Arie de Geus is best known as the former head of Shell Oil Company's Strategic Planning Group and is a public speaker.

Arie de Geus is best known as the former head of Shell Oil Company's Strategic Planning Group and is a public speaker.

Arie graduated from Erasmus University in Rotterdam with a Masters Degree in Economics. He joined the Royal Dutch/Shell Group in 1951, where he stayed for 38 years. During this time he worked in Turkey, Belgium and Brazil, and for his last 10 years with Shell he returned to the United Kingdom. On his return to the UK, he firstly assumed regional responsibility for Shell's businesses in Africa and South Asia. In 1981, he became Coordinator for Group Planning.

From 1981 to 1988 Arie was Chairman of the Netherlands-British Chamber of Commerce, and the Queen of the Netherlands appointed him an officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau in 1988. In 1997 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree by Westminster University.

Arie is widely credited by Peter Senge, and others, with originating the concept of the learning organisation. Since his retirement he has advised many government and private institutions and has lectured throughout the world. Presently he is a visiting fellow at the London Business School and is a board member of the Nijenrode Learning Centre in the Netherlands.

Mr de Geus' publications include an influential article entitled "Planning as Learning" in the Harvard Business Review (1988) and a lecture entitled "Companies, What Are They?" published by the Royal Society of Arts, London (1995). A second article called "The Living Company" appeared in the March/April 1997 issue of the Harvard Business Review for which he won the McKinsey Award. His first book, "The Living Company: Habits for Survival in a Turbulent Business Environment", was published by Harvard Business School Press in May 1997.

In his book, Arie de Geus argues that most corporations fail because managers are too narrowly focused on the economic activity of producing goods and services - forgetting that their organisation's true nature is that of a community of humans. "The Living Company: Habits for Survival in a Turbulent Business Environment" challenges the reader to think about companies as living work communities rather than a collection of assets on a balance sheet. De Geus draws from his almost 40 years of experience working at Royal Dutch/Shell, and from the remarkable stories of companies that have literally survived centuries of change - such as the 700 year old Stora company; the 400-year-old Sumitomo; the 200-year-old DuPont - to reveal the special qualities that enable some companies to live longer and reach their full potential.

"The Living Company: Habits for Survival in a Turbulent Business Environment" has been translated into 19 different languages and has received critical acclaim throughout the world. The book has received a number of awards, the most prestigious being the 1997 Edwin G Booz Prize for "the most insightful, innovative management book of the year". Business Week also named it as one of the top ten business books of 1997.