Hello! My name is Douglas Johnson. And welcome to Cranganore.
My worldview is deeply informed by years of international travel. While I now work in Florida, I spent a large portion of my academic career in East Asia; my professional activities tilt toward the Gulf States. National borders tend to be artificial to me.
For career context, I have meandered through securities research, private banking, investment management, and institutional sales. My years working for major Wall Street firms were exceptional. I now have hybrid challenges, advising billionaires, consulting with multinationals, and negotiating between moguls. This heritage informs the commentaries that I publish and the work that I embrace.
If I could turn back the clock, I would spend far more time encouraging others to develop their sense of personal agency. Building up, rather than tearing down, is a skill that often seems lost on Wall Street.
Douglas Johnson, Managing Director
Over the years, I have pursued deals for issuers and investors in non-traditional markets. My career-long commitment to emerging markets in general and the Muslim world in particular has led me to focus on the Islamic crescent, stretching from Casablanca to Jakarta. For me, doing business “over there” cultivates a deeper understanding of human behavior.
Credit for the texture of my work should be paid to intellectually- and emotionally-rich colleagues. Some of these associations date to my years on the corporate treadmill, others have complemented my entrepreneurial efforts. Their insights remain invaluable to me, despite the fact that time and distance have worn heavy on many of these relationships.
Degree Credentials
My parents believed that the household budget for books should be limitless. The weekly trip to the public library was an essential family errand. My Jesuit and Ivy League education is a homage to them.
The faculty at the East Asian Institute was superb. And I finally figured out the 22 character strokes in the Japanese word for attack. I have memories of an assignment that took me to Washington, lecturing the State Department about policies toward Sri Lanka. I was very naive.
This school came of age in the 1980s; I did too. There are not too many universities where you can learn about both the Jesuits and southern literature. I continue to read Faulkner and Williams. Doing original research at the Library of Congress was a priceless pursuit.
I am routinely asked about my best investment decision. It must have been those so-called Chinese incense burners. What about my favorite project? Unequivocally, it was the work for a certain faith-based multinational in Rome. Do I have a most-liked city? Both Istanbul and Kolkata nurture my affection. Do I prefer one classic painter over another? The Spaniard Francisco Goya was both the last old master and the first modern artist.
Coffee is a known vice, leading me to spend years searching worldwide for the perfect bean. I am hesitant to disclose publicly the exact plantation that cultivates this treasure because of the potential for surging demand. But if you meet me at Land’s End, you are welcome to use my military-grade driver for the two-day roadtrip. Just brace for an unconventional journey.
Popular Posts
I think it is naïve to work on projects without understanding the nuances of the macroeconomic backdrop surrounding that work. Research—and its half-sister writing—are baseline competencies at my firm. The pitch of opinion may demand brevity, but shunting logic and precision to the sidelines is a poor choice.
Major Markets
On Wall Street, I may be best known today for my work in the developing world. That effort actually sprouted from my early career focus on Australia and Japan, alongside other major markets. I still measure the pulse of those opportunities through my on-the-ground network in Sydney and Tokyo.
Read the fine print. Cranganore operates worldwide. However, the company cannot offer all services in every jurisdiction or to all businesses. We may act in concert with locally-regulated entities in some cases.
Banner Credit: Kasto at 123RF.
