About Gerald Bratley MCIEx
Gerald Bratley is an international trade author whose books draw on almost six decades of exporting, overseas business, travel and first-hand observation.
Born and raised in Yorkshire, Gerald began work in 1964 and entered exporting in 1967 with Yorkshire Imperial Metals Limited. His career subsequently took him across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australasia, the Caribbean and North America, with visits to more than sixty countries and periods of residence in Bahrain, Malaysia and South Korea.
He worked in export management, overseas market development, manufacturing, licensing, consultancy and government trade promotion. His experience ranged from supplying infrastructure and engineering products to helping British businesses understand unfamiliar markets and commercial cultures.
In October 1993, Gerald was seconded to the Department of Trade and Industry as Export Promoter for Korea at Grade 7 level. He worked with ministers, embassies, senior civil servants and British companies seeking to develop business in one of the world’s fastest-growing industrial economies.
After senior roles in industry and public-sector trade promotion, Gerald and his wife founded Korea Connections, advising British businesses seeking to establish themselves in the Korean market.
His books now draw together the lessons, experiences and observations accumulated during that working life. They range across international trade, memoir, travel, relationships, British democracy, political institutions, cultural conflict, engineering, modern systems and electric vehicles.
Whether writing memoir or nonfiction, Gerald brings a practical eye, an independent mind and a belief that first-hand experience often reveals what official explanations leave out.
Background at a glance
Practical insight into how institutions, incentives, and government systems operate in reality
Nearly six decades in international trade and export development
Extensive overseas work across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Australasia, and North America
Long-term professional and personal involvement in South Korea
Experience in licensed manufacturing, technology transfer, and market entry
Former DTI Export Promoter for Korea, seconded at Grade 7 Civil Service level from 1993 to 1995
Ministerial-level appointment approval recorded in DTI files
First-hand experience of trade policy, ministerial briefings, and embassy–Civil Service coordination