Mike Sergeant


Michael Sergeant is an English author, communications consultant and former journalist who worked for the BBC, Sky News, Reuters and CNN as a political correspondent, business correspondent and general news reporter. He worked as a foreign correspondent in more than 25 countries including Iraq and Lebanon. He was the BBC's main on-air local authority expert - covering council finance, services, benefit reform, housing, planning and infrastructure. He also covered general and political stories across the UK for programmes including The Today Programme, Breakfast and the BBC News Channel. He announced his departure from mainstream broadcasting in October 2014, joining public relations firm Headland as a client-facing director. He left Headland in 2017 to form his own communications company, Sergeant Leadership Communications. He is the author of 'PR for Humans: how business leaders tell powerful stories'.

Early career

After receiving an MA in economics from Cambridge University, Sergeant started his career in the media by working for the Associated Press Television News. Following one year at the news channel, Sergeant moved to Sky News, becoming their first e-commerce correspondent, covering events such as the Dot-com bubble. He soon left the channel to join the BBC.

Career

After leaving Sky News in 2001, Sergeant joined the BBC as a business reporter, working across the BBC's business output, including the World Business Report and BBC Breakfast. He then worked exclusively for BBC Breakfast, covering business events and planning segments. He also briefly worked as a political correspondent during the 2005 General Election.
Following a successful six years in business, Sergeant became the BBC's Middle East reporter, covering events such as The Iraq War, the Gaza War and the Arab Spring.
He then returned to his business and political roots, becoming a correspondent for politics, business and general news.
He is worked as the BBC's local government correspondent and was a regular contributor to the BBC News Channel.
In October 2014, Sergeant announced his departure from the BBC after 13 years. He subsequently joined PR and media agency Headland as a client-facing director.

Personal life

Sergeant was a keen actor and writer as a student. He is the son of veteran broadcaster and journalist John Sergeant. He is married to Georgina Sergeant and has two children.