I am Emily Foster (she/her). I created The Third Culture in 2022 after over twenty years in the agency worlds of advertising and media and have significant experience working internationally with large, complex and matrixed environments. As a consultant my work spans all sectors which gives me a broad and nuanced perspective on challenges and opportunities for change.

As I became more senior in ‘ad land’, I began to understand the importance of team or organisational culture and meaningful workforce engagement for those on the frontline of business operations, and I could see how leaders struggled when neither flourished. I also became aware that it was critically important to listen, acknowledge, validate, and advocate for the experiences of the people we hoped to represent, and that often this was overlooked. 

In short, there was not enough conversation on the ‘difficult stuff’, leading to not much meaningful action or change. 

I see being multi-racial as a great privilege. It means that I naturally expect there to be different, and sometimes opposing perspectives. Complexity is part of who I am, so when it comes to the work I am all about going deep into the detail and the messiness and being ‘comfortable with the uncomfortable’. I believe you can’t have a conversation unless you’ve really looked hard at that detail and that messiness.

My 27-year career has seen me work around the world with and for some of the biggest and most influential organisations – from the corporate sector to retail and sport. I have won several awards such as Top 25 Young People To Look Out For (Philippine National Enquirer 2005), Campaign Asia’s Woman to Watch (2018), and Winner of Respect Individuality (groupM, 2019). Proudly, in 2024, The Third Culture was shortlisted for DEI Innovation at the UnderOne Diversity and Inclusion Awards.

I continue to work with various organisations delivering learning programmes and consultancy, and have also previously sat on the Diversity in Racing Advisory Group for the British Horseracing Authority.

With my company The Third Culture I now help organisations to face their ‘inclusion realities’ fearlessly through auditing, learning programmes and intentional spaces for professionals from all walks of life to come together to work through the complex issues from immigration to politics and sustainability. We work with all sectors but have specialist experience in sport, media and retail & hospitality. In just a few years The Third Culture has gone from strength to strength, offering a unique perspective on inclusion challenges.

My experience is international, culturally intelligent and systems-focused. 

If you are ready to ask tough questions of yourself, allow me to help you navigate this space.