Louise Knopp Wins the Global 100 – 2024 Women in Leadership Award

Language Services Direct Team

Celebrating excellence in leadership: Louise Knopp, Managing Director at Language Services Group (comprising of Language Services Direct and Simon & Simon International), wins the Global 100 – 2024 Women in Leadership Award, recognised in the category of ‘Trailblazer in Language Training’.

The Global 100 Award Programme is one of many produced by world-renowned publishing house, EMG Publishing. Located in Birmingham, at the heart of the UK, EMG Publishing aims to provide a benchmark of the very best of the best industry leaders, exemplary teams and distinguished organisations. Recognising and celebrating excellence across the globe, their award programmes consists of a proprietary selection process and ranking method that is unique and comprehensive – only the most worthy winners are chosen, based on their domestic and international work.

Louise’s unparalleled leadership, innovation, and commitment to the Language Training industry have set her apart, making her a true inspiration to professionals around the world. Undoubtedly a trailblazer in language training, she is a deserving recipient of this prestigious award.

Expressing his admiration for the awardees, Richard Baker, Editor at EMG Publishing, said, “this year’s winners are nothing short of remarkable. Their dedication, resilience, and visionary leadership have not only contributed significantly to their organisations but also paved the way for future generations of women leaders. It’s an honour to recognise such a dynamic and influential group of women who are redefining what it means to be a leader in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing world.”

At the helm of Language Services Group, Louise has consistently showcased the ability to drive growth, expand the business, and lead a large team to successfully work together to propel the company to new heights.

Influential, persuasive, collaborative, pragmatic and courageous – these are just some of the words to describe her dedication to the industry. With an outstanding track record of successful people, culture and business leadership, Louise is setting benchmarks, breaking barriers, and leading the language training industry with excellence. 

“I inspire operational excellence and business growth through empowering innovation and leading and managing change.” Louise excels at analysing root cause, innovating solutions and securing cross functional buy-in across the whole business community.

About Language Services Direct

Language Services Direct has provided tailor-made language training to the international business community since 1991. Bespoke courses are delivered to corporate and public-sector clients by well-qualified, native-speaking trainers with experience teaching their language to business learners working in professional environments.

As a leading provider of language training solutions, Language Services Direct draws on the vast resources available to them, ensuring that every course is designed, managed and delivered to meet the learning needs of each trainee within the overall context of their organisation’s business goals. Working in partnership with their clients, Language Services Direct adapts both the training content and course-management procedures to suit the client’s needs.

Notably, and in addition to delivering UK public sector contracts, the company has an established presence in Europe, servicing a number of EU government agencies across 7 countries. Over the last 4 years, Language Services Direct has grown to be one of the UK’s largest providers of language training to government – In the 2023 financial year-end alone, the company saw a revenue growth of more than 200%.

About Simon & Simon International

Established in 1995, Simon & Simon are the UK’s #1 provider of experienced language trainers for business. The company uses language teachers with an average of 15 years of experience to deliver hundreds of language courses every week to professionals from every major industry sector, right across the UK and overseas.

Their language courses for business are complemented by a range of other specialised language services, including Translation and Interpreting, Cross-Cultural Workshops, Writing and Presentation Skills Courses for native and non-native speakers, and Pronunciation and Accent Training.

Striving to provide language training services that are not only professional but also highly effective, Simon & Simon keeps on top of the most modern teaching methods, and all their teachers use the Communicative Approach to ensure progress starts from the very first lesson.