Jessica Brown
Co-Founder and Partner
Leonie
Australia
The Action Exchange
Since then
Jessica spent a decade at The Economist Group in Hong Kong and London, most recently as editorial director of events. There she convened senior leaders across business, policy, science and academia, designing solutions-led forums. Her focus was on integrated engagement: research, content, roundtables, stakeholder engagement and high-level events, all engineered to advance ideas and build brand credibility among the world’s leading tech and finance companies.
’s background is in research, policy, editorial and strategic communications. She has held senior roles in think tanks, regulators and research institutions in North America and Australia, worked at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, and led stakeholder engagement and profiling campaigns for B2B organisations across finance, infrastructure and technology. Both Leonie’s work has been published in the world’s leading business and news publications including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The New York Times, The Times UK and the BBC. She specialises in producing authoritative contributions to complex debates.
had no shortage of marketing or communications agencies, but few capable of combining hard-nosed analysis, editorial rigour and the skills to scale engagement exclusively for sophisticated, senior audiences.
was created to fill that space: applying the tools of think tanks and editorial institutions to help organisations deepen their relationships and lead the conversations that matter most to their future. The Action Exchange’s founders Leonie Phillips and Jessica Brown, have worked together for almost two decades. Their partnership began in a policy think tank, where Jess was a research fellow and Leonie led communications and engagement. Their task was to shape public debate by translating analysis into ideas that could cut through media noise and influence decision-makers.
they have collaborated across organisations and projects, working on both sides of the client–agency relationship. Founding The Action Exchange was the logical next step.