Kay Xander Mellish

Kay's presentations blend storytelling, humor, and practical strategies for better collaboration across cultures.

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Denmark,USA

Top rated!

6 Client reviews

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“Thank you for a great talk! You wouldn’t imagine the amount of positive comments I got from several colleagues. We all feel we understand our American counterparts better now, and overall we’re more sensitive to the huge cultural differences we face every day, as we have offices in several locations in the US.”

Flavia Kaiser-Nykjær, Data Specialist

Genomic Solutions

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Non-binding request for Kay Xander Mellish

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Reasons to book Kay Xander Mellish

Kay is a great choice for mixed audiences at which many different cultures are present. Her optimistic, positive energy makes everyone feel welcome.
Kay’s presentations are both educational and entertaining. They’re a great way to “get the conversation started” at team events.
As a trained journalist, Kay will interview members of your team to tailor a presentation that addresses your specific strengths and challenges.

Non-binding request for Kay Xander Mellish

Invigorating insights into the Danish living & working culture

Kay Xander Mellish has worked for Fortune 500 companies on both sides of the Atlantic and counseled dozens of international talents as they make the transition to a new working culture. Will it make a good impression if I stay late in the office? Is it OK to disagree with my boss? Who speaks first in a meeting? How do I act when I realize I’ve made a mistake on the job?

An American now living in Europe and the author of the books “
How to Work in Denmark
” and “
Working with Americans: Tips for Danes
”, Kay draws on her own experiences working in different cultures and those of the hundreds of internationals and locals she has interacted with over the past 10 years as a speaker and culture coach.

Kay says that most people want to work well together, but they often have expectations that they don’t know they have.

For example, employees who come from cultures where the manager is a strong, powerful figure will expect to have a similar boss in their new location – but can feel confused and neglected when they find themselves in a business culture where there is more freedom and less control.

Different business cultures have different reward structures. How often do managers give the team feedback? Is that feedback direct or implied? How often can a good employee expect to be promoted? If they aren’t promoted, is it OK to accept a new job with a competitor?

What happens on the first day of work? Kay tells the story of a woman who arrived on her first day at work in Denmark to find a beautiful bouquet of flowers on her desk, a welcome gift from her new Danish team. She gasped – because in her culture, flowers are given on the last day of work. She thought she’d been fired before she ever sat down!

When team members join a new working culture bringing with them the expectations of their previous culture, things can go haywire. Kay can help.

Customer Reviews

Flavia Kaiser-Nykjær, Data Specialist Genomic Solutions

“As a Danish-based company employing in the US and EMEA, Kay helped us understand some of the cultural differences, similarities, and barriers that affect our daily work. All done with great (familiar) examples and a sense of humour. She can really relate to both sides and puts things nicely into context.”

Benedikte Schaltz, HR Generalist Humio

“We invited Kay to speak to our young international talents from our Postgraduate Program at Danfoss. Kay left a great impression in her fun, inspiring and informative way of delivering her presentation.”

Rami Ismail, HR, Postgraduate Program Consultant Danfoss

“You caught the attention of the audience very well and judged by the number of questions and positive comments in the end, our colleagues walked away more knowledgeable about how to communicate better with our American colleagues.”

Nadja Borelli-Sejersen, Head of Organizational Development Zealand Pharma

“We recently had Kay Xander Mellish speak at one of our quarterly leadership meetings for our commercial leadership team in EMEA. Kay delivered one of the best one-hour speeches that we have ever seen in this group! Her high energy, enthusiasm and knowledge about the ‘Danish’ and ‘American’ work culture is amazing. She delivers the speak in a very personable way and she has an amazing ability to connect with the audience and stay connected for the duration of the presentation. The audience left feeling excited, motivated and definitely more knowledgeable about how to work in the best way in a Danish and American context.”

Mette Vorre, HR Business Partner Cooper Surgical

“I had the pleasure of having Kay attend one of my leadership team meetings. As a Dane living in America, I thought it would be insightful to have Kay join and talk<br>about the culture differences and styles between the two countries. Her delivery and presentation was effective, humorous, and spot on. She is entertaining and gives great understanding about how to mesh both worlds together.”

Ulrich Otte, Senior Vice President Finance Operations Novo Nordisk US

Keynotes

KEYNOTE BY SPEAKER KAY XANDER MELLISH:

Cultural differences in global organizations

Who speaks first in a meeting? Do I need to give a gift to my boss during the holiday season? Should I get approval from my boss for each step of my project? Is it safe to share my ideas with my colleagues, or might they steal my work? Is it a good idea to use my title when I introduce myself to a new business contact? Should I compete with my colleagues so the boss can see who deserves a promotion?

Global organizations benefit from the skills and perspectives of people from many different cultures – but getting everyone to work together isn’t always easy. People bring with them the expectations they grew up with, or from the previous cultures where they have worked. Sometimes those expectations clash.

In this keynote, Kay will use humor and light-hearted storytelling to illustrate what happens when well-intentioned people from a variety of cultures do their best to work together.

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KEYNOTE BY SPEAKER KAY XANDER MELLISH:

Working with Americans: A guide for global talents

Why do Americans act the way they do? People around the world may feel they understand the US way of doing business, having watched it being carried out on TV shows and movies, but they can be surprised when dealing with actual American colleagues and counterparts.

The energy and enthusiasm (and money) that Americans bring to the table is always valued, but why must they be so competitive and
individualistic? Why are they so focused on quarterly results? And why do there seem to be lawyers involved with everything?

Also, why can’t I just hire whoever I want when I work in the US? What’s a “
protected class
” and why is my humor not always appreciated by my American business partners?

Kay Xander Mellish, author of “
Working with Americans: Tips for Danes
” is an American who has lived in Europe for half of her career and continues to do business with many companies and people in the USA.

She loves American culture and can help explain it with affection to groups that include both internationals and their American colleagues.

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KEYNOTE BY SPEAKER KAY XANDER MELLISH:

Is Scandinavia as good as they say it is?

Some people say the countries of Scandinavia – Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland – are as close as humans can come to a utopia.

The high quality of life, strong social welfare systems, political stability and transparency, and work-life balance contribute to making them the “
happiest countries in the world
”.

But are these countries as good as they seem, or is there a dark side to the Scandinavian culture? (In addition to the long, dark winters, of course.)

Kay Xander Mellish, an American who chose to move to Denmark after a blissful vacation and has now lived there for more than 20 years, has unique insight into these societies.

She speaks about her new homeland and its neighbors and what she loves about their cultures – and speaks frankly about the challenges these “perfect” societies face in the future.

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