Tyler: Sales Director Leading with Spanish

Meet Tyler—a Sales Director at Hult EF Corporate Education.

Becoming bilingual is the achievement I am most proud of in my life.

Languages: Spanish

Grew Up In: Saratoga Springs, NY

College & Concentrations: George Washington University – Political Science/Spanish Literature

Study Abroad: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Additional Training & Certifications: Corporate English Teaching Specialization (Training Express); Management Development Program (Hult Ashridge Executive Education)

How have your language and cultural skills supported and/or enhanced your professional opportunities?

Becoming bilingual is the achievement I am most proud of in my life. It has helped me not only work in a different country, but also build a career I am passionate about.

Because of my Spanish skills, I got a job working as a business development manager at EF, Education First, in their Hult EF Corporate Education division focusing on working with Latin American companies. Now as a sales director in the same company, I lead a team that specializes in implementing language training programs at the world’s largest companies, with the mission of empowering the next generation of leaders and change-makers at global organizations to communicate and collaborate better.

What advice would you share with current language learners or those considering studying a language?

Being a language learner is a life-long endeavor, even in your mother tongue. Think about those word-a-day tear-away calendars: You are always learning new words, new ways to express yourself. I think of learning a second or third or fourth language in the same way. Even though it can take a lot of effort, it is so worth it—so keep at it, and make yourself proud!

It’s often said that English is the language of global business, and because of that, language skills aren’t necessary to succeed. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

I would agree that English is the language of global business—some estimates say that there are more people learning English in China alone than there are citizens of the United States.

However, my own career is proof positive that speaking a different language opens doors to professional experiences that I would not have had otherwise. Additionally, thinking that colleagues or professionals in other countries will learn English, so you don’t need to learn their language, takes away from the richness of the relationship you could build if you could speak with them in their own native tongue.

Do you have an interesting, moving, or humorous anecdote featuring your language skills to share?

I remember speaking with an HR manager at an automobile manufacturing plant in Mexico who was planning to implement an English training program sponsored by her company for her colleagues. One of the reasons she was passionate about this was because she was seeing barriers to advancement in her own career due to her lack of English skills, and had tried and failed to learn English throughout her life.

She was delighted, when we met on a conference call, to learn that I spoke fluent Spanish. It was then that she was able to bring to life for me in her own words exactly why this was so important to her.

She always remembered me because I speak Spanish with a Castilian ceceo, and I made her laugh by saying “yo ceceo todo el santo dia” ("I lisp all the livelong day"), because I really became fluent in Madrid. She has been a great champion of language learning within her company and a great friend as well ever since.

Check out our Connect with Spanish—or explore another language of your choosing—for information about university programs, scholarship opportunities, testimonials, and more!

Then tell us how you put your language skills to work @LangConnectsFdn on social media.

Know a multilingual professional who's using language skills in their work or career? Refer them to us for consideration in an upcoming Professional Profile.