1. International In-house Counsel Journal
Vol. 8, No. 30, Winter 2015, 1
International In-house Counsel Journal ISSN 1754-0607 print/ISSN 1754-0607 online
Global Compliance Training by a U.S. In-House Lawyer: Dealing
with the “Ugly American” Challenge
ROB LINDQUIST
Former Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Ingram Micro Inc., USA
In the late 1950s Eugene Burdick and William Lederer penned a novel titled the Ugly
American1
. The book became an instant best seller and a half decade later was adapted a
movie which, despite its initial disappointment at the box office, was to earn two Golden
Globe nominations.2
The story deals with the difficulties of U.S. aid workers during the
Cold War in winning the hearts and minds of a fictional Southeast Asia country because
of their ignorance and disdain of local culture, which inspired not cooperation but
resentment among the locals. At the time. i.e. at the height of the Cold War, the book and
movie provoked extensive soul-searching by the media and politicians about how
Americans relate to the world. The term Ugly American has had remarkable staying
power, still being used by foreigners to describe boorish, disrespectful or excessively
patriotic behavior, often in sporting contests.3
Even prominent American politicians use
the term when calling upon Americans to improve their image their abroad.4
The term
has even spawned a self-help genre, in periodicals5
and even on CNN,6
on how to avoid
the Ugly American image.
Whether the Ugly American image is grounded in fact, or is just a stereotype or
perception, is an open question (and other nationalities such as Chinese are getting
similar reputations as they begin to travel more).7
Surveys of foreigners’ views of
Americans tend to confirm the perception,8
albeit with ups and downs depending on
recent events — and that perception can create its own reality.
My own experiences lend credence to this. About ten years ago I was lunching with the
Austrian management team in Vienna after a morning of conducting compliance training.
As part of the lunch-table conversation, the rich history of Vienna came up. I remarked
that twice the Austrians had staved off invasions from the Turks. The Austrian general
manager seemed astonished by an American’s knowledge of Austrian history, and
volunteered that “for most Americans he has to explain that Austria is a different country
than Australia” - not exactly a ringing endorsement of American cosmopolitanism, to be
1
W. L. Lederer & E. Burdick, The Ugly American (New York, 1958)
2
For a fuller description of the movie, see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056632/.
3
“United Slobs of America' British media rips 'ugly Americans' for celebration”, Sports Illustrated (September
27, 1999).
4
P. Sherwell, “Straight-talking McCain vows to fix world's view of the 'ugly American,” The Telegraph
(March 18, 2007).
5
W. Holstein, Erasing the Image of the Ugly American, New York Times (October 23, 2005).
6
Debra Alban ,”How Not to Be the Ugly American,” CNN, August 22, 2006
7
A. Abad-Santos, “How Chinese Tourists Usurped the Ugly Americans,” The Atlantic (May 28, 2013).
8
See a July 2013 Pew Research Survey on attitudes by countries around the world towards Americans,
http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/07/18/chapter-1-attitudes-toward-the-united-states/. Interestingly, the survey
finds that attitudes towards Americans are improving.

2. 2 Rob Lindquist
sure. (Of course, not to slight the Turks, on visits to Ankara and Istanbul I have made a
point of talking about the wisdom and farsightedness of Kemal Ataturk.”)
With this image still prevalent in the new Millennium, how then does an American
compliance professional account for it in trying to engage and motivate employees of
foreign subsidiaries, who may not embrace, in fact may outright reject, some of the
compliance principles based on US foreign policy (such as the rigid US prohibitions on
sales to Iran)?9
This article offers guidance to compliance professionals in dealing with
this challenge, based on my own experiences doing compliance work in 28 countries in
North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region, on
behalf of American multi-national companies.10
Underlying the guidance is the premise that compliance is more effective and long-
standing where the employees are motivated to embrace compliance rather than viewing
it as a mandate and burden inconsistent with their own and their own company’s success.
It takes little effort or imagination to browbeat an employee by threats of termination to
comply with US laws or regulations. It takes a bit more to convince them to embrace it.
Hopefully, the tips discussed below will help the American compliance professional, or
for that matter any compliance professional working outside of his or her own country, to
achieve this.
Globalize Your Message
A compliance program for a U.S.-based company perforce must address compliance with
various U.S. laws. How then to temper the American-centric focus? A seemingly simple
step is to make the compliance principles reflect global, and not just U.S., principles.
Take the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), for example.11
The FCPA makes
it a crime for a U.S. citizen or corporation to bribe foreign public officials, but it can
ensnare a U.S. company and its executives if a foreign subsidiary was found to be acting
as the agent of the U.S. parent in carrying out the bribe.12
Moreover, if the U.S. company
is publicly traded on a U.S. exchange, it faces civil penalties from the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission for the bribery conducted by its foreign subsidiaries if found to
lack adequate controls.13
In short, the FCPA is an archetype of a domestic compliance
law with global implications. A U.S. company doing global business must therefore have
a global FCPA compliance program. How then to globalize it?
When training on the FCPA, an easy temptation, especially when visiting a subsidiary in
a country high on the Transparency Index’s corruption scale,14
is to lecture the audience
on the pervasiveness of corruption in their society, the risks that culture poses to the
American parent, and thus the critical necessity of their hyper-vigilance against acts of
bribery. In my opinion and experience, that approach will prove ineffective at best and
offensive and condescending at worst. Any audience is bound to recoil from an outsider
lecturing them on their shortcomings — especially if they think the outsider’s country, in
9
For a good summary of these extensive restrictions, see http://www.treasury.gov/resource-
center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/iran.pdf.
10
Make no mistake--the author is an American who loves his country but hopefully is realistic
enough to understand that citizens of other countries and cultures may not embrace all American
laws and foreign policy goals.
11
5 USC. §§ 78dd-1, et seq. (1977).
12
E.g., United States v. DPC (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., No. 05-CR-482 (C.D. Cal. 2005).
13
15 U.S.C. § 78m(b)(6)
14
See http://www.transparency.org/cpi2014.

3. Global Compliance Training 3
this case the United States, may have shortcomings of its own, including in the area of
corruption.
Thus, to globalize the message:
• Acknowledge that corruption exists globally and one’s own country, in this
case the United States, also faces corruption scandals. No matter how much
U.S. pundits will argue that the hundreds of millions of dollars contributed to
a particular candidate or party are not a bribe, if not coupled with some sort of
quid pro quo promise, others around the world often fail to see the distinction.
I might begin my corruption presentation by acknowledging American
scandals (such as that involving the Governor of the State of Illinois, Rod
Blagojevich, who demanded money in exchange for appointing others to fill
a vacancy in the U.S. Senate), and then turn to the company policy.
• Rename your FCPA policy the “anti-corruption” policy.
• Point to the efforts of other countries to pass FCPA-like laws such as the 2010
UK Bribery Act,15
and the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of
Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.16
That is, the
battle against corruption is a global cause — a good cause — and not merely
an American peculiarity.
• Point to the local efforts to combat corruption and tie your training into them,
not to U.S. laws. A typical approach might be as follows: “I noticed on the
local news last night that you have an election coming up and the biggest
issue among the candidates seems to be reducing corruption. Let me assure
you that our company has committed itself to fighting corruption around the
world and as part of that commitment let me tell you about the company’s
anti-corruption policy.” Alternatively, one could say: “I read in the paper
yesterday that three high-ranking officials in the province were arrested on
charges of violating your country’s anti-corruption laws. Let me tell you that
the company supports these anti-corruption laws and as a reflection of that has
implemented an anti-corruption policy that I am now going to talk to you
about.”
If All Else Fails
Globalizing a compliance principle might be simple to accomplish in the case of anti-
corruption but some compliance obligations of US companies are not so easily
globalized. A prime example are U.S. export control statutes and regulations, which seek
to implement U.S. foreign and security goals and assuage domestic political interests --
goals and interests that others around the world may not share. A particular, vexing
example, though the contours are changing as the article goes to press, is the U.S.
embargo on sales to Cuba, which has been broadly applied to U.S. corporations and all
their foreign subsidiaries.17
The embargo has been hard to justify to foreign audiences,
especially in Latin America. Canadian audiences never failed to point out to me that
Canadian law made it a crime for Canadians to comply with the U.S. embargo of Cuba
(or so they said).18
What also grates foreign audiences about U.S. export compliance
15
Available at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/23/pdfs/ukpga_20100023_en.pdf.
16
http://www.oecd.org/corruption/oecdantibriberyconvention.htm.
17
22 USC §§6021-6091.
18
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&DocId=2329557.

4. 4 Rob Lindquist
laws is how they regulate re-sales of the product within the foreign country itself.19
For
example, under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”), a U.S.-origin product
bought by a Malaysian-based customer from a U.S. supplier could not be re-sold to
certain Malaysian customers without an additional U.S. license if the product contains
certain encryption.20
To foreign audiences, the principle that U.S. laws follow a product
for the rest of its life, wherever its location, comes across as arrogantly intruding on the
country’s sovereignty.
It is hard, if not impossible, to portray such compliance principles as anything but
American-centric. I found it most effective to confront the issue head-on at the start of
any presentation by explaining that the foreign subsidiary is really two companies: both a
local company (e.g., Brazilian, German, Thai) and a U.S. company - and the employee
simply has to comply with both legal environments. At least that way, I could tailor the
message as not purely U.S.-focused and one also paying appropriate respect to local law.
Still, to some, it may have felt that U.S. laws and values were being shoved down the
locals’ throats, with the Ugly-American syndrome rearing its head again. To try to temper
it, I always made a point of showing interest in local culture and customs. This, more
than anything, can diffuse the Ugly American perception. If I have found one universal
theme in my compliance travels, it is that the people of all cultures welcome respect and
an American showing interest in (that is, respect for) local culture appears to have a
special impact. Put differently, a little interest shown by an American in local culture and
history goes a long way. How to achieve this?
• Read up on the country and scan the local news. Maybe there has recently
been a change of government.
• Arrive a day early and do some sightseeing. Subsequently mention your
sightseeing to your business audiences the next day and remark on how
interesting you found it. (An example: “Good morning. I’m happy to be here
in Chengdu. It is such a beautiful city. I spent yesterday visiting the home of
the famous poet Du Fu.”) They will be flattered that you were interested
enough in their country/city/region to take time to visit sites—and to them it
will be a sign of respect.
• Use local language to the extent possible: Yes, English (for now) is the
“universal language,” at least in international business and many of your local
employees, especially at the management level, will understand some English.
That being said, employees will always feel more comfortable in their native
tongue. Perhaps no step shows more respect for local culture than trying to
use some of the local language. In my case, so as to better connect with my
French audiences, I refreshed my schoolboy French with several classes at the
local Alliance Française and then, with a deep breath, committed to preparing
my slides in French and then delivering the remarks in French. When it came
time for the presentation, my French, I assure you, was not perfect, and when
the audience posed questions at the end I lost my nerve and asked for a
translation. As I packed up the laptop at the end of the presentation, however,
the local head of HR told me that I had no idea of the “enormous impact” my
gesture had on the audience. (Apparently, having an American lawyer, from
19
EAR §734.3a2.
20
For a good summary see http://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/policy-guidance/encryption.

5. Global Compliance Training 5
American headquarters, no less, actually address them in French was viewed
as nothing short of jaw-dropping.)
• When one has global compliance responsibilities, of course it is impractical to
master all the local languages. One effective substitute is to translate the
compliance training slides into the local language and refer to them when
speaking, preferably with simultaneous translation of the remarks. I have
sometimes found that in instances where no such translator was handy, the
audience (probably with some familiarity of English) comprehended my
presentations well. If you have worked with your slides long enough, when
working the slide show in a foreign language, you should be able to remember
what each slide discusses (even if in Chinese characters). And of course, in
my presentations to our British offices I used slides with British, not
American, spellings and grammar; even the British appreciate a nod to local
conventions. Learning a few words of the local language does not come
across as condescending, but rather respectful.
• Take a tour of the local office after the presentation. You may want to run
back to the hotel and try to catch up on long-delayed sleep, but asking for a
tour of the office (if one is not offered) is another way to show interest and
thus respect. After a while, all the local offices and warehouses will seem to
look the same but the key is to appear that you have never seen anything like
it before and it is endlessly fascinating. A quick way to connect with
employees you meet is to ask them about the length of their employment with
the company and their department.
• Don’t refuse any hospitality. Again, you may just want to run back to the
hotel and sleep, or you may have a queasy stomach that does not tolerate
spicy food, but do not ever refuse a lunch or a dinner. It is the ultimate sign of
disrespect in many cultures.
• Make the audience feel special. In my compliance travels, I never lose sight
that I am coming from corporate headquarters and to the locals that means a
lot. Generally, none of the employees have ever seen anyone from corporate
headquarters or even regional headquarters; if a branch of a country
subsidiary, they probably have not even seen someone from country
management. In short, your presence is a big deal. To develop some rapport, I
make it a point of saying that I am bringing greetings from corporate
headquarters who is aware of their hard work (and, if at all plausible, their
good results) and I thank them for their efforts on behalf of corporate
headquarters. I have never seen anyone fidgeting or appearing distracted when
I have said this.
• Try to connect personally. To me, nothing is more off-putting than arriving in
a conference room with the presenter standing off alone and not interacting
with the audience as they arrive. I make it a point to walk among the arrivals
as they sit down and chat with one or two, and even more preferably to stand
by the door and greet them as they arrive. If that isn’t practical, I position
myself at the conference door at the end of the presentation and shake the
hand of everyone departing, thanking them for attending.
• Point out that the audience is receiving the same message that fellow
employees around the globe are receiving. An example, say to a Malaysian
audience: “I am going to talk this morning about our Code of Conduct. This

6. 6 Rob Lindquist
Code applies to all of us and I have spoken about it in Brazil, Germany and
Australia.” Such a point makes the connection to the global company stronger
and alleviates the possible perception of your audience members that they are
being singled out for the message because of some perception that they are
prone to misconduct.
• Ask the local manager introduce you at the start of your presentation and
voice support for your message. It has been my experience that the audience
becomes rapt when he or she speaks. More than anything I have discussed,
this step can convert the message from an outsider, an American-centric one,
to a local one.
• A universal human attribute is love of competition. Trying to keep my
audiences and engaged, I developed a little game based on the American quiz
show called “Jeopardy.” As in the quiz show, in my compliance game the
screen showed a board with six categories of questions and five questions per
category of increasing value (and difficulty). For example, a category might
be “Gifts and Entertainment” and the hundred point question might be “the
company policy allows gifts of cash — True or False?” and the two-hundred
point question might be “what is the limit on allowable gifts to customers?” I
tried this game out in Miami, where the Latin American team had a well-
deserved reputation for fun, and divided the audience into two teams, with a
modest prize such as a box of chocolates to the winner. The Miami audience
enjoyed it immensely, becoming fiercely competitive and at one point
complaining that I was biased toward one team. Given the success, I tried it
out with European audiences, in France and the Netherlands (known for more
serious attitudes) and to my surprise it generated the same sense of
competitive fun. I then tried the same game (or modifications thereof) with
similar success in India, Australia and New Zealand. My conclusion:
competition is universal, and employees worldwide enjoy a compliance
presentation sprinkled with a healthy dose of competition.
Conclusion
All compliance professionals face hurdles in motivating their audiences, even when they
are addressing fellow countrymen. The message is generally perceived as a preachy and
unrealistic one that only burdens the business and adds nothing to the bottom line. The
message becomes even harder when delivered to foreign audiences and even harder when
an American is delivering the message. However, the practictical tips discussed above,
while not always inducing a rapturous response, will go a long way in enhancing the
message and in turn increase the prospect that the audience will embrace the compliance
message - one based not on a mandate but on an invitation to all colleagues, regardless of
culture, customs, language and history, to embrace the benefits of lawful and prudent
business practices in the new Millennium.
***
Rob Lindquist acted as Chief Compliance Officer from 1998 to 2009 for Ingram Micro,
the world’s largest distributor of technology products and services, Rob created and then
managed the company’s global legal and ethical compliance program. In that role, he
traveled to company offices in 24 countries on five continents. Rob then served for five
years until February 2014 as Vice President and Associate General Counsel in charge of
legal affairs for Ingram Micro North America, the company’s largest region with
revenues of $16Bn in 2013. Before joining Ingram Micro, Rob had served as Assistant
Group Counsel for a large aerospace company, TRW Inc., and before then he was a

7. Global Compliance Training 7
partner in the Los Angeles Office of Pepper, Hamilton & Scheetz. Rob has served as
Chair of the Antitrust Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Vice Chair of
the State Bar of California Antitrust Section and President of the Southern California
Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. He is a graduate of the University of
Texas School of Law.
Ingram Micro is a Fortune 100 global distributor of technology products and services.

8. 8 Rob Lindquist