Robert W. Frye - Trainer/Speaker

Electronic mail address
rwfrye@lettgroup.com
Office phone
(301) 946-8208
FAX number
(240)371-0080

Biographical Information

As the former Chief of Protocol for AT&T and Lucent Technologies, Bob has over 25 years of experience in marketing and international business protocol.  During his career, he has held executive positions in operations, marketing, sales, corporate education and public relations.  During 1998, Bob served as Senior Vice President and Chief of Protocol for PROTOCOL International, Inc.

For AT&T and Lucent Technologies, Bob created, developed and managed protocol organizations that served the sales and marketing departments of both companies worldwide since 1981.

Bob has planned and directed well over 4,000 senior level marketing visits to the United States involving chief executive officers, boards of directors, ambassadors, ministers, current and former heads of state, and royalty.

In 1995 Bob was selected to conduct protocol and cross cultural training for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, The State of Georgia, and the Atlanta City Council in connection with the 1996 Olympic Games..

Bob currently conducts International Protocol and Cross Cultural workshops for Saint Joseph's University Executive MBA Program, The American University Business Council for International Understanding, Washington, DC, and the United States Air Force Air University, Maxwell AFB.  He also delivers numerous protocol lectures and speeches to corporations and associations including the Los Angeles and Philadelphia World Affairs Councils, The Southern Center for International Studies, as well as multiple engagements for Delta Airlines and Motorola.

Bob, a Certified Meeting Professional, has been featured in articles in the New York Times Sunday business magazine, The American Express Travel and Leisure Magazine, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.  He is a member of the board of directors of the Philadelphia International Visitors Council and the New York Council of Protocol Executives.

Trevor Gatty - International Protocol Expert & Associate

A widely-traveled International Business Consultant, former career Diplomat and Protocol Advisor to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Trevor Gatty draws on his extensive background in world trade and international relations to the programs he leads for The Lett Group.

Mr. Gatty's British Diplomatic Service career focused primarily on International Trade and Investment, as well as Systems Analysis and Strategic and Organizational Planning. After selection as a Diplomatic Service Inspector (the US equivalent is Inspector-General) he visited British diplomatic posts worldwide to review their operations and make recommendations directly to the Secretary of State. His own overseas postings included Zaire, Thailand, Switzerland, and San Francisco and culminated in appointment as British Consul-General for the Southeastern United States, where he led the Atlanta Consular Corps as its Dean.

Capitalizing on his contacts, fluency in languages ( French, Spanish, German, Thai) and his expertise in negotiation and international relations, Mr. Gatty left the Diplomatic Service to establish his presence in international protocol and etiquette consulting.

In 1994, at the request of the British Government, he opened an Honorary British Consulate in Charlotte to cover North Carolina.

As Protocol Advisor to the 1996 Olympic Games, he wrote training manuals and volunteer handbooks on International Protocol and Etiquette and undertook other relevant studies, including Organization and Structure, V.I.P handling and Victory Ceremonies.  He has since published Guides to International Etiquette and to Protocol in International Business.

Mr. Gatty lectures on international affairs and has published articles in newspapers and specialist journals in the Southeastern USA.  In Atlanta, he was a founding Member and Director of the World Trade Club and of the British American Business Council (which is one of over 30 branches in the United Kingdom and the United States).  He is Co-Founder, Past President and currently a Director of the Charlotte branch of the British American Business Council, as well as a Director of the Charlotte World Trade Association and a member of the Mayor's International Cabinet. He also served on the Governor's Task Force on Tourism.

Anne Shibata - International Protocol Expert/Speaker

    BCI President Anne M. Shibata has an MA in Intercultural Communication, speaks fluent Japanese and lived and worked in Japan from 1982-1998.  An experienced businesswoman, trainer, teacher, and international consultant, she has been helping clients to cross cultural, linguistic and psychological borders for 16 years.  While in Japan, she appeared on weekly television programs for four years, had a radio program, and lectured extensively in Japanese on cross-cultural issues in schools, universities and at government agencies.  Ms. Shibata was President of both New York English School and Intercultural Communication Services, two companies with multi-national staffs which she founded and managed.

    Her community work also focuses on creating cross-cultural understanding.  She was instrumental in arranging several fundraisers in Fukuoka, Japan that brought together the Japanese and foreign communities.  Ms. Shibata also served as national President of AFWJ, a professional organization of expatriate women living and working in Japan.

    In addition to her business and community experience, she was Asst. Professor of Communication for Chikushi Jogakuen University.  Since returning to the US she has taught "Communication Among Cultures" at State University of New York, College at New Paltz.  In her academic career, she has published and presented extensively in the field of cross-cultural understanding.  Most recently, she presented research at the NY Conference on Asian Studies, the Japan Association of Language Teachers Conference in Okayama, Japan, and the Hong Kong Baptist University in Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.  She was one of only two non-Japanese researchers invited to join the Japan Communication Researchers Meeting (Nihon Komyunikashun Kenkyusha Kaigi).  She conducted extensive cross-cultural training workshops at various sites in Japan.  Ms. Shibata finds a great deal of satisfaction in helping clients build successful business relationships based on cultural understanding, and firmly believes that in the Global Village, "The only borders remaining are the ones in our minds."
Contact Information:

Electronic mail address
ashibata@lettgroup.com
Office phone
(301) 946-8208
FAX number
(240)371-0080