Helping global leaders and organizations shape the story behind their work.

I turn dense material into structured messages — whether it’s a speech, strategy or story arc.

Photo Courtesy: Kiara Worth - COP28 - 2023

I’m Brent Kerrigan, a Strategic
Story Consultant.

I help turn competing ideas and scattered messages into a clear story arc — whether it’s about a person, a purpose, or the direction an organization is headed.

That might mean preparing a keynote for a policy or product launch, refining a message to stakeholders, or turning complex material into an op-ed, strategic narrative or public-facing message.

My background includes years of executive speechwriting and strategic communications across governments, the private sector and the United Nations — including serving as Head Speechwriter at UN Climate Change (UNFCCC).

I’ve also supported clients with ghostwriting, messaging development, and presentation prep for high-visibility events and publications.

I’m based in Geneva and work globally with clients who value precision, discretion and clarity.

My approach is collaborative and calm — built around deep listening, strategic insight, and helping leaders tell a clearer story about who they are and the impact they make.

Strategic Support for High-Stakes Communication


I work with leaders and organizations at critical moments;
when the message needs to be more than polished. It needs to be right.

I offer three categories of service:

Exclusive Speechwriting for Exceptional Leaders

Keynotes, panel talks, internal comms and high-stakes speeches: crafted for impact, clarity and tone that sounds like you.

Ghostwriting & Thought Leadership

Op-eds, articles, lectures, and long-form pieces that bring your ideas to life — in your voice, with clarity and strategic intent.

Narrative Strategy &
Messaging

Advisory sessions, message development, and story shaping for leaders and organizations navigating complexity, change and big moments.

A Strategic Voice Through Unprecedented Change

From 2017 to 2023, I served as Head Speechwriter at UN Climate Change (UNFCCC) — a role that went far beyond speeches.

In those six years, I helped shape, steer and sustain the organization’s internal and external narrative through some of its most turbulent and high-profile transitions:

  • The first U.S. withdrawal from — and return to — the Paris Agreement.

  • The emergency relocation of COP25 from Santiago to Madrid.

  • The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on diplomacy and public communication, including the organization-wide shift to video-based messaging.

  • A leadership transition across three Executive Secretaries.

  • The formal adoption and launch of the Paris Agreement Work Program.

  • Sensitive messaging shifts during a serious health challenge faced by an Executive Secretary.

In moments like these, the challenge wasn’t just what to say — it was how to communicate effectively in times of crisis.

That experience informs how I work today: helping leaders and organizations find clarity inside complexity, and craft narratives stronger than any single moment.

Experience That Informs the Story We’ll Tell Together

I’ve spent my career helping leaders, organizations, and institutions find the story behind their message — and shape it into something powerful, clear and human.

For more than six years, I served as Head Speechwriter at UN Climate Change (UNFCCC), where I helped craft the organization’s narrative arc and messaging — supporting three Executive Secretaries through high-visibility speeches.

Before that, I spent nearly two decades developing communications for governments, NGOs, multilateral institutions, and senior executives.

Across all of it, I’ve seen the same pattern: leaders doing meaningful work — but struggling to express it clearly, especially when the audience is complex or the moment is critical.

My role is to bridge that gap — turning dense material, scattered insights, and competing messages into a story that connects and endures.

I turn messaging chaos into clarity.

Today, I work as a Strategic Story Consultant, combining speechwriting, narrative strategy, and ghostwriting to support clients around the world — from Geneva to Berlin to Mexico City to Washington.

Crafted Together, Delivered with Impact

António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, Petersberg Climate Summit, 2020

“These are dark days, but they are not without hope.”

Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC, 5th Anniversary of the Paris Agreement

“The Paris Agreement is a covenant of hope with humanity.”

Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC, Munich Security Conference, 2023

“Investment in climate action is an investment in personal security and, ultimately, peace throughout the world.”

Mafalda Duarte, Executive Director, Green Climate Fund, IIED Barbara Ward Lecture, 2024

“While national sovereignty may provide rights of self-determination for nations to pursue their own paths, we cannot sever the threads that bind us on a fundamentally human level.”

Neerja Birla , Founder and Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Education Trust & Global Chair for Mental Health, 2025

“True prosperity means more than money. A nation’s prosperity is measured in health, quality of life, security, education systems, and so much more — but each of those is built on a foundation of mental health. ”

Who Turns To Me And Why

Photo Courtesy of Kiara Worth - 2024

Every message has an audience. I work with leaders who want theirs to land: clearly, credibly and at the moments that matter most.

  • CEOs & Business Leaders
    Clear messaging for high-stakes speeches and visibility moments; especially for leaders communicating in English as a second language.

  • Government Officials, Diplomats & Multilateral Leaders
    Strategic narratives and speech support that cross borders, build trust and move complex conversations forward.

  • Sustainability & NGO Leaders
    Messaging on climate, development, biodiversity and global sustainability — crafted to resonate with funders, partners and public audiences alike.

Read Unscripted: Reflections on Clarity, Story
and Leadership Communication.

I write about clarity, voice and how leaders communicate with meaning — on the page, on the stage and in the moments that count.

Let’s Make Your Message Land

Whether you’re preparing for a keynote, shaping a bigger story, or bringing clarity to a complex message — I’d be glad to hear more.

I offer short advisory sessions, speechwriting and editorial support, and longer-term consulting partnerships.

I’m based in Geneva and work globally.

Use the form below to get in touch. No mailing lists, no pressure.

I respond personally to all inquiries within 24 hours — and your confidentiality is always respected.