Helgi Eyford, B.A. (Hons. Political Science), M.A. (Adult Education), Ph.D. Candidate

Consulting Experience

Helgi has over 15 years experience designing and delivering cross-cultural management training, including pre-departure orientations for the Canadians going overseas, on-arrival orientations to Canada for delegations, doing business in Canada courses for Americans, and cultural awareness and diversity training for Canadian companies. His engaging and participatory training sessions combine first-hand knowledge of “dos and taboos” from around the world with the most up-to-date research and theories on cross-cultural management.

In the past year Helgi has developed and delivered cross-cultural management training for Enmax, Chevron, Safeway, the Alberta Government, Families Matter, and others. He is also a lead author of the “Four Worlds Cultural Capacity Audit”, an organizational development tool that helps organizations and companies assess their own cultural competence.

Education

Helgi’s first degree is an honours degree in Political Science from the University of Alberta where he specialized in the evolution of Human Rights in International Law. After two years studying development projects in South America, he returned to Canada to do his M.A. in Adult Education at the University of Toronto. His thesis examined the cultural dimension of education for development. Helgi is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Calgary. His research deals with how culture affects management training in multicultural environments.

Work Experience

Helgi has worked as a schoolteacher in Colombia, a community development worker in Canadian Aboriginal communities, a university lecturer in Papua New Guinea, a program manager in Ukraine, and a training advisor in Yemen. He is currently the Diversity Educator for the Calgary Health Region.