more competitive, and more resilient urban futures. His combination of scholarly rigor, policy influence, and private-sector experience makes him the go-to advisor when the highest-stakes urban decisions are on the table.

Global affairs speaker Greg Clark is best known for translating the complex forces shaping cities, from demographic shifts and climate imperatives to technological disruption and geopolitical realignment, into actionable strategies for governments and business leaders. He chairs the Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and place leadership, and the Cities Commission for Climate Investment, which mobilizes investment for a just urban transition. He also serves on the Board of Transport for London, where he chairs the Land and Property Committee overseeing Places for London.

Clark is the author of ten books and over 100 reports on cities, investment, and place leadership, among them Global Cities: A Short History and World Cities and Nation States, both widely used in policy and academic circles. He co-hosts the podcasts The Century of Cities and The DNA of Cities, and reaches mainstream audiences through the BBC World Service series My Perfect City, where he serves as the Global Cities expert.

A Career Built Across Institutions, Nations, and City Halls

Clark’s advisory track record is unmatched in breadth. He has chaired more than 20 international advisory boards for cities reformulating their investment strategies and long-term plans, from New York, Mumbai, and São Paulo to Barcelona, Vienna, and Oslo. He previously served as Group Advisor on Future Cities and New Industries at HSBC and as Lead Advisor on Cities to the UK Government. An Honorary Global Fellow at the Urban Land Institute, he teaches regularly at the London School of Economics and University College London, bridging research and real-world application with authority.

As a speaker, Greg Clark brings a level of strategic clarity and global perspective that few can match on the future of cities, investment, and urban sustainability. His keynotes are built on original research across hundreds of cities, making his insights grounded rather than theoretical. Senior audiences, from real estate and infrastructure investors to city officials, corporate leaders, and development institutions, value his ability to explain why some cities succeed and others stagnate, and which decisions today will determine urban fortunes over the coming decades.