John Mole was born in 1945. He has an MA from Oxford University in French and German and an MBA from INSEAD, the European Business School.
For fifteen years he worked for an American commercial bank in the USA, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
In 1993 he created a joint venture between AKKOR, the Association of Private Farms and Co-operatives of Russia and a British restaurant company to set up a franchised chain of fast food restaurants with support from the Know How Fund's PIFS scheme.
Subsequently he was appointed Adviser to the President of AKKOR on establishing a farmers' credit institution.
This included studies in Moscow and Leningrad districts on the financing of entrepreneurship in rural areas, sponsored by the International Labour Office.
He has lectured and trained in business schools and conversion companies on managing relationships with western business partners in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. His book on managing business cultures is published in several languages including Russian.
Mind Your Manners: Managing Business Cultures in Europe 2nd Ed.