MANAGING PARTNER
Bjørn Christian Nørbech is a passionate interculturalist, and the founder of Kulturtolk.
Bjørn Christian is a native Norwegian with Swedish and Danish ancestors. Since his childhood he has lived, studied and worked in Austria, Germany, England, Switzerland and Argentina and travelled extensively to 37 countries. In 2007 and 2008 he conducted cultural studies in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, South Africa, The United Arab Emirates, Oman, India, Thailand, Australia, South Korea, China and Japan. Bjørn Christian is fluent in Norwegian, German and English, proficient in the Scandinavian languages, and is working on his Spanish.
Bjørn Christian studied business at the University of Mannheim, Germany, and at the European Business School in London. His dissertation on “Norwegian Business Culture in Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions” earned him the Alfred Dunhill Award for the best dissertation of the year in 1999, and ignited his interest for intercultural management.
Bjørn Christian has 10 years of experience as a management consultant. The first four years he worked as a traditional management consultant with a focus on operational effectiveness. Since 2002 however, he has specialized in the field of national and organizational culture. As an interculturalist he has given trainings and advice to organizations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Ukraine and China in a diversity of sectors. In 2005 he was the editor and co-author of the book “GrandiosaLAND” which depicts Norwegian culture in a humoristic way. The book has so far sold in over 5000 copies and become a bestseller in Norway.
When he is not travelling, Bjørn Christian lives in Oslo, Norway with his wife Oddbjørg Reitan Nørbech.
RELOCATION AND INTEGRATION MANAGER
Based in Oslo, Norway, Anna Maria is an intercultural trainer and consultant, and responsible for Kulturtolk’s Relocation and Integration services.
25 years as an expat has made her a genuine Third Culture Kid. Her mixed cultural heritage and unique cross-cultural experience living in 10 countries on five continents has given her a profound understanding of the importance of cultural communication and the art of cultural adaptation and assimilation.
Anna Maria has 10 years professional experience in international business within the telecom, pharmaceutical and marine electronic industries. Seven of those were focused on all aspects of training. She speaks seven languages and has delivered training in 10 countries around the world.
Anna Maria received a Master of International Management from Thunderbird, the School of International Management in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages and Literature from Whitman College, in Washington State. Her focus was on Latin America and Spanish. She is a certified medical interpreter for Spanish to English and a member of Phi Kappa Beta, an honorary language society.
On a more personal note, Anna Maria lives in Oslo with her Norwegian husband, whom she met in the U.S. before embarking on a two-year trip around the world with the goal of settling in the Nordics. She travels extensively to keep up friendships, writes in her free time and is learning to ski to survive the dark winter.
