Based in Asia for over three decades, Duncan is Chairman of investment advisory firm BDA (www.bda.com). With offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing, Duncan founded BDA in 1994 after four years as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley.

In Japan, Duncan serves on the Advisory Board of Japan Activation Capital, is Adjunct Researcher at the newly established Institute of Japan in the Global Economy (JGE) at Waseda University and serves on the Board of Councilors of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). 

An early advisor to China's Internet founders including Jack Ma, Duncan's book 'Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built' was named Book of the Year by The Economist and short-listed for Business Book of the Year by the Financial Times and is published in over 35 languages.

A Global Trustee of the Asia Society in New York, Duncan is also Co-Chair and Founding Trustee of Asia Society France and founding member of Asia Society Japan. 

Raised in the UK, US and France, Duncan is a UK citizen and in 2013 was awarded an O.B.E. for services to UK trade and investment. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics where he has since served as a Visiting Fellow, supports the David and Duncan Clark Scholars at the LSE’s School of Public Policy for students form the global south.  He earlier was a Visiting Scholar for three years at Stanford University studying global innovation and entrepreneurship including in East Asia.