Charles O’Brien graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in finance) from University College Dublin, and a Masters in Accounting from the Smurfit School of Business, University College Dublin (2000-2001). He trained with KPMG in Dublin from 2001 to 2005, specialising in financial services products, and left as an ACA qualified Chartered Accountant to join the finance department of ABN AMRO in Sydney as a business analyst in September 2005.

At Merlin, Charles advises a number of Merlin’s industrial, mining and natural resources clients, including EADS, Airbus, Petropavlovsk, Kazakhmys, and Timan Oil and Gas. Charles is a member of the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants and is a fluent French speaker.