Commitment to Education

About: Dr. Les Joynes:

Dr. Les Joynes has built a thirty-five year global career in academia, public diplomacy, and cross-cultural leadership. An Asia specialist since 1997, he is expanding his teaching, courses and workshops to Viet Nam. Joynes has lectured on multilateral collaboration at Renmin University, Peking University in Beijing, National Sun Yan-sen University, National Taiwan University of Education and as Fulbright Senior Scholar was visiting Fulbright education specialist at Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management in India. He was Fulbright Visiting Associate Professor at Visva Bharati University in India and has coached students and future leaders at Columbia University and University of Melbourne, and contributed to innovative multilateral programs combining liberal arts, public diplomacy, and global perspectives.

As 2022 Fulbright-Nehru Scholar, Dr. Joynes initiated cross-cultural collaborations in India, focusing on mentorship for creative professionals and research in public diplomacy. His pioneering work has been instrumental in fostering academic exchange, diversity, and inclusion across borders and has also led Fulbright US Public Diplomacy projects in Mongolia and China, promoting U.S.-Asia cooperation.

A recipient of awards from the Japan Ministry of Education and the Taiwan Ministry of Education, he has cultivated a deep understanding of models for cross-cultural learning and innovation and has presented on multilateral cooperation at Cambridge University, Peking University, and Columbia Global Centers. His dedication to teaching and supporting emerging talent is evident in his roles as an entrepreneurship mentor in tech, healthcare and the creative industries. His expertise in international collaboration, academic innovation, and creative leadership continue to redefine education in the region. His vision and commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders will further mission of excellence, innovation, and global impact.

Dr. Joynes is a graduate of the Boston University / Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) / M.Sc European Management Program (M.Sc) and California State University (MBA). He brings thirty years of global experience across the Americas, EU and Asia Pacific. With a special interest in the future of Europe, he has been resident of France, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan and India. In addition to his training in global management, he also brings a robust background in creative training in London and Tokyo. He has served multinational companies including 3M, GE, GM, DuPont and Bayer and coached leaders at McKinsey, Bain, HSBC and the US Foreign Service. Joynes is a Columbia University Research Scholar examining the future of coaching in leadership. As a mentor and coach, he has served the Columbia Community since 2019 and has coached 100+ MBAs and EMBAs at Columbia Business School and coaches Entrepreneurs and their teams at Columbia Start-Up Lab and Almaworks.

At California State University, Les published with Organizational Behavior specialist, Rami Shani, PhD on parallel learning models instrumental in creating cross-border cooperation in technology. He has initiated coaching to culture professionals at Yale, California State University and PhDs at University of Melbourne, Australia.

Les is recipient of EU/Erasmus Award (1995) for France, the Fulbright US Public Diplomacy Awards for Mongolia (2014) and China (2017), . And the Fulbright Academic and Professional Excellence Award for India (2022) and serves as an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Ignite Fellow (2024-2025).

Certifications

ICF Certified Coach. ICF-NYC DEI Coach Mentor; ICF-certified GCHQ Group Coach; GoldAward Mentor. MBA (California), M.Sc (Brussels), MA (Lon), MA (Japan), PhD (Leeds), Post-doc (Brazil)

Courses

• Innovation Mindset for Entrepreneurs

• Beyond Design thinking - thinking like a creative entrepreneur

• Entrepreneurship for Social Impact

• Building a coaching mindset in Multinational Organizations

• Managing AI and the Future of Work

• Intercultural cooperation in the creative industries

• Managing University Expansion: Building Successful Curriculum Design

• Research Support in Technology, Healthcare and Entrepreneurship

• Integrating Coaching for Founders and their Teams

• MBA Programming and Syllabus Design

• Graduate Research Supervision

Testimonials

“Dr. Joynes is a phenomenal coach who influences how I think, plan, and act, to achieve my ambitions and maximize my potential. His methods combine creative and strategic problem solving techniques that ensure that the paths I define and choose simplify complexities and focus on the most important outcomes. Our work has helped me grow as a more impactful partner to my clients and influential leader and member on my teams” - Peter Sun,| Consultant, McKinsey & Company

Coaching is recognized today as a value-add resource for international organizations, diplomatic communities and government working in multi-cultural environments. It is my pleasure to recommend Dr. Les Joynes as an experienced and thoughtful leadership coach. Experienced across thirty-five countries, Les works alongside leaders and teams to build strategic goals, team effectiveness, mission focus, and maintain work-life balance. - Anthony Diaz, | Chief, Political and Economic Affairs Advisor Economic Affairs US Department of State; Advisor, U.S. Mission to the United Nations

As a venture capital professional, it's easy to get caught up in a daily routine and relegate career development decisions to our "someday" to-do list. A leadership coach, Dr. Joynes engaged unique approaches to align my professional and personal goals and work-life balance. I highly recommend him. - Hugues Dongmo, | Vice President, XBTO Humla Ventures, New York

Les’s unique coaching style blends diverse training and deep experience in both creativity and management enabling him to work effectively with leaders as they build pathways towards their professional and work-life balance goals. - Paulette Rao Professor, MCC, BCC