Fons Trompenaars to Receive George Petitpas Award

Global Cultural Expert Honoured for Contributions to HR Profession

The World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA) is delighted to announce the award of its prestigious George Petitpas Award to Fons Trompenaars, one of the world’s most influential management thinkers.

Trompenaars earned the award based on his outstanding contributions over the past 30 years to the HR profession worldwide, most notably through his ground-breaking research, publications and consultancy on all aspects of culture. He is noted for providing practical solutions to enable organisations to resolve their business and cultural dilemmas and increase global effectiveness and performance, particularly in the areas of globalisation, mergers and acquisition, managing change, leadership development and digitalisation.

“Fons’ work goes beyond merely understanding cultural differences. He outlines ways in which smart leaders can gain advantage from it,” said William (Bob) Morton, Chair of the judging panel and Immediate Past President of WFPMA. “He has redefined our idea of leadership to include the ability to resolve competing cultural and business dilemmas and propel organizations forward.”

The Award will be presented by Anthony Ariganello, the President of WFPMA, in Lisbon on 20 October 2023. The WFPMA established the award, formerly known as the Georges Petitpas Memorial Award, in the mid-1980s to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of the HR profession.

The award is named after George Petitpas, who was nominated as president of the WFPMA in 1983, but passed away before taking up the office. It is presented every two years in different locations around the world. 

WFPMA (www.wfpma.org)

The WFPMA is a global organisation of professionals in people management, founded in 1976 to aid the development and improve the effectiveness of professional people management all over the world. Its members are predominantly the continental federations which are made up of more than 90 national human resource associations representing over 660,000 people management professionals.