Bertil Hult

Bertil Eric Hult (born February 10, 1941) is a Swedish billionaire, known for founding educational and language school company EF Education First in 1965, and for being the patron and namesake of Hult International Business School. In 1971, he moved from Sweden to Germany, and in 1977, he established EF's head office in Lucerne, Switzerland, where he now lives. He was the company's CEO until 2002, and chairman until 2008. Today, he is semi-retired. Two of his four sons work in the company; his oldest son, Philip Hult, is company chairman and his third son, Edward Hult, is CEO for North America. Under Bertil Hult's supervision, EF grew to a multi-billion dollar corporation with more than 40,000 employees in 53 countries.

Early life and education

Bertil Hult was born in Stockholm. He has spoken frequently about his struggles with dyslexia as a child. He dropped out of school after junior high and worked making coffee and running errands for a ship broker in London. He learned to speak English during this time and became convinced that immersion is the best way to learn a language. After returning to Sweden and taking up his studies again, he entered Lund University, then dropped out after one year.

Career

Hult founded EF Education First at the age of 23 in the basement of his university dormitory in Lund, Sweden. He started EF as a language study and travel abroad organization, initially for Swedish high school students going to England to learn English. His childhood struggles with dyslexia convinced him that cultural immersion was a superior way to study a language.