Basskaran Nair first worked as a journalist, followed by more than 25 years in public relations counsel and marketing communications in the public and private sectors. In the public sector, he managed national, regional and international events and was responsible for most of the national publicity campaigns in the early days of Singapore's nation-building. In the private sector, Basskaran headed the Development Bank of Singapore's Public Affairs Department and later held the position of Chairman and Equity Partner for the Singapore/ASEAN office of an international financial communications firm.

He joined CapitaLand in 2001 and has been involved in real estate investment trusts (Reits) and other property related financial transactions. Basskaran is also currently a Board Member of Cisco Security Pte Ltd, and Chairman of Media Development Authority's Publication Consultative Panel. He has authored books. His latest book is From Main Street to Cyber Street: Changes in the Practice of Communication.