Global & Cultural Effectiveness

Marlin D. Smith is a dynamic HR professional that is passionate about helping employees and companies find common ground for success. As founder of Mandrake HR Consulting, LLC, he has a solid background in leadership, safety, and employee culture from over 15 years in Human Resources leadership. He believes that the key to a successful employer/employee relationship is commitment: on the part of the employer to provide the best environment for employee to thrive, and on the part of the employee to bring the whole of their skills to the table to fulfill their given roles. When both parties bring their best, it’s amazing what can happen!

John A. Rubino, SHRM-SCP, CCP, CBP, GRP, WLCP, is founder and president of Rubino Consulting Services, a global human resources consulting company based in Pound Ridge, New York. His areas of expertise cover all areas of Human Resources program design. An internationally acclaimed speaker for SHRM and WorldatWork, John is the author of numerous human resources articles, and is frequently quoted in professional publications. He holds BA and MBA degrees, as well as a lifetime Achievement Award from WorldatWork. John works with a wide variety of organizations and his consulting practice takes him all around the world; in fact, he has visited one hundred and nine countries!

Emma Geist, MSc., SHRM-SCP, GPHR, has been an Leader in the field of Human Resources for over 18 years, having lived and worked on all five continents and contributed to various industries.  Emma is an expert in fostering and delivering change for business alignment and operational efficiency across multiple countries and cultures for global organizations.

Over the past 10 years, she has focused mainly on Human Resources Management and Organizational Development for the extractive industry in Africa and South America, where one of the main challenges is to build efficient teams made of employees from various cultures and backgrounds while taking into consideration the local environment.

She holds a BA from University Stendhal (Grenoble – France) and a MSc. in International Human Resources management and Globalization from University of Leicester, UK.

As President of DFA, Dean Foster conducts cross-cultural training worldwide and consults on intercultural business issues with most Fortune 500 companies in the United States and around the globe. For over twenty-five years, Dean has played a major role in the development of the intercultural training field. Formerly, he was founder and Managing Director of Berlitz Cross-Cultural Worldwide, Vice President GMAC/Windham Intercultural, and founder of Cross-Cultural Consulting Associates, New York. Dean is a frequent guest on CNN, CNBC and other TV and radio shows, and keynotes at major international professional conferences.

Dean has written many articles, the four-part Global Etiquette Guide book series, as well as Bargaining Across Borders, which the American Library Association voted as one of the top ten business books of 1994.

He is a Contributing Editor for National Geographic Traveler, writing the CultureWise monthly column, and Senior Contributing Editor for the International webpage of Monster.com. Dean presents at many educational institutions such as Harvard and is on faculty at the Intercultural Management Institute at American University. Dean has a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York City.

Chris founded Discovery Learning in 1990. As the company’s head product designer, he manages the research and development processes and is always coming up with new ideas to ensure Discovery Learning’s products remain innovative and effective in a changing world. He also works with clients on program and training design to make sure Discovery Learning’s products fit their needs.

Chris served as a Kellogg Fellow (1987-1990) and has worked in organizational and leadership development for more than 30 years. He has developed numerous programs covering leadership development, creativity and innovation, change management and team building for some of the most well known and respected companies in the world. He has designed and delivered programs in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, including countries such as The Netherlands, Germany, India, China, Japan, Malaysia and Ethiopia. He has also helped create seven simulations and nine innovative assessment tools.

Ariel Meyerstein is responsible for USCIB policy and programs on corporate responsibility, international labor standards and corporate governance. He manages USCIB engagement with its affiliated organizations – the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Organization of Employers (IOE), and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD – as well as U.S. government agencies and United Nations agencies on international corporate responsibility principles, codes of conduct and multi-stakeholder initiatives, as well as international and transnational regulatory activities on labor and employment policies, sustainable development and corporate governance.

Meyerstein joined USCIB in 2014, with a background in international dispute resolution, human rights and sustainable development. He has published several articles and book chapters on various aspects of human rights law, including war crimes, refugees, transitional justice and the integration of human rights into financial sector risk assessment processes. Prior to joining USCIB, Meyerstein was an associate at Chadbourne & Park, LLP and before that at Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP. He also served as a legal adviser at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal and as a judicial clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He holds a law degree and a doctorate in jurisprudence and social policy from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in English and human rights from Columbia University.

Peter A. Gudmundsson is the President & CEO of RecruitMilitary, a sixteen year old company that helps organizations excel by leveraging the talent of our nation’s finest people, our veterans. RecruitMilitary helps companies attract, appreciate and retain high quality veteran employees and students. 

Prior to RecruitMilitary, Gudmundsson founded the Dropout & Truancy Prevention Network, a social enterprise that combined the use of location verification technology with phone-based personal mentor/coaches to keep kids in school and on track to graduate. Many of the mentor/coaches were physically disabled veterans or others with physical challenges that brought maturity, empathy and compassion to their roles.

Most of Gudmundsson’s career has been dedicated to leadership in media, education, information and intellectual property intensive businesses. Before DTPN, he was the founder of the Priceless Legacy Company, a custom publishing company that helped people preserve their life stories and lessons in print and electronic formats

Jeff began his career at Leo Burnett in Chicago where he became the youngest VP Account Director in the agency’s history, earning seven of the American Marketing Association’s EFFIE Awards for superior business results.  Before joining JB Training Solutions, Jeff was the Marketing and Creative Director for the Houston Rockets and Vice President of Marketing for Four Hands Imports, which was featured on Inc’s 500 Fastest Growing Company List three times. Currently, Jeff consults on business skills, sales, and marketing for companies in multiple industries including Marriott, Phillips 66, Leo Burnett, and the Major League Baseball Network. When Jeff isn’t traveling or training, he is spearheading content development and enhancement to keep JB programs at the peak of innovation.