World-leading businessman to deliver keynote talk on the shape of future politics
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The political and cultural differences between the French and the British will be explored by a world-leading figure in global business and politics when he delivers a keynote talk at the University of Aberdeen next week.
Dr Andre Teissier-du Cros, President of US-based international management consulting firm, GEAN Overseas (Global Expansion Through Acquisitions and New Ventures), will lead a seminar on “What really distinguishes Continental Europe from the Anglo-Saxon world” in a talk that will also look at the ways in which culture, thinking and policy differs between the Continental Europeans, and the Americans and the British.
Born of French and Scottish parents and a US citizen since 1988, Dr Teissier-du Cros’s company is the only firm in the world specialising in management consulting for machinery manufacturers and one of the few with significant experience in management of industrial goods manufacturers.
His mother, Janet Teissier-du Cros (born Grierson) lived in France from the 30s to her death in 1990 and wrote Divided Loyalties on her experience during the German occupation. Her insights on French-British cultural differences expressed in her book and in her BBC talks of the 50s, influenced her son, Andre, better to understand today what distinguishes Continental Europe and the Anglo-Saxon world.
According to Dr Andre Teissier-du Cros, on-going disputes over the European Union, the relationship with the US, business and even accounting practices, have deep roots, which go beyond political institutions and convictions.
Dr Teissier-du Cros has lived in Atlanta, Georgia since he relocated his business there in the 1980s. Following a lecture he gave to American audiences on the French/US dispute over the invasion of Iraq in 2003 from the German point of view, he discovered new reasons to explain why the Germans and the French patiently and consistently worked at getting closer together towards a political union after having been fierce enemies for a century and a half.
He will develop the opinion, expressed by his mother, that the Anglo-Saxon perception of the French and continental difference has been blurred by prejudices and misinformation. He will explore how it originated during World War II and increased with the arrival of the European Union.
Dr Teissier-du Cros will also explore the fundamental differences between the French/German economic and business model including tax structure, accounting practices, and demographic policies.
Professor Trevor Salmon, Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen, is delighted to welcome Dr Teissier-du Cros to the University of Aberdeen.
He said: “Dr Teissier-du Cros is a very high profile figure in the international business arena and we are pleased to be hosting this prestigious lecture.
“This talk will focus on the differences between the Continentals and US and British citizens with regard to culture, thinking and policy.
“Given what happened in 2003 with the British-American invasion of Iraq, the EU constitution, and the debate about the future of NATO, the issue of fundamental differences between the Continental Europeans and the British could determine the future of the Western World and could also determine Anglo-American relationships with Europe for future generations.”
A wide range of academics from subjects including English, Philosophy, Business and Politics and International Relations, will attend the lecture which takes place on Monday, October 24, at 5.00pm in New King’s 10, at the University of Aberdeen’s King’s College campus.
The lecture is also open to the general public and to find out more, or to book a place at the lecture, contact Corinne Sim on (01224) 272084 or email: c.h.sim@abdn.ac.uk.