Paul Vittles is Chief Executive of The Vittles Organisation and Founder of Listen Hear: The Global Campaign for Effective Listening. Paul has developed his listening skills through a number of routes. He is a professional researcher, including being awarded Fellowship of the UK Market Research Society (MRS) in 2001 for his pioneering work in community engagement. Paul is a Full Member of the Australian Market and Social Research Society (AMSRS), a member of the Research News Editorial Advisory Group, and he was co-chair of ‘100 Stories’ the highly successful 2009 research industry conference in Australia. In his research and consultancy career, Paul has carried out thousands of interviews, moderated more than 1200 group discussions, and facilitated more than 500 workshops. It’s the professional listener’s equivalent of ‘flying hours’! He gained a reputation for being a ‘safe pair of hands’ for complex, challenging and highly sensitive projects. In 1996, Paul was asked to lead the engagement process around what to do with the site of 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester, the former home of the serial killers Fred and Rosemary West. Paul interviewed the victims’ relatives, the residents around the site, and key stakeholders to help determine a way forward. Deep, empathic listening was crucial in this particular project. In 1997, Paul joined the UK Academy for Chief Executives (ACE) and trained as an executive coach. Paul has spent much of the past 25 years studying what makes businesses and public service organisations successful – sustainably successful! He has been in CEO or Director-level positions for the past 20 years, including with some of the world’s biggest knowledge-based consultancies, such as Nielsen and TNS. Before establishing The Vittles Organisation, Paul was Director and Executive Coach with TNS. Paul has also been employed as a change manager, and has experience in government, corporates, SMEs, and NGOs. Paul’s professional training and research studies in coaching and counselling have added additional layers to his expertise in listening skills. His current business focuses on helping teams to “Create and Deliver Inspiring Shared Visions”. Listening and engagement are at the heart of this process. Several clients have also asked Paul to help them develop and facilitate their LinkedIn Groups as they have recognised the need to listen more effectively online as well as offline. Paul is also Chairman of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) in Australia and New Zealand. The RSA has been changing the world for the better since its establishment in 1754. There are 27,500 RSA Fellows around the world, all achievers in their respective fields, including many with expertise in listening. Listen Hear! The Global Campaign for Effective Listening has been established to address both the micro and macro problems that exist globally around poor listening skills, lack of listening, lack of systematic development of listening skills in education systems and in workplace development programmes, etc. It will also showcase good practice and useful resources for learning and development. You can support the Campaign and join the discussions via the Listen Hear! LinkedIn Group. Paul is also an award-winning conference speaker, with his talks such as “The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create It”, “Innovation via Liberation”, “The Transition from Executive to Manager to Leader to Being Happy”, and “Engagement: Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way”. Paul is a member of the National Speakers Association of Australia (NSAA) and he presented to the NSAA in August 2009 with a very well-received talk entitled: “Assume Nothing: Lessons from a Lifetime of Learning”. Paul has also published many papers and articles over the years, and is currently writing a book covering the core material covered in his workshops, to be published in 2011. For more information on Paul Vittles and The Vittles Organisation, please visit www.vittles.org | 