Gary Sharkey Professional Background: The Career Behind Sustainability, Smart Cities and Impact Advisory

Searching for Gary Sharkey professional background can quickly become confusing. Public records identify more than one established UK professional with that name, including a sustainability and smart-cities specialist and a senior food-industry procurement executive.

The Gary Sharkey covered primarily here is the London-based sustainability, smart-cities and impact professional whose career has included PwC, the Global Cities Business Alliance, international-development work, cleantech research and the social enterprise Sharkey and Friends.

His career is particularly relevant because it connects issues that are increasingly treated as interconnected: climate risk, urbanisation, technology, natural resources, professional skills and personal wellbeing. Archived PwC material identifies Sharkey with global sustainability and smart-city work, while his current professional site presents him as an impact advisor working across nature, climate, technology, cities and skills.

BLUF: Gary Sharkey is a London-based impact advisor and sustainability professional whose documented career spans PwC, smart cities, water strategy, cleantech, international development and urban policy. He now presents his work around sustainability skills, coaching and advisory services while continuing Sharkey and Friends, his London-focused social enterprise.

Nearly Two Decades of Sustainability Work Around PwC

PwC provides one of the strongest institutional threads in Gary Sharkey’s professional history.

Official and archived PwC material places him in sustainability roles covering water, urban development and smart-city strategy. A PwC smart-cities publication identified Gary Sharkey as a UK contact for the firm’s global sustainability and smart-cities work, while earlier water-sector material described him as a global sustainability network professional.

His remit was broader than conventional environmental reporting.

At different stages, Sharkey’s work addressed the intersection between cities, technological development, climate change, resource scarcity and corporate decision-making. A Habitat III biography described him as PwC’s Global Sustainability Network Director and said he had established the firm’s global practice examining water issues.

That same biography connected his work with organisations including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Carbon Disclosure Project, World Economic Forum and OECD.

Independent career listings place his PwC tenure from approximately February 2007 until January 2025. Because those exact employment dates come from career-profile data rather than a current PwC staff directory, they are best treated as publicly reported dates rather than employer-certified employment records.

His own public LinkedIn activity also shows that he remained involved with PwC sustainability initiatives in late 2024, describing participation in a PwC Sustainability Forum involving more than 160 senior managers and directors from across EMEA.

Smart Cities Became a Defining Part of His Professional Identity

Urban development became one of the clearest themes in Sharkey’s later consulting work.

PwC’s 2019 report Creating the Smart Cities of the Future listed him as the United Kingdom contact for a global smart-city initiative. The report examined how governments and companies could approach digital transformation, infrastructure and citizen services as cities adopted connected technologies.

This work went beyond deploying sensors or digital infrastructure.

The broader challenge involved governance: who controls urban data, how technology is financed, how citizens benefit and how public and private organisations cooperate. Another PwC smart-city document identified Sharkey with “Global Sustainability and Smart Cities” in London.

His public professional record also lists mentoring in smart cities and smart mobility through Techstars between 2020 and 2023.

The combination helps explain why “smart cities” became attached so closely to the Gary Sharkey professional background. His work treated cities not simply as construction projects but as systems where technology, environmental limits, investment and public services interact.

From PwC to the Global Cities Business Alliance

A particularly visible chapter arrived through the Global Cities Business Alliance.

During a secondment from PwC, Sharkey served as Programme Director for the organisation, which brought businesses together to examine major issues confronting leading international cities.

His official Habitat III profile described the alliance as a nonprofit organisation supported by multinational companies and focused on the role businesses could play in major commercial cities. Housing affordability and urban mobility were among its stated priorities.

Sharkey appeared at the United Nations Habitat III conference in Quito in October 2016, including discussions concerning urban economic development and the business community’s role in sustainable cities.

This period is important because it placed his corporate sustainability expertise directly inside the international debate over how rapidly growing cities should function.

Rather than working only with individual companies, the role required thinking across entire urban systems: employers, housing markets, infrastructure, transport and public authorities.

China, Cleantech and International Development Came Earlier

Sharkey’s sustainability focus did not begin with smart cities.

His Habitat III biography says that before his global PwC responsibilities, he worked as a cleantech specialist with PwC China, supporting businesses operating in areas such as renewable energy, water, green buildings and clean transportation.

The 2009 China Greentech Report provides additional documentary evidence. It credits Gary Sharkey of PwC as one of the professionals who co-wrote substantial portions of the report and managed several research teams.

Before PwC, his profile also records experience connected to the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, where his work concerned technology and international development.

These roles reveal a consistent professional theme. Technology was rarely treated as an end in itself; it was considered in relation to development, natural-resource pressures, economic growth and public outcomes.

Stanford and Johns Hopkins Shaped the Policy Foundation

Sharkey’s academic training helps explain the mixture of policy, technology and sustainability found throughout his career.

The Habitat III biography states that he was a Presidential Scholar at Stanford University, graduating with a BA with honours in International Relations. It also records a master’s degree in International Science, Technology, Energy and Environmental Policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Johns Hopkins’ alumni platform independently identifies Gary Sharkey in London as an alumnus and founder of Sharkey and Friends.

His institutional biography also records teaching or research associations with KAIST in Seoul, Sciences Po in Paris, the University of Colorado Denver and Putian University in China.

That academic path closely matches his subsequent career: international relations provided the policy dimension, while science, technology, energy and environmental policy supplied a framework for dealing with sustainability and urban systems.

A Career Timeline Connecting Technology, Cities and Sustainability

Early 2000s — International and technology-focused work

Public professional records describe early experience in technology, education and international development, including work in Asia and a period connected with the International Finance Corporation.

2007 onward — PwC sustainability career

Sharkey joined PwC and became associated with global sustainability, water and later smart-city work. Official publications document his involvement in the firm’s sustainability network and international environmental projects.

2008–2009 — China Greentech research

The China Greentech Report 2009 credits him as a substantial contributor and research-team manager.

2015–2017 — Global Cities Business Alliance

He served as Programme Director while on secondment from PwC, examining challenges facing international business cities.

2018 onward — Sharkey and Friends

Sharkey developed Sharkey and Friends as a social enterprise combining community wellbeing, coaching and broader sustainability ideas.

2019 — Global smart-city work

PwC publications publicly identified him with global sustainability and smart-city strategy.

2020–2023 — Smart-city mentoring

His professional profile records service as a smart-cities and smart-mobility mentor with Techstars.

2025–2026 — Impact advisory and coaching

His current website identifies him as an Impact Advisor, offering sustainability-related coaching and advisory support to individuals, startups and small and medium-sized organisations.

Sharkey and Friends Marks a Different Kind of Professional Chapter

Sharkey and Friends adds an unusual dimension to his professional record because it connects environmental impact with individual and organisational wellbeing.

The organisation describes itself as a Community Interest Company working with individuals, teams and organisations from public, private and nonprofit sectors. Its stated aim includes expanding access to inclusive coaching and promoting healthier minds, bodies, communities and environmental choices.

That approach represents a shift from large institutional sustainability programmes toward more direct work with individuals and smaller organisations.

His current impact-advisory positioning lists five interconnected themes: nature, climate, technology, cities and skills.

The progression is therefore less of a complete career change than it might first appear. PwC involved sustainability at corporate and global scales; the Global Cities Business Alliance applied similar thinking to urban systems; Sharkey and Friends brings parts of that thinking into coaching, skills and community activity.

Why Gary Sharkey’s Professional Background Is Easy to Misreport

There are three main sources of confusion.

First, another Gary Sharkey is a prominent UK food-industry executive. Mixing his Hovis and flour-milling positions into the sustainability advisor’s biography creates an inaccurate professional record.

Second, older conference and PwC biographies describe positions held at the time they were published. A 2016 Habitat III profile, for example, accurately documents Sharkey’s then-current Global Cities Business Alliance and PwC responsibilities but should not automatically be read as a statement of his employment status in 2026.

Third, Sharkey’s work spans several sectors. Search results may separately describe him as a sustainability specialist, smart-city professional, water expert, coach, social entrepreneur or impact advisor. Those descriptions can refer to different stages of the same career rather than different people.

The Thread Connecting an Unusually Broad Career

The most accurate way to understand Gary Sharkey’s professional background is not to reduce it to one job title.

His documented work moves from international development and Asian technology markets into cleantech, water strategy, corporate sustainability, urban policy, smart cities and eventually independent impact advisory and coaching.

A consistent theme connects those roles: applying policy, technology and organisational skills to problems involving people, resources and long-term sustainability.

As of September 2026, his own professional platform places the emphasis on impact advisory and Sharkey and Friends rather than presenting him principally through the older PwC titles that still dominate many search results. That distinction is important for anyone preparing a current biography or professional profile.

FAQs

What is Gary Sharkey’s professional background?

Gary Sharkey is a sustainability, smart-cities and impact professional with documented experience at PwC, the Global Cities Business Alliance and in international-development and cleantech projects. His work has covered climate change, water, urbanisation, technology and sustainability skills. His current professional website describes him as an impact advisor and founder of Sharkey and Friends.

Did Gary Sharkey work for PwC?

Yes. Gary Sharkey had a long professional association with PwC. Official PwC publications identify him in global sustainability, water and smart-city roles. Public career information places his PwC employment beginning in 2007 and ending around January 2025, although the precise end date is based on professional-profile data rather than a current PwC employment announcement.

What did Gary Sharkey do in smart cities?

Gary Sharkey worked on smart-city strategy linking digital transformation with sustainability and urban management. PwC identified him as a UK contact in its global smart-cities work, while his other roles included the Global Cities Business Alliance and later smart-city and smart-mobility mentoring. His work therefore covered both corporate strategy and wider urban-development questions.

What is Sharkey and Friends?

Sharkey and Friends is a London-based social enterprise founded by Gary Sharkey. It describes its work as inclusive coaching and wellbeing support for individuals, nonprofits and small businesses. The organisation operates as a Community Interest Company and combines coaching with themes involving health, sustainability, community wellbeing and professional development.

Where did Gary Sharkey study?

Gary Sharkey studied international relations and environmental-policy-related subjects. His Habitat III biography records a BA with honours in International Relations from Stanford University and a master’s degree in International Science, Technology, Energy and Environmental Policy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Johns Hopkins also lists him among its alumni.

Is Gary Sharkey from Hovis the same Gary Sharkey?

No. The Gary Sharkey associated with Hovis is a different professional. Hovis’ Gary Sharkey works in food-industry procurement and served as President of UK Flour Millers from 2023 to 2025. He is also identified by European Flour Millers as a vice-president. Those grain-sector positions should not be attributed to the sustainability and smart-cities professional.

Editorial Disclaimer

This profile is based on publicly available professional, institutional and organisational sources reviewed through September 17, 2026. Older biographies describe roles held when those sources were published and may not represent current employment. Where exact dates or present-day positions could not be independently confirmed through an employer or institution, they have been qualified rather than presented as established fact. No private financial, family or other non-public information has been inferred.

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