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Following a long business career building and managing companies in many countries around the world, I’ve now turned my hand to being an author. I’ve always loved writing, and it’s very satisfying that so many people like the stories I tell. My first book, a travelogue “There’s no business like International Business” was published in Spring 2022, recounting some of the unlikely and entertaining experiences I had in my business travels. Now I’ve published the first two books in my “Repurposed Spies” series and am busy writing the third, provisionally titled “Spies on the Silk Road”.
My Number One passion is travel, and I’m so lucky to have travelled extensively in over 140 countries, both for pleasure and business. I’m also an enthusiastic amateur cook, and continue to dabble in international business matters. You’ll find articles about all these on my website, and a lot of evidence of these passions is present in my books.
I was born in Lowestoft, the most easterly town in England, but moved to London when I went to university, and have lived there ever since. I studied Mathematics at Imperial College, then had a variety of jobs through my 20s, with a common theme of international business. In the early 80s I co-founded EnTech, an energy management consultancy, and then over the next 30 years developed that into a small multi-national, the first and biggest specialist energy and environmental data management company, with offices in ten countries.
Married with one son, and, so far, two granddaughters, I live between London and Oviedo Spain when I’m not travelling further afield!
You can also find me on social media, and if you’d like to write to me or have a chat, check my contact page – I’d love to hear from you.
“The best part of business meetings with Oliver were listening to many of his travel stories; from interacting with Orangutans, African safaris and even the time his hotel was taken over by dissidents in India. They were never boring and a lot more interesting than any business meeting.”
"Oliver is probably the most travelled person I know, so he is the ideal person to listen to about business travel. He truly is a ‘global operator’.”
‘The most memorable parts of working with Oliver were the experiences he had on his business travels and the wealth of knowledge and understanding he had for the different Countries and their business and political cultures. He certainly got to visit some very ‘different’, ‘remote’ and sometimes ‘challenging’ places and Cities around the world. This certainly held in good stead as he successfully set up Corporate offices globally including developing Countries. He was truly inspirational to work with and his appreciation of cultural diversity brought out the best in people.
"Oliver Dowson should change his name to Oliver International. He is THE Mr International from his just-in-time travel schedule to recounting and reliving his journeys. You get an excellent imagery of the scenery and the taste and smell of the local food.”
“Oliver has a desire for adventure and exploration. Even in the workplace. Which took him to “off the beaten track” destinations, around the globe. This gifted him a wealth of knowledge & understanding regards a vast array of business and political cultures. He shared his knowledge & experience generously, which made for a wonderful environment."
“As somebody who makes his living helping people understand how to grow their international sales, I see Oliver Dowson as one of my few true colleagues in the field. His range of knowledge and his experience will help you navigate your way through the hardest task that faces you - expanding your global footprint”
"I have known Oliver for over 20 years, in that time I have oft been regaled by his wonderful and exciting tales of travels around the globe, so what could be better than to have these stories all in one place"
“Oliver was the first executive to open the world of globalization to me when we first met during discussions for a partnership with his energy information services firm. He had constructed a service where data was collected in the US, entered into software in India, then interpreted in the UK. This enabled us to provide near real-time feedback to our clients in an unprecedented turn-around that leveraged the time zones around the globe. Subsequently, I have reached out to Oliver for insight on paths to enter new countries, and he has been informative and insightful, up to and including advising us NOT to enter certain countries. I am excited about his book and will among the first to buy and share with my colleagues.”
“I used to share an office with Oliver, and he was constantly involved with so many countries that I lost track of the number. Oliver would also often venture to remote and very exotic corners of the planet that most of us would be afraid to go to. He is a modern Marco Polo type explorer and always returns with refreshing and interesting conversations on his multi-faceted international experiences. I have never known anyone as well travelled.”
It’s a light-hearted and largely true story of two long business trips I made in the early 2000s.
Ronald Jones wanted to travel. He got far more than he had bargained for.
They're not hunting animals. They're hunting out secrets
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