Richard D. Lewis

Richard D. Lewis has been active in the fields of applied and anthropological linguistics for over 35 years. His work in several fields of communicative studies has involved him in the organisation of courses and seminars for many of the world’s leading industrial and financial companies. He has lived and worked in several European countries, where his clients include ABB, Allianz, Banco de España, Banque de France, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, Ericsson, Fiat, Gazprom, Gillette, IBM, Kraft, Mercedes Benz, Microsoft, Nestlé, Nokia, Saab, SAP, UBS and Volvo. He also spent five years in Japan where he was tutor to Empress Michiko and other members of the Japanese Imperial Family. During this period, his services were requested by firms such as Nomura, Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Sanyo, Mitsui and Nippon Steel. More recently he has been heavily involved in the intercultural field, founding companies in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Brazil, teaching communication skills in these countries as well as Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the USA, where he is currently crosscultural consultant to the World Bank. Mr. Lewis, who speaks 10 European and two Asiatic languages, is chairman of Richard Lewis Communications Ltd, an international communication consultancy with oces in over a dozen countries. His book When Cultures Collide, now in its third edition, is regarded as the Richard D. Lewis classic work on intercultural issues and was the Spring main selection of the US Book of the Month Club in 1997. He was chosen as the Personality of the Year 1999 by PATA (the Pacific Asia Travel Association) and was given the award on the basis of “the dedicated and extraordinary work carried out in the area of cross-cultural communication, having clear understanding and sensitivity for the cultures in the Asia/Pacific.” Mr. Lewis was knighted by President Ahtisaari of Finland in March 1997 in recognition of his services in the cross-cultural field relating to the training of Finnish Ministries for EU entry (1995) and the EU Presidency (1999). He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Knight Commander by President Halonen in 2009.