Karen Fenner is the Founder and CEO of Globally Speaking, an internationally focused cross-cultural consultancy offering companies intercultural management training and language training for over 25 years. Her focus is to provide managers with cross-cultural tools to effectively bridge cultural and language barriers fostering productive and successful global teams.
She has taught at numerous top ranked U.S. Executive MBA programs, Fortune 100 companies, as well as German universities. Karen has consistently been asked back as a repeat lecturer.
For over ten years, Karen has also successfully built and run the German Department at the College of New Jersey (TCNJ) as the German Studies Program Director.
Karen is originally from Hamburg, Germany. She moved to the United States as a young student giving her the opportunity to grow up in a bi-lingual/bi-cultural environment. This cross-cultural upbringing, her international education, along with years of experience working with global clients give her unique insight to understanding the nuances of culture and how it effects communication, management and socializing styles. She is a passionate educator who sees helping people from different backgrounds communicate effectively as well as forge trusting relationships, as incredibly rewarding.
Karen received her B.A. in German Studies from Dickinson College and a Masters in Germanic Studies from New York University (NYU). She also studied at the Universität Würzburg in Germany, concentrating in Political Science and Germanic Studies. She received a Certificate in Conflict Management from Cornell University's School of Continuing Education.