Executive speechwriter. AI trainer. Twenty years inside the work.
I write speeches for global leaders, and provide AI training to the communications teams who support them. These are not two separate careers. They are the same practice looked at from different angles — and the combination is, I think, what makes each side of the work stronger.
I'm Canadian. I'm based in Geneva. I work globally.
Teaching what I actually use.
I started teaching AI for communications for a simple reason: I was using it, I had a clear view of what it could and couldn't do, and I noticed that most of what was being said about it to communicators was either overblown or completely disconnected from how executive communications actually works.
I now run the AI for Leadership Communications program — a practical, hands-on workshop series for speechwriters and corporate communications teams, delivered in partnership with the Professional Speechwriters Association. The workshop covers the complete chain of executive communications work, from the first research prompt to final delivery, and is available as a twice-yearly public cohort or as a bespoke program designed for your organization's team.
I also run monthly group sessions for communications professionals who want to stay current, work through challenges with a sharp peer group, and focus on specific AI prompts, assistants and agents.
I teach this the same way I approach writing. No hyperbole. No drama. No evangelism. Just a serious, honest look at what AI can do for senior communicators right now — and where your judgment still has to lead.
AI has made competent writing abundant and cheap.
But cheap does not equal good. It's not an argument against using AI. It is an argument for understanding exactly what it can and cannot do — and for making sure the things it cannot do remain firmly in human hands. Judgment. Nuance. Voice. Strategic instinct. The ability to read a specific moment and write for a human who has to rise to that moment.
That's what I teach.
And it's what I still do every day as a working speechwriter.
Two decades inside the machine.
I spent the first half of my career developing as a writer and strategist inside government, international organizations and communications leadership roles — in the rooms where the stakes were real and the margins for error were small.
Nearly a decade of that was with the Government of Canada, writing ministerial-level speeches and occasionally contributing to speeches for the Prime Minister's Office. Before and alongside that I served as Communications Manager at two organizations — CEMUNE in Hamburg and onepoint5, with offices in Bonn and Madrid — where I led communications strategy and external messaging at the organizational level.
From 2017 to 2023 I served as Head Speechwriter at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — the UNFCCC — in Geneva. Over six years I supported three consecutive Executive Secretaries through some of the most watched moments in global climate diplomacy: the first U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and its eventual return; the emergency relocation of COP25 from Santiago to Madrid; the COVID-19 pandemic and its disruption of international diplomacy; and the formal launch of the Paris Agreement Work Programme.
I've also written for the International Telecommunication Union, the Green Climate Fund, Transparency International, and leaders and communications teams across Europe, North America and beyond. Private-sector clients have included the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. I also founded and ran Global Speechwriter from 2012 to 2026, a firm teaching speechwriting globally and one of the first to deliver that training online.
Still at the desk. Still in the work.
I still take on a small number of executive speechwriting and ghostwriting clients each year. These are typically leaders at pivotal moments — a major policy address, a summit keynote, a high-visibility publication — who need someone with direct experience inside complex institutions and a clear understanding of what it means when the words have to be right.
If that sounds like your situation, I'd love to hear more. Every conversation is confidential with no obligation.
Canadian. Based in Geneva. Working globally.
If the words have to be right, let's talk. Whether you need a speech written, a communications team trained, or simply want to think out loud about a pivotal moment ahead — I'd be glad to hear from you. Every conversation is confidential, with no obligation attached.
Brent Kerrigan is an executive speechwriter and AI communications trainer based in Geneva, Switzerland. He served as Head Speechwriter at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2017 to 2023, supporting Executive Secretaries Patricia Espinosa and Simon Stiell. He currently writes for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva and delivers AI for Leadership Communications workshops through the Professional Speechwriters Association. He has written for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Mafalda Duarte at the Green Climate Fund, Neerja Birla of the Aditya Birla Education Trust, The Opec Fund, and Fortune 500 executives. Earlier roles include head of communications at CEMUNE in Hamburg and onepoint5 in Madrid, and senior speechwriting and communications positions at the Government of Canada. Based in Geneva, he works globally.
(Way) Beneath The Fold
Been at it since Grade Four. My speech about being a baseball won a few contests back in 19(removed!).