National security and foreign interference risk expert assisting the private and public sector.

Alex provides national security and foreign interference risk advice and enhanced due diligence services to corporations, universities, financial institutions, and public entities.

Alex’s enhanced due diligence and foreign interference risk advice work relies upon open-source material. His advisory work draws on his recognised subject matter expertise on the politics, intelligence operations, technology acquisition efforts and influence work of the Chinese Government.

Alex was previously an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (2018–2020), a research assistant at Charles Sturt University (2017) and worked as an author and independent consultant before joining McGrathNicol in 2022. He is the author of Spies and Lies, a book about the elite influence operations of China’s Ministry of State Security. He has testified on his work before the Australian Parliament and a US congressional commission. His work on topics such as Chinese military modernisation efforts has directly informed government legislative and policy changes.

Qualifications & memberships

  • Bachelor of Arts (Chinese language), Australian National University

  • Editorial board member, Desererpi: Studies in Chinese Communist Party external work