As I recount in the soon to be published “A Lost Chapter in the Transformation of the Turkish Banking Industry” the plan establishing the Center for International Banking Studies (CIBS) was to start teaching courses in English. Over time we were to train Turkish instructors and translate the curriculum into Turkish with the help of bankers seconded to the institute from local banks. That plan encountered roadblocks that I describe in the book. But we also faced another challe

Continuing the story of establishing the Center for International Banking Studies (CIBS) leading to the upcoming publication of my new book, “A Lost Chapter in the Transformation of the Turkish Banking Industry.” The project had substantial financial backing from the Banks Association of Türkiye and the support of its chairman, who at that time, was the Governor of the Central Bank of Türkiye.  Although, during two years, I worked with three different Governors. The project a

Arriving in Istanbul in 1986 and seconded from Citibank to the Central Bank of Türkiye, I was tasked with a design and reconstruction challenge, renovating the dilapidatedHotel Dragos on the Marmara Sea into the Center for International Banking Studies (CIBS) and turning it a world class residential training center for bankers. Classrooms and team breakout rooms were created out of common areas that had previously been the lower-level restaurant and mezzanine level public spa

When I first visited the future site of the Center for International Banking Studies CIBS), reality set in. The 6-story building was an abandoned seaside hotel on the Asian side of Istanbul. Apart from the shock of seeing sheep wandering through the lobby, the extent of the complete renovation hit me hard. It meant designing and building: ·  Classrooms and breakout rooms for small group discussion ·   Dedicated micro-computer lab for teaching IT skills ·   Bourse room for te

When the idea for establishing a Turkish banking institute was first studied by experts in 1985, they found that: • Less than 20% of bank employees in the country had university degrees • Fewer than 4% spoke a foreign language Yet the country was opening rapidly to international finance and trade. The need for training and education was URGENT, and a new banking institute was proposed by the World Bank to help build a new generation of professionals. In 1986, I was working fo

During a clean-up of my home office in Helsinki, I came across a box of documents, photographs, and diaries from 40 years ago. They told the story of something that once existed in Istanbul — a world-class, residential international training center for bankers. But when I searched the internet, even with the power of AI, I found almost nothing about it. No records. No history. No stories. That led me to write my new book about an important chapter in the transformation of t

Today I attended the BlackBook Motorsport Forum in London, a full day program of presentations and panel discussions with executives from several F1 teams; F1 sponsors e.g. Heinekin, Lego and Revolut; plus, representatives from other motor sports like NASCAR and Formula E, and much more. The first interview of the day was with Willem Dinger, Chief Partnerships Officer at CadillacF1. When he walked onto the stage, I had an aha moment. Eleven years ago, Mark Jenkins and I were

The Chinese Grand Prix returns this weekend, and it reminded me of a memorable experience. During the event’s second year, Richard West and I ran a “Performance at the Limit” event for a major Chinese enterprise, built around our newly published book. We started at their headquarters with a “Business Lessons from Formula 1” workshop for senior leaders and key clients, including a Pitstop Challenge featuring an F1 car we had flown in from the UK. Then we all headed to the

It has been reported that Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko, is retiring at the end of this year. He has overseen Red Bull Racing’s driver development program since 2005 and provided the team with an incredible list of talent including four-time world champions Sebastain Vettel and Max Verstappen. I have been holding a photo I took of Marko and Verstappen at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in 2005. At the time, Verstappen was driving for Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s junior

Just back from a nostalgic trip to Istanbul where I reconnected with two former Governors of the Central Bank of Türkiye, three former bank CEOs, and two former senior HR/Learning and Development executives, all who supported me forty years ago when establishing the Center for International Banking Studies - Istanbul (CIBS) during a transformative period in Türkiye’s modern economic history. In 1986, with the financial backing of the Banks Association of Türkiye and the World

Two views from my balcony at the Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus overlooking that famous waterway, almost 40 years to the day that I first arrived in Türkiye and stayed at this hotel. A full schedule of meetings this week with friends and colleagues from those days. I look forward to sharing stories from a transformational time in Türkiye’s relatively recent history; and what was an exciting and challenging experience for me and my family when we moved here in 1986.

Last evening Amcham Finland celebrated both the Thanksgiving holiday and its 20 th  anniversary. It was a sold-out dinner of Amcham Finland’s members who purchased raffles for donated prizes; played a trivia quiz about popular American songs; and volunteered to sing Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” in the front of the room, all to raise money for HelsinkiMissio, whose mission is to reduce loneliness and increase well-being. The evening was hosted by Amcham CEO Alexandra Paster

In my work with organizations, I take the excellence of Formula 1 racing teams in achieving high performance and turn it into business wisdom. Last week in London, at the Thinkers50 event in the 15 th  century Guildhall, we heard from experts on the topic of “Regenerative Leadership.” Among them was Amy Edmondson best known for her pioneering work on psychological safet y . In 2004, when were writing the first edition of “Performance at the Limit, Business Lessons from Formul

I have been following the work of James Hewitt on human performance since his time as Chief Innovation Officer at Hintsa Performance, and he researched Formula 1 drivers. Today, he is a sought-after keynote speaker helping organizations unlock sustainable success. So, it was great to meet and talk shop with him last evening at Amplify Publishing’s book launch event in London, prior to our both attending the Thinkers50 Summit that starts Monday afternoon.

The Helsinki Book Fair opened this past Thursday and runs through tomorrow. It is the 25 th  year for this event which attracted 98,000 visitors in 2024. Tomorrow afternoon our son, Charly Salonius-Pasternak will be on one of the stages being interviewed about his recently published book, “Tuntematon Tulevaisuus” (The Unknown Future). Today a memory popped up on my laptop from 2018 when my daughter, Alexandra Pasternak-Jackson and I presented at the book fair, one after the o

On November 3-4 I will attend the Thinkers50 London Summit & Award Gala event along with many @100 Coaches colleagues plus a large delegation from Finland organized by the Nordic Business Forum. Thinkers50, often called the “Oscars of management thinking.” is held every two years and will take place at the Guildhall, a beautiful building that dates from the 15th century. For me, this will be the first time I will be back to the Guildhall after forty years. In 1984 I was Corpo

I returned to Helsinki from the U.S. yesterday, but too late to attend the launch of my son’s,Charly Salonius-Pasternak, new book...

Last week I spent a very rewarding two days with forty fellow members of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches community in Orlando,...

Comedian Steven Wright has said, "It's a small world, but I wouldn’t want to paint it!"   Most of us have experienced the ‘it’s a small’...

Last year I was invited by Hungary’s Ambassador to Finland, Klara Breuer, for lunch at the Ambassador’s Residence in Helsinki. It was a...