Read Leask is a global strategist who works with senior executives in the public and private sectors to navigate the major economic, geopolitical, and public policy challenges shaping the 21st century. He has lived and worked in North America, Europe, and Asia, but is a proud Canadian – born and raised in the beautiful Niagara region.
He is currently a Senior Manager (Productive Finance) at Legal & General Group in London, UK. His mandate centres on mobilising socially oriented capital to build the long-term physical and social infrastructure needed for shared prosperity: high-quality affordable housing, clean energy assets, and place-based regeneration. In this role, he also works closely with the UK Government to develop innovative public policy ideas and approaches to public-private collaboration that generates real value for society.
Read previously worked in the Government Advisory practice at the Tony Blair Institute, where he advised senior political leaders globally on strategy, policy, and delivery. Most memorably, he lived and worked in Timor-Leste when serving as an embedded advisor on geopolitics to His Excellency José Ramos-Horta (President of the Republic).
Read started his career as a policy advisor in the Government of Canada and ultimately served as Senior Advisor to the Minister of Economic Development. In this role, he focused on designing and implementing interventions to support the growth of Canada’s innovation economy, and later to protect and recover the economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read holds a Masters degree from the University of Oxford (St. Catherine’s College) and a BA (Honours) from Queen’s University (Canada). He is bilingual in English and French.