Defence Advisor | International Relations | Strategic Advisor
John is CEO and founder of SAGE International and has expertise in defence acquisition, asymmetric warfare and international relations.
John has worked as a Senatorial adviser, a military adviser for the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) Abu Dhabi, UAE and a defence consultant to a number of companies including a blue-chip Australian transport firm and companies dealing in green engineering, small arms and personal protection. John also writes for Jane’s Intelligence Review (UK) having contributed to Jane’s products since 2002.
John has published widely and is a well-known media commentator in the fields of defence, terrorism and foreign policy. He was the chief investigator of a Defence Strategic Policy Grant (2019-2020) that examined the strategic implications of changing dynamics and major power competition in the Indo-Pacific.
John is a Non-resident Fellow at Emirati think tank Trends Research & Advisory. A former Army Reservist in the Armoured Corps, John was also a long-time member of the Royal United Services Institute of Australia (1992-2019) and served as National Director between 2015 – 2019. Since 2015 John hosts SAGE International’s podcast STRATEGIKON and recently, 2020-2021, hosted a current affairs program for Radio Adelaide, The Focus – now a SAGE International podcast.
John holds a PhD from UNSW ADFA, and a Master’s by research in military sociology, Honours and Bachelor of Arts from Flinders University.