Patrick Hennessey : Full Biography : SPEAKERS for BUSINESS

Patrick Hennessey

Author and Former British Army Officer

Full Biography

Patrick Hennessey was born in 1982. Before joining the Army in January 2004, he read English at Balliol College, Oxford. He is currently studying to become a Barrister and hopes to specialise in Conflict Law and International Humanitarian Law.

During his Officer Training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Patrick was awarded the Queen's Medal and commissioned into the Grenadier Guards. He served as Platoon Commander and later Company Operations Officer in the Balkans, Africa, South East Asia, the Falkland Islands, and on operational tours to Iraq in 2006 and Afghanistan in 2007 where he was commended for gallantry.

Patrick's five years of service saw some of the fiercest fighting endured by the British Army in decades, vividly described in his bestselling book, The Junior Officer's Reading Club, described by the Independent as “this extraordinary book, which must rank as the most accomplished work of military witness to emerge from British war-fighting since 1945” and by the Sunday Times as “powerful, compelling and unapologetic”. The book talks candidly about his own personal story and delivers a compelling account of the making of a soldier.

Still in his twenties, Patrick is extremely insightful and articulate and powerfully highlights the business lessons that can be learned from the military. He talks about the complex operations that the British Army is currently engaged in with tours of duty which can include international peacekeeping missions, counter-insurgency and the training of national security forces, as well as vicious fighting which put the leadership skills of those involved to the test. Patrick's speeches explore the challenges faced by today's British Army and those he faced personally, addressing issues of leadership, motivation and decision making.