Tom Gregg

Strategist | Mediator | UN Senior Advisor | Founder, The Consilient | Specialist in Dialogue, Conflict Prevention & High-Stakes Negotiation

United States

I’m a strategist, mediator, and senior advisor with over two decades of experience navigating conflict, humanitarian diplomacy, and sensitive negotiations in some of the world’s most challenging conflict environments.

I’ve served as a mediator, access negotiator, and policy advisor to governments, the United Nations, the private sector and global NGOs—often working behind the scenes with sanctioned actors, armed groups, and political leaders during moments of tension, transition, or breakdown. My work has included hostage recovery, classified negotiations, and strategic facilitation on behalf of partners such as the U.S. government, the Gates Foundation, the WHO, and the government of Norway.

I’ve led field operations in high-risk settings including Afghanistan, Somalia, and Nigeria, and held senior roles within the UN system, global NGOs, and international policy institutions.

Today, I run The Consilient—a discreet advisory practice supporting founders, executive teams and families, where internal conflict, succession strain, or leadership misalignment threatens trust and momentum. I bring operational clarity and principled calm to situations where reputational risk is high and traditional mediation falls short.

I also currently serve as Senior Advisor to the United Nations Humanitarian Negotiations Unit, advising on access strategy in politically sensitive and security-compromised settings. I also serve on the panel at PADRE, the leading mediation and arbitration group in the U.S.; as a Counsellor to Dragoman Global, a political risk firm; and as a member of the President’s Leadership Council at Search for Common Ground, the world’s largest peacebuilding NGO.

Portfolio
The FlyFish Journal
THE TALIBAN'S TROUT - The FlyFish Journal

Chances are high that you'll never fish for trout in the lawless regions of Afghanistan. After reading Tom Gregg's hair-raising travelogue, you won't want to. Gregg, an Aussie aid worker posted to an unstable region of the war-torn region, dodges bullets, land mines, and laser-sighted riflescopes all in search of a few dinky, eight-inch trout.

Wikipedia
How Ethical Is Australia? - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia How Ethical is Australia? An Examination of Australia's Record as a Global Citizen is a 2004 book by Peter Singer and Tom Gregg, in which the authors apply moral philosophy to examine Australia's domestic, environmental and foreign policies.

Rising Powers Quarterly
02/22/2016
China-U.S. Cooperation in Central and South Asia

Tis article examines the main cooperation felds between China and the US in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the post-NATO period. In doing so, this study looks at the initiation of various bilateral joint projects as a distinctive turning point in China-US relations. It argues that existence of such bilateral projects and cooperation in this region does not only produce added value for the countries in question but also have the potential to enhance the mutual relations between China and...

Media

ABC listen
10/28/2009
Afghanistan: engaging the Pashtun tribes - ABC listen

This is officially the deadliest month for US troops in eight years of war in Afghanistan, and at the highest levels of the US military there is now a recognition of the importance of engaging tribes as a means of improving security in Afghanistan.

RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
06/16/2011
UN Considers Splitting Al-Qaeda-Taliban Blacklist

The UN Security Council is set to decide whether to split up a sanctions blacklist and treat Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as separate entities, and remove some names from the list entirely. The Afghan government believes this will give it more leeway in its efforts to reconcile with moderate Taliban members.

Inside Story
03/04/2015
How good went bad in Afghanistan

Books | A new account of a long war lays bare a series of miscalculations and misunderstandings, writes Tom Hyland