Dr. Virginia Drummond Abdala

• Dr. Virginia DRUMMOND is a Brazilian French Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Management Consultant, Trainer, and Academic with a notable experience in lecturing and authorship. Her education started at the Federal University of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. She further distinguished herself by attaining two master’s degrees : one in Geopolitics from the University Marne la Vallée-Gustave Eiffel and the one in Strategic Management (Master 101) from the University of Paris, PSL – Dauphine, complemented by a PhD in Management from the same institution, focusing on Corporate University’s role in Post-Merger Cultural Integration, aided by the Government of Luxemburg’s support within Arcelor-Mittal.

With over 25 years in Corporate Training, Intercultural Coaching and Consultancy and within the field of Higher Education, Virginia spearheaded a tailor-made cultural integration program for Italian expatriates, from her adept research on cultural dynamics within FIAT. This earned her recognition as a sought-after trainer and lecturer, spanning institutions such as CELSA Sorbonne-University EM Strasbourg, FDC Brazil, EM Lyon, BUPT (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications) and ECNU in China, shaping global events centered on Intercultural and Cross-Cultural Management, and imparting wisdom to over 30 nationalities from diverse industries.

Having contributed to UNO-UNESCO’s intercultural and interreligious dialogue survey, Virginia’s insights were cultivated during her tenure as an intern and consultant within the Division of Intercultural Dialogue. Her literary prowess yielded a best-seller book, championed across French-speaking countries, reedited on nine occasions.

Awarded educator, Virginia secured the Most Innovative Blended-Learning in Company awards from Club Med (2013) and Saint Gobain (2017). Fluent in English, French, and Portuguese, she held a permanent tenure at EM Lyon Business School for eleven years, specializing in Intercultural Development, International Teams, Global Leadership, and IHRM. Her accreditations include Cultural Intelligence Assessment C.Q. and debriefing, alongside facilitation for Leadership Judgement Indicator L.J.I.

For the last decade Virginia has taught at EM Lyon and supervised students across different programs such as PGE (Master Grande Ecole) Master International Hospitality Management, Master Luxury Management, DBA, Executive General Management Master, and customized Executives Programs. She currently supervises PhD candidates within the framework of the PHEHF Research Centre at Torrens University Australia.

Recent accreditation in Psychoanalysis in France emboldened her involvement in enlightening studies concerning the Mental Well-being of global managers within Clinics and Psychosociology Research Centers, further solidifying her multidisciplinary impact through a specialization at Transcultural Clinic at University of Paris-Cité. She has just returned from a visiting Academic at Torrens University in Adelaide, South Australia and keeps her consultancy and corporate training activities in Intercultural Management in France