Richard Richards
I have traveled wide and far in a number of leadership, training and consulting roles in both corporate and non-profit arenas. Originally from the UK, I have lived and worked in the USA, Germany, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong. While leading teams in Australia, Korea, Israel, China, Mariana Islands, Germany, Chile, Argentina and Mexico, I was fortunate to acquire a deep appreciation for the world and many of its peoples. In addition, I have owned two businesses: a fine art gallery specializing in Latin American art (I provided the business backbone but a knowledgeable partner provided the art expertise) and a small training consulting practice.
I have a checkered but rich education: a BSc (Hons) from the University of Surrey in the UK and Michigan University in the USA in Hotel and Catering Administration and an MA in Applied Learning, from the School for New Learning at DePaul University in Chicago, focusing on “The Use of the Arts in Community Building and Social Change.” This degree began life as “The Use of Theatre to Describe, Understand and Modify People’s Perceptions and Behavior”—a focus that continued to inform my final degree and foreshadowed my relationship with The Ariel Group and subsequent non-profit work.
As a professional actor, I have studied improvisation at Second City in Chicago and worked on stage, in voice-over and in film.
My most recent full-time employment, for just over five years, was as The Ariel Group’s Vice President of Learning Design, where I ultimately reconfigured my role (and my life in general) to be able to work towards becoming bilingual in Spanish and to explore people and leadership development opportunities with alternative populations. Until 2014, I therefore lived in Ocotal, Nicaragua, where I volunteered as a learning consultant and facilitator for El Instituto de Liderazgo de las Segovias, a small leadership institute that has the following beliefs as part of its mission:
After 2 years in Nicaragua and 38 years overseas, I returned to the UK to be closer to my Father in the final chapter of his life. Reversing our roles for me to take care of him was a lesson in humility and an important rite of passage.
I am writing the most recent chapter of my life as a Senior Consultant for The Ariel Group, coming back to an organisation where the values we work by and what we teach in the classroom, "presence" in al its variations and interpretations, are central not only to the world of business, but to life in general.
I have a checkered but rich education: a BSc (Hons) from the University of Surrey in the UK and Michigan University in the USA in Hotel and Catering Administration and an MA in Applied Learning, from the School for New Learning at DePaul University in Chicago, focusing on “The Use of the Arts in Community Building and Social Change.” This degree began life as “The Use of Theatre to Describe, Understand and Modify People’s Perceptions and Behavior”—a focus that continued to inform my final degree and foreshadowed my relationship with The Ariel Group and subsequent non-profit work.
As a professional actor, I have studied improvisation at Second City in Chicago and worked on stage, in voice-over and in film.
My most recent full-time employment, for just over five years, was as The Ariel Group’s Vice President of Learning Design, where I ultimately reconfigured my role (and my life in general) to be able to work towards becoming bilingual in Spanish and to explore people and leadership development opportunities with alternative populations. Until 2014, I therefore lived in Ocotal, Nicaragua, where I volunteered as a learning consultant and facilitator for El Instituto de Liderazgo de las Segovias, a small leadership institute that has the following beliefs as part of its mission:
- poverty can be overcome;
- overcoming poverty is a moral imperative;
- and every person, regardless of position or background, can play a valuable role in achieving this with the appropriate development and support.
After 2 years in Nicaragua and 38 years overseas, I returned to the UK to be closer to my Father in the final chapter of his life. Reversing our roles for me to take care of him was a lesson in humility and an important rite of passage.
I am writing the most recent chapter of my life as a Senior Consultant for The Ariel Group, coming back to an organisation where the values we work by and what we teach in the classroom, "presence" in al its variations and interpretations, are central not only to the world of business, but to life in general.
For further information:
Contact© Copyright 2018 Richard Richards, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
|
|