Dr. Ernest Gundling

Ernest Gundling, PhD, is a co-founder of Aperian Global, and has been involved with the organization since its inception in 1990. Ernest currently acts as a senior Asia specialist and managing partner of the organization. He partners with Fortune Global 100 clients to develop strategic global approaches to leadership, organization development, and relationships with key business partners. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and executive coach, helping diverse leadership teams to engage employees at home and abroad to achieve practical results.

Ernest has been involved with Japanese language, culture and business for more than 20 years, including more than six years’ residence in Japan. He has worked and traveled extensively elsewhere in Asia, and lived for extended periods in Germany and Mexico. Ernest is currently a lecturer at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, where he teaches a course on global management skills. He formerly worked as the director of Consulting and Organization Development at Clarke Consulting Group.

A partial list of clients that Ernest has worked with includes Adobe, AT&T, Canon Information Systems, Cisco Systems, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Ford Motor Company, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, Honda, Intel, Intuit, Kodak, Levi Strauss, Lucent Technologies, Mazda, Morgan Stanley, Mitsui Bussan, Motorola, Procter & Gamble, Saudi Aramco, Schneider Electric, Texas Instruments and 3M Company.

Outside of his corporate career, Ernest is a frequent contributor to numerous publications, including several books: “The 3M Way to Innovation: Balancing People and Profits”; “Working GlobeSmart: 12 People Skills for Doing Business Across Borders”; “Global Diversity: Winning Customers and Engaging Employees within World Markets”; and “What is Global Leadership? Ten Key Behaviors that Define Great Global Leaders.” He has been a co-producer of Aperian’s award-winning video series called “Working with China” and “Globally Speaking,” and a contributor to the company’s pioneering online learning tool, GlobeSmart® and GlobeSmart Leadership OnlineSM. His latest book, “Leading Across New Borders: How to Succeed as the Center Shifts,” was published in fall 2015.

Ernest holds a PhD from the University of Chicago. He wrote his dissertation on Japanese management training programs; his field research was funded initially by a U.S. Department of Education Fulbright Fellowship. He received a master’s degree from the University of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University. Ernest facilitates in English and Japanese, and is currently based in San Francisco, Calif.