Marco Blankenburgh

International Director
KnowledgeWorkx

Marco Blankenburgh is the founder and director of KnowledgeWorkx, a company committed

to Organizational Development. Based in the UAE, KnowledgeWorkx has expanded into 15
countries around the globe. He is a true international citizen having lived in 6 countries and
worked in over 40 countries on all continents. Marco’s ability to converse in Arabic, German,
English and Dutch, together with the creation and development of a unique consulting
methodology, sets him apart from other consultants in this competitive field. Marco holds a
degree in International Business and Strategic Marketing Management.

His academic background, combined with his indisputable international experience and
exposure have lead to his methodologies receiving global acceptance. He attributes this
far reaching success to his intricate understanding of Inter-Cultural Intelligence. Marco
has become an expert in understanding the relationship building process amongst
people and uses Inter-Cultural Intelligence to underpin his work in strategic consulting,
change management, leadership development and coaching. Inter-Cultural Intelligence
is essentially the new 21st century intelligence, following on from IQ and EI (Emotional
Intelligence). With the advent of globalization, he believes that Inter-Cultural Intelligence (ICI)
is essential to sustainable success for both individuals and organizations.

Marco does not impart knowledge from a distance or a place of authority. He prefers to work
alongside people in an organization. This approach has proven successful and is reflected
in the longevity of the relationships he has with his clients. His facilitation, consulting and
coaching have produced tangible results and return on investment for all of his clients.

Marco has further qualifications as a certified Behavioral Consultant, allowing him to utilize
tools such as DISC profiling, Team Dimensions, Dimensions of Leadership and Time Mastery
to assist him in leadership development, change consulting and strategic coaching.

His approach revolves around 3 key words: ENCOURAGE, EQUIP and RELEASE. This
philosophy has taken both individuals and their organizations to levels of success they
would not have otherwise gone on their own. Marco’s academic credentials, combined
with his Inter-Cultural understanding, makes for a method of consulting that adapts to the
context and achieves results in multi-cultural environments.
“Globalisation will make
our societies more
creative and prosperous,
but also more vulnerable.
This is not bad, but the
pace of globalisation has
surpassed the capacity
of the system to adjust
to new realities of a more
interdependent and
integrated world.”
Anna Lindh – former Swedish Minister of
Foreign Affairs
The list of senior executives in multi-national companies with whom Marco has had the
privilege of working alongside is extensive. To name a few:
+ World Vision: Implementation of an accreditation program on Cultural Mapping &
Navigation for key facilitators and roll out into 15 countries. Aim to increase
organizational effectiveness.
+ Siemens: Design and implementation of a holistic learning solution. Training and
executive coaching to assist Siemens with global market realities.
+ Sasol: Organizational alignment to achieve global entity status with a strong
portfolio of joint ventures.
+ Texas A&M: Equipping staff with Inter- Cultural skills to handle the challenges of
running an international university in Qatar, catering for a colorful spectrum
of nationalities.
+ GIBS: (Gordon Institute of Business and Science) A 4 year involvement with the
Executive Development program as a facilitator to assist senior executives
in the development of their Inter-Cultural Intelligence.
+ Caterpillar: Inter-Cultural Stakeholder alignment program.
+ Al Fahim A large scale strategic change process, shifting a family owned business
Enterprises: which exceeded 1 500 employees into a large internationally operating
corporate entity.
consulting | coaching | learning & development