John Alexander

John is a cultural consultant, trend analyst and writer, specializing in cross-cultural communication, leadership, media and storytelling for companies. In 20 years of running workshops, presentations and training sessions on subjects ranging from intercultural management and communication to leadership and media methods, John has advised, helped and inspired countless companies and organizations in Europe, Asia and the US. In doing so, he has excelled as a recognized authority in cross culture and media.

John lectures at a number of Scandinavian universities and colleges in media and cultural studies, is the author of university textbooks on management and media, and has written about cultural studies, focusing on leadership and communication. John is a frequent guest on Swedish television and radio and has published numerous articles in newspapers and journals around the globe.

John holds a PhD in narratology and is author of a number of books on cross culture communication as well as scripts for film, television and digital media. His books include Corporate Narrative: Communicating Values with Stories, The Inside Story: How Storytelling Inspires Change in Organisations, Companies and People, How Swedes Manage, Consensus - The Hidden Codes of Swedish Leadership and Lagom Sisu Manana - A Globalisation Survival Kit.

Therése Gedda

Therése Gedda is an action-oriented entrepreneur with a background in management consulting, inspirational education and strategic business advising for executives and entrepreneurs in Sweden as well as the UK and US. As a manager, advisor and inspirational speaker, Therése enables organizational and personal change by incorporating values and visions into transformational processes and acts as the connector between aspirational goals and required action. Through goal-oriented action and the acknowledgement of value, talent and motivation as success drivers, Therése targets long-lasting results and excellence.

Therése started her first consulting firm in 2002 and has since then become a specialist in organizational re-branding and marketing, and time management, as well as strategic partnerships and action-orientated project management. Her entrepreneurial background as well as her experience makes Therése a valuable partner for businesses, executives and entrepreneurs in several fields.

Therése has a degree in Master of Science from Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) and is a guest lecturer at the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship (SSES) as well as the SSE Business Lab (Stockholm School of Economics incubator). She is also a jury member of Venture Cup (the largest business plan competition in Sweden). Therése is the founder of Excellentia, manages her own management consultancy firm, TGC, and is a co-founder and strategic advisor for a number of other firms.

Ronald Jones

Ronald Jones is a professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Konstfack and leads The Experience Design Group. He is a guest professor in Experience Design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad in India. Ronald also sits on numerous boards of cultural organizations.

He served as the first provost at Art Center College of Design and came to the Art Center from Columbia University, where he was Professor of Visual Arts in the School of the Arts, and Co-Director of the Interactive Design Lab. Before joining the faculty at Columbia, Ronald was Senior Critic at the School of Art, Yale University for nine years. He has also served on the faculty of the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Städelschule Frankfurt, the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen, The Rhode Island School of Design, The School of Visual Arts in New York, and many others.

He holds a Certificate from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, took a MFA degree with the University of South Carolina, and a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies from Ohio University. He has delivered over two hundred lectures at universities, museums, and art and design schools, including Harvard University, The Art Institute of Chicago, Yale University, The Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, The Whitechapel Art Gallery in London, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Guggenheim Museum, Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons School of Design, DIA Center for the Arts in New York City, Royal College of Art in London, Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts at MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, Brown University, Akademie Der Bildenden Künste in Vienna, the Architectural Association in London, among many others.

Ronald contributes regularly to the Art Forum and Frieze and writes frequently on contemporary art and design for various international publications. A practicing artist, Ronald has exhibited internationally. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, among others. Jones is represented by Metro Pictures and the Sonnabend Gallery in New York. His first opera "Falling and Waving" was produced by the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Arts at Saint Ann's in New York City in 1999. He is at work on a second opera titled "Moon Shot."

Thomas Lavelle

Thomas Lavelle is a senior lecture at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) and is Director of the Center for Modern Languages. He joined SSE in July of 2000. Thomas teaches students in masters and bachelors programs, offering courses in Business English and Management Communication and serves as a course director for a number of faculty-development courses, including "English in the Classroom" and "Pedagogy for Higher Education" at SSE. Thomas is also a guest lecturer at Uppsala University and Stockholm University. He is a highly appreciated speaker with great knowledge and insights. One of his recent publications is "Learning through English in Swedish professional education".

Before joining the Stockholm School of Economics, he served on the faculty of Stockholm University's Department of English and, as a research student, taught at the University of London's University College, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Kent State University. In American contexts, he has worked as a writing specialist with a particular focus on business writing.

Gregg Vanourek

Gregg Vanourek is an author and expert in the fields of leadership, entrepreneurship, and personal development. He has co-authored two books (including LIFE Entrepreneurs), with a new one in the works. He has also co-authored regular blogs for Harvard Business Online and columns for The Washington Times.

He serves as Adjunct Faculty at the Royal Institute of Technology as part of the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship consortium and Teaching Mentor with Metizo. Recently, he was Adjunct Faculty for the Euromed School of Management, the University of Denver, and Colorado Mountain College. Vanourek founded Far Horizon and co-founded New Mountain Ventures. Before that, he served as SVP at K12 Inc., VP at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, and Research Fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Vanourek holds an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management, M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and B.A. from Claremont McKenna College. He is a featured speaker in the U.S. and Europe. He has recently given talks in Paris, Brussels, Marseille, Stockholm, Uppsala, Västerås, and cities all over the U.S.