About the Author

Gerald Bratley MCIEx

Gerald Bratley MCIEx membership badge of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade

Gerald Bratley MCIEx is a British author and international trade specialist whose books and articles draw on almost six decades of exporting, overseas business, government trade promotion and first-hand experience across more than sixty countries.

Born and raised in Yorkshire, Gerald began work in 1964 and entered international trade 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 extended periods of residence in Bahrain, Malaysia and South Korea.

He worked in export management, overseas market development, manufacturing, licensing, technology transfer, consultancy and government trade promotion. His experience included supplying engineering and infrastructure products, developing international markets, identifying overseas manufacturing partners, negotiating licensing agreements and helping British companies 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 Civil Service level. Working alongside ministers, British embassies, senior civil servants and commercial organisations, he advised and supported British companies seeking opportunities in one of the world’s fastest-growing industrial economies.

Gerald later established Korea Connections with his wife, advising British businesses seeking to enter and develop the South Korean market.

Now retired from professional practice, he writes independently about international trade, overseas working life, British politics and democracy, history, cultural conflict, engineering, technology and electric vehicles.

His books combine professional knowledge, personal experience and independent research. Whether writing memoir, practical guidance or political and historical analysis, Gerald brings a practical eye, an independent mind and a belief that first-hand experience often reveals what official accounts leave unexplained.

Background at a glance

  • Nearly six decades in international trade and export development
  • Professional experience across more than sixty countries
  • Periods of residence in Bahrain, Malaysia and South Korea
  • Extensive experience in overseas market development and market entry
  • Negotiation of licensing and technology-transfer agreements
  • Establishment of licensed manufacturing operations in South Korea, Malaysia and New Zealand
  • Former Department of Trade and Industry Export Promoter for Korea
  • Seconded to the Civil Service at Grade 7 level from 1993 to 1995
  • Experience of ministerial briefings, embassy coordination and government trade promotion
  • Author of books on international trade, memoir, politics, history, engineering and electric vehicles

Selected books