Based in Tokyo, Duncan has been advising investors on technology and innovation in Asia for three decades, identifying and supporting the next generation of breakthrough companies. He is Chairman of BDA (www.bda.com), an Asia-focused investment advisory firm he founded in 1994 after four years as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley.
His 2016 book Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built chronicles the rise of China’s internet sector and entrepreneurial class; it was named a Book of the Year by The Economist and shortlisted for Business Book of the Year by the Financial Times and McKinsey. The dramatic state crackdown on Jack Ma, which began in late 2020, marked the start of a new and uncertain era for China’s private sector and consumer economy.
Most recently, Duncan was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). He is a founding member of Asia Society Japan and a global trustee of the Asia Society.
Duncan is also an early-stage investor in Silicon Valley companies, including StoryProtocol.xyz (backed by a16z), which reached a valuation of over USD 2.2 billion in August 2024. The company brings programmable intellectual property to a world transformed by artificial intelligence.