Barnaby Swire was born in January 1964. He was educated at Eton College . He is a son of the late Sir John Anthony Swire, chairman of the Swire Group between 1966 and 1987 and life president of John Swire & Sons Ltd. He studied history and modern languages at University College, Oxford, leaving in 1985.

In 1985, Swire began his career with the family business Swire Group. He worked for the company in Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and Japan. In 1994, he moved to London to continue working for Swire Group. He was a member of the board of Lewmar Marine.

He has been Chairman of Swire Group since late 2014, succeeding James Hughes-Hallett. He was Chairman of China Navigation Company Limited until 2024.