Frances Edmonds

After graduating with a Masters Degree in Modern Languages from Cambridge University, Frances Edmonds joined the Commission of the European Union in Brussels as an international conference interpreter.

For over a decade, she worked to facilitate communication and cooperation within all the major international organisations (EU, EP, UN, OECD, WEU, UNCTAD) and between the (then) G7 heads of state and government at their annual World Economic Summits. Her years spent negotiating at the highest level fostered her expertise in cross-cultural communication and consensus creation.

Her understanding of business issues, gleaned from her own experience in helping creating a specialised construction company, led to her election as an Honorary Fellow of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Founder member and Fellow of the Professional Speakers Association.

Frances contributes to a wide range of publications, including The Times and The Evening Standard, and appears regularly on radio and television, frequently as a news reviewer for BBC´s TV´s "Breakfast with Frost." She currently working on a book about mothers and daughters and has just written a song, "Believe in Me," sponsored by National Lottery organisers Camelot, which it is hoped will be used for London´s 2012 Olympic Bid. She spends her time between her homes in Notting Hill, London, and Biarritz, France.