Prior to entering academia, Brent spent 5 years in industry working as an actuary at Lincoln Financial Group, a financial analyst at Zions Bancorporation, and a program analyst at Orbital ATK. He also taught Spanish for 2.5 years.

Brent's primary research involves entrepreneurial uncertainty and strategic judgment. He also studies the impact of emerging technology on decision makers and organizations. His work has been published in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Small Business Economics, Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, Journal of Management, the Journal of Business Ethics, and others.