Up until a few years ago, Tom Gerrard was an entrepreneur with an eye to mainstream business. He then underwent a radical shift of attitude and interest, changing the name of his company in 2004 from Comm Pro (Communication Professionals) to Global Learning.
He is also a board member of ACE — the Association for Japan-U.S. Community Exchanges — which promotes goodwill and understanding between the place of his birth and the country that as a permanent resident he now calls home.
Meeting near his office in Tokyo's Takadanobaba, Gerrard talks about Global Learning's first initiative: the Global Kids All-Japan Speech Contest, which he launched in Japan earlier this year, and for which he's actively seeking entries before the cut-off date of Sept. 30.