Culture Matters Professional Business Consulting & Keynote Speaker
Improve your Cultural CompetenceWe help international teams collaborate faster, build stronger trust, and prevent costly cultural misunderstandings.
Become culturally competent this year and make more profit in 2026 and beyond.
Who we help:
CEOs, executives, managers, and global teams who are struggling with communication, decision-making, and trust across cultures.
What problems do we solve:
- Slow global teamwork and miscommunication
- Misaligned expectations in negotiations and leadership
- Conflict and misunderstandings that erode performance
How we do it:
With practical consulting, interactive training, tailored cultural competence assessments, and real-world intercultural strategy that immediately improves collaboration.
The Cultural Gap Is Costing You More Than You Think
1. The Cultural Gap Is Costing You More Than You Think
International work isn’t about language. It’s about expectations, trust, and decision styles.
Teams with cultural blind spots lose time, over-communicate, or miss opportunities — and it shows in revenue and retention.
2. What Clients Actually Gain
Faster Decisions
Stop waiting for consensus or misinterpreting silence.
Deeper Trust
Build rapport across cultures without forcing one style on all.
Better Outcomes
Transform misunderstandings into predictable, solvable patterns.
3. How We Help You Achieve This
Consulting
Solve real challenges in cross-border operations and team performance.
Training & Workshops
Tailored for your culture mix and real business challenges.
Coaching
Upskill leaders with practical tools for daily intercultural success.
Cultural Audits & Strategy
Pinpoint real barriers and fix them with measurable action.
Are you looking for a Keynote speaker?
Don’t Settle For Less
Our Consulting Services & Keynote Speaker
Hi, I’m Chris.
For over 20 years, I have worked with international organizations and global teams to strengthen cultural competence and improve cross-border performance.
Doing business internationally comes with many challenges. Culture is consistently the most critical — and most underestimated — factor affecting collaboration, decision-making, and results.
Culture matters when doing business internationally.
Keynotes
An effective international keynote does not happen by chance.
- It requires a speaker:
- Whose message is relevant.
- Whose perspective resonates across cultures.
- Whose delivery engages diverse audiences.
The right keynote creates understanding, alignment, and momentum — not just inspiration.
Workshops
- Professional and outcome-driven.
- Practical and focused on real business challenges.
- Highly interactive, regardless of audience size.
- Realistic, relatable, and grounded in daily leadership practice.
- Designed to deliver clear takeaways that translate into action.
- Business and leadership oriented, with content adapted to your context.
- Engaging and energetic — while remaining substantive and educational.
- Flexible in scope, topics, and depth.
Coaching 1-on-1
One-on-one coaching strengthens leadership effectiveness in international environments. It provides focused, practical support to navigate cultural complexity, improve judgment, and lead with confidence across borders.
Cultural competence, applied at its highest level.
What Do Others Say About Culture Matters?
Hans Odenthal, People Manager Sioux Embedded Systems; Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Hans Odenthal, People Manager Sioux Embedded Systems; Eindhoven, the Netherlands"Chris is an open-minded flexible professional who can deliver high-quality work when it comes to culture. After having attended a workshop of him, people are better equipped to work with other cultures.
What counts for me are the end results, and for that, you can count on Chris. Working with Culture Matters has increased our productivity when it comes to working with other cultures."
Paul Wait, CEO GTMC; London, UK
Paul Wait, CEO GTMC; London, UK"Chris is an experienced culture expert. I've been doing business with him for years and have never been disappointed.
He not only knows what he's talking about, but he can also deliver it in a way that captures an audience, be it 10 people or 150 people. If culture is important to you (and for whom isn't it) work with Chris."
Brigit Law; Senior Trade Officer Dutch Embassy, Brussels Belgium
Brigit Law; Senior Trade Officer Dutch Embassy, Brussels Belgium“Chris Smit offers excellent guidance in understanding the effect of cultural differences in doing business abroad. Even if, or especially when, it concerns trading with neighboring countries.
That’s why I asked Chris to sit in a panel discussion about cultural differences that was linked to a business matchmaking of young entrepreneurs from The Netherlands and Belgium. Bringing these young people at an early stage in their internationalization process in contact with experts like Chris will help them succeed in their business.”
Jens Schuster; Senior Director Lufthansa City Center, Frankfurt Germany
Jens Schuster; Senior Director Lufthansa City Center, Frankfurt Germany"As a Senior Director for Lufthansa City Center International (LCCI) I deal with different cultures every day. I met Chris at a conference in Abu Dhabi, where he gave a keynote lecture. Immediately after I contracted him for our organization’s annual customer event.
Chris is able to capture the attention from the very first moment on and hold it till the last minute. He broadens and deepens your understanding, as well as giving you the tools to overcome cultural differences within a global business world."
Christophe Scholer; CEO Araxxe, Lyon France
Christophe Scholer; CEO Araxxe, Lyon France"We've been growing rapidly internationally, so we needed to become culturally competent. For that, we have found the perfect partner in Chris Smit. I've attended a workshop where Chris explained and taught us all we needed to know to more effectively work with our international clients.
If you're working internationally, work with Chris. He can save you time and money by letting you do your business better."
Some of Our Clients
And Many More...
If you think Culture Matters in your Business and Organization, get in touch with us. Click Here...
Get a Taste of How Chris Presents, Watch his TEDx Talk
Call Direct: +32476524957
Call Direct: +32476524957
European Office (Paris) Whatsapp: +32476524957
European Office (Paris) Whatsapp: +32476524957
The Americas (USA; Atlanta, GA; también en Español): +1 678 301 8369
Book Chris Smit as a Speaker
If you're looking for an Engaging, Exciting, and Interactive speaker on the subject of Intercultural Management & Awareness you came to the right place.
Chris has spoken at hundreds of events and to thousands of people on the subject of Cultural Diversity & Cultural Competence.
This is What Others Say About Chris:
- “Very Interactive and Engaging”
- “In little time he knew how to get the audience inspired and connected to his story”
- “His ability to make large groups of participants quickly and adequately aware of the huge impact of cultural differences is excellent”
- “Chris is a dedicated and inspirational professional”
In addition, his presentations can cover specific topics cultural topics, or generally on Cultural differences.
Presentations can vary anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours and are given worldwide.
Book Chris now by simply sending an email. Click here to do so.
Read more about what Chris can do for you.
- Percentage of People Rating a Presentation as Excellent 86%
- Rating the Presentation as Practical 89%
- Applicability of Chris' presentation 90%
About Peter van der Lende
Peter has joined forces with Culture Matters.
Because he has years and years of international business development experience joining forces therefore only seemed logical.
Being born and raised in the Netherlands, he has lived in more than 9 countries of which most were in Latin America.
He currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) with his family.
You can find out more at https://expand360.com/
Or find out what Peter can do for you here.
For a Wikipedia explanation of Culture, click here.
Keynote Speaker on Culture Matters
Listen to the Culture Matters Podcast
Why Culture Matters in International Business; Watch some video’s here.