Having spent a childhood longing to travel the seven seas and see the world, our Sr India Expert Francis Laleman just didn't take off at first, ending up in dusty academic libraries instead, reading Sanskrit, Pali, Hindi and Urdu.

Relief came with a lifetime of traveling, researching, lecturing and working, a/o in India, a land which quickly became a second home to this intrepid global citizen. Back in Belgium, Francis lectured at Leuven & Antwerp universities, broadening his focus from Buddhist logic and historiography to Urdu poetry and Islamic Studies, without ever loosing sight of a deeply rooted social and ethical engagement in development projects for the enhancement of India's economically most challenged communities.

From the early nineties, Francis moved into a business environment, participating in the launch and early growth of a series of telecom companies, both in Belgium, in the Middle East, and in Asia - involved with recruitment and competence management, training and coaching, callcenter development, HR mgt and operational mgt.  

Currently Francis works as a management consultant/trainer/coach (Beyond Borders), showing an impressive track record including clients and contacts from countries as diverse as the EU, the Sultanate of Oman, Syria, Lebanon, China, India, Nepal, and Japan.

With Bert Verdonck, he founded India Business Support, with Michaela Broeckx the cultural venue at Bayt al-Andalus and with Jerry Meuris Anand, which works with and for the Dalit (Outcaste) communities in Bihar, India.

Also, Francis travels the world as a public speaker on topics as varied and diverse as classical music and Johann Sebastian Bach, historical Buddhism, Islam, the Indian subcontinent, the Arab world, mystical poetry, Mirza asadallah Ghalib, Bengali films, natural history, bird watching, travelling, mountain trekking, community building, global business and intercultural diversity.

Francis is married with children, and when not travelling or having assignments abroad, divides the year between Delhi, India and Antwerpen, Belgium.