Paul Gardner Brook

Paul Gardner Brook writes on the forces reshaping the global order — the intersection of the energy transition, sovereign and geopolitical risk, ESG frameworks and global capital markets. His work is grounded in primary sources, argued from evidence, and transparent about its assumptions and limits.

His career spans three decades in international finance across Asia, Europe and Australia. After military service and a Bachelor of Business, he began his career in corporate banking with the National Australia Bank — recruited in September 1994 as a Business Banking Analyst at 271 Collins Street, Melbourne, one of eight selected from more than 980 applicants — and, in his mid-twenties, founded his own advisory consultancy — retained by The Atlantic Philanthropies (Chuck Feeney AC) and the InterPacific Group (Ron Clarke AO, MBE) to advise on philanthropic, environmental and property-linked investments. That work led to a role as Head of Sales for Exelerate, Barclays' pilot structured working-capital programme.

His institutional career then progressed through Singapore — as Associate Director, Distressed Debt Advisory at Presidio Capital — to Lehman Brothers, where he was a Senior Vice President in the Asia Special Situations Group, and, following Nomura's acquisition of Lehman's Asia-Pacific business in 2008, to Nomura Holdings as Managing Director, Fixed Income. (Nomura's acquisition of Lehman's Asia business, 2008)

Before finance, he served in the Australian Army with the Royal Australian Regiment. Today he publishes independent analysis and long-form essays, and produces video commentary, on geopolitics, energy and strategic risk. His public record as a witness in Australian corruption proceedings — where his evidence was repeatedly preferred by the courts — is set out in full, with sources, on The Record.