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Patrick Brothers joined QS in October 2024 following the acquisition of HolonIQ, the Global Impact Intelligence Platform he co-founded and led as Co-CEO.
Patrick serves on the QS Board, and as an Executive Director he oversees initiatives in Macro and Labour Market Economics, Global Student Flows, and provides strategic guidance on the development of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities.
Outside of QS
Before co-founding HolonIQ, Patrick held senior executive roles at global holding companies and in asset management for more than two decades, including as CEO, Chief Strategy and Investment Officer, and Executive Vice President in infrastructure, education, energy, and resources. He also worked in Strategy, M&A, and Private Equity at Deloitte.
In his independent academic work, Patrick leads pioneering research on national capability across hard power, soft power, and economic power, developing new frameworks to evaluate how nations build and sustain strategic advantage. He founded Factbase.org in 2006 to advance research, development, and investment in experimental technologies at the intersection of decision and cognitive sciences, which have since become foundational tools for measuring national capability in research and intellectual property.
Beyond his professional career, Patrick coaches and mentors high-performance athletes and expedition teams. He has supported world-record achievements such as the first mother-daughter ascent of Mount Everest, the ‘7 Summits’ challenge, the fastest helicopter circumnavigation of the globe, and multi-month ocean-kayak crossings.
Patrick holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of New South Wales and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management. He began his career as an Australian Army Officer in the Parachute Regiment after graduating first in Field Leadership and Military Skills from the Royal Military College, Duntroon.
Influential work
Patrick is a recognized strategic advisor and board director specializing in strategy, technology, and national capability. He regularly delivers keynotes and hosts executive roundtables on macroeconomics, geopolitics, data, artificial intelligence, and public-private partnerships.
Patrick has been an active member of the World Economic Forum, serving on both the Human Capital Global Agenda Council and the Strategic Infrastructure Global Agenda Council. He has authored influential papers on strategic infrastructure, critical technology, human capital and education, as well as global flows in trade and students.
Over the course of his career, he has advised leading global institutions including the World Bank, United Nations, OECD, and the World Economic Forum; technology companies such as Apple, AWS, Google, Microsoft, Baidu, and Tencent; major investors like Blackrock, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, and Temasek; and purpose-driven brands including Coursera, Duolingo, Lego, and Lonely Planet.