From P.O.W. to C.E.O.: An After-War Memoir

by Hester Velmans (editor)

From POW to CEO picks up Loet Velmans’s story at the end of World War II, when, as a newly liberated prisoner of war, he returned from the Far East to Europe, and shortly thereafter set out for the United States, newly married and with no immediate job prospects. That soon changed when he was hired by John Hill, the founder of Hill & Knowlton, then America’s largest and most influential PR firm. Hill, who saw something in this inexperienced young man that others in the firm did not, sent Velmans back to Europe a couple of years later to set up the firm’s first overseas office. In telling the story of his worldwide peregrinations and his eventual rise to the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hill & Knowlton, Velmans shares his unique perspective on the “culture gap” between nations and the need for U.S. business to address that gap.

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 22, 2015

About the author

I make my living translating modern novels (French, Dutch into English), but my real love is reserved for writing my own brand of fiction. My latest is a historical novel, SLIPPER, which tells the story of Cinderella as if she had been a real-life historical character in the 17th century who meets the original author of the fairy tales, the little-known Charles Perrault. My two books for children won many fans: Isabel of the Whales and the follow-up, Jessaloup's Song . I also read everything I can get my hands on. I live in Western Massachusetts with my husband Peter, my dog Ruby and a few thousand bees.
Oh, and I have a website I hope you'll visit: http://www.Hestervelmans.com.