Brendan Sargeant is Professor of Practice in Defence and Strategic Studies and Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University.

He retired from the Department of Defence in October 2017, where he was the Associate Secretary of Defence from September 2013. Prior to that appointment he was the Deputy Secretary Strategy. As Associate Secretary, he was responsible for oversight of the implementation of the First Principles Review, a major reform of Defence organisation and enterprise governance, planning, performance and risk management. He was the principal author of the 2013 Defence White Paper.