Julien S. Bourrelle
International Keynote Speaker | Cultural Differences
Cultural Differences and Communication Across Borders
Julien S. Bourrelle helps leaders, teams and organisations communicate more effectively and succeed across cultures, build stronger collaboration, and lead with confidence in international environments.
Through keynotes, tailored lectures and executive sessions, he explains how cultural differences in business influence behaviours, norms, expectations, perception, leadership, decision-making and communication in practical and applicable ways.
His work supports multinational leadership teams, HR departments and international companies navigating mergers, acquisitions, global expansion and cross-border collaboration. By clarifying cultural differences early, organisations reduce misunderstandings, strengthen integration processes and improve performance across borders.
Julien combines personal observations, recognised cultural theories and unique illustrations drawn by his business and life partner Elise H. Kollerud. The result is lectures that are both entertaining and authentic, making complex cultural concepts accessible, memorable and directly relevant to business practice.
From Engineering to Cultural Analysis
His expertise in understanding cultural differences did not come primarily from formal education, but from lived experience observing and adapting to the local norms and rituals of the seven countries in which he has lived.
Julien is a Canadian mechanical engineer specialised in astrodynamics, i.e. rocket science. His education brought him to Germany, Spain, France, Australia, New Zealand and Norway, and he has also spent extended periods in Southeast Asia, East Africa and several other European countries.
His work explaining cultural differences began when he was elected to the board of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway’s largest and most renowned university for engineering education. Julien represented part of the university’s academic staff on the board of directors and became the first non-Scandinavian member of the board since NTNU's (NTH) foundation in 1910.
In this role, he contributed to strengthening internationalisation processes by drawing on his experience from five internationally recognised universities where he had studied. It was during his board work that he began developing the illustrations he now uses to explain how expectations and perceptions shift across cultures, and why interactions can become challenging when living, studying or working abroad.
His innovative way of explaining cultural differences quickly gained national attention in Norway. Julien chose to pause his doctoral studies and engineering career to focus full-time on helping companies and organisations succeed in international environments, benefit from diversity, and build resilient multicultural teams.
Following this decision, Julien has delivered lectures and courses for more than 500 companies across 20 countries, including well-known international brands, central and commercial banks, as well as Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies.
His work has received national recognition in Norway where he lives. Julien was awarded the TOP 10 Prize by HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and has appeared as a guest on several popular talk shows and radio programmes. He has also been featured in numerous articles addressing cultural differences and international communication.
Julien lives just outside Oslo, Norway, with his partner Elise H. Kollerud, who leads Mondå Forlag and creates the illustrations used in his lectures and their publications.
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For a broader overview of recent activities and projects, you can read the Yearly Review 2025.
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Articles, interviews and media appearances are available on the Media Page.
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For photos, biographies and other materials for organisers and journalists, please visit the Press & Images Page.
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To inquire about Julien’s availability, please contact Elise at elise@monda.no or use the contact form.