I was raised on a small Canadian farm and my early life was filled with manual labor, voracious reading and writing. I worked on farms and factories (including a GM assembly line) to pay for journalism school and graduated to become a newspaper editor in the Northwest Territories. My adventures took me from the cold of the NWT to Mexico City, then back to Canada where I found my calling in public service speechwriting (Transport Canada and Agriculture Canada). This path eventually led to the USA, Mexico and Germany, where I, in the mid-aughts, launched the first iteration of Global Speechwriter.

In 2017, my career took a turn when I agreed to join UN Climate Change in Bonn as their head speechwriter. Over the next five years, I played a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s narrative core during critical moments, including the first American Paris Agreement climatus interruptus, the global COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption of the Paris Agreement Work Program and more — producing over 1,000 speeches in the process. I wrote for four different Executive Secretaries and senior officials, while also providing occasional speechwriting contributions to the UN Secretary-General. I’ve also written for various CEOs, NGOs and several other acronyms.

I relaunched Global Speechwriter in 2024 because, as communications teams began to be slashed by cash-strapped organizations, managers began asking employees to increase their workload and write speeches — even if they have no clue how to do it. This often ends with speakers, managers and employees disappointed.

I knew it didn’t have to be this way. That’s why I’ve returned to helping busy professionals throughout the world understand the speechwriting process and the basics of writing decent speeches in tumultuous times (but aren’t they all?). My new courses build on the very first online speechwriting training programs I developed prior to my work at the UNFCCC — including free courses that were featured on online sites such as CNN, Newsweek, Mashable and many more.

This time, I’ve added a new component: helping potential speechwriters navigate how to use AI responsibly and ethically as a research tool. If that’s something that interests you, I invite you to join my Global Speechwriter Member Library and get a checklist to help you right away (we get into much greater detail in my courses). You can find it here.

Meanwhile, I also continue to write executive speeches for global leaders. If you want my help drafting a speech for you, my professional speechwriting services can be found here.

I am based in Geneva, Switzerland along with my wife, Mexican diplomat Miriam Medel Garcia, and our two amazing daughters: Maya and Aurora.