Experts in the Industry: Nick Rosenthal, Managing Director of Salford Translations Ltd

Nick Rosenthal is Managing Director of Salford Translations Ltd. He is a former member of the ITI Council, immediate Past President of the UK chapter of the Society for Technical Communications and sits on the Translation Subcommittee of the OASIS Committee. Nick has also been involved in translator training and professional development since 1989, and is a tutor on the excellent ITI Professional Support Group (PSG), run online for newly-established freelance translators. He will be part of a panel discussion called Where to draw the line? on Sunday 17th.

Check out the rest of the ITI conference programme here.

1. In two sentences, please describe what you’ll be talking about at the conference, and what translation and interpreting (T&I) professionals will gain from hearing it.

I’m talking about customer relationships – about working together, about partnership, about relationships, about how good customer service can be a differentiator, can move you out of the “how cheap can we get this?” sector of the market and into the premium, value-added, “we’ll happily wait a few days extra so you can translate this” sector. There: that’s both an explanation, and a benefit statement!

2. If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing to make your workplace more sustainable, what would you do?

Given my fondness for coffee, I think growing our own coffee beans in the SalfTrans office would be a major contribution towards sustainability.

3. Which business leader, politician or public figure do you most respect?

Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault. Both were awesome, determined, gutsy cyclists, both led from the front, and both are still listened to and respected after ending their racing careers.

4. To what degree do you feel involved in and supported by your professional community, and why?

I am very closely involved with the translation community in the UK, and have been for over 20 years. I feel a valued part of the translation world, and I am constantly astonished by the kindness shown to me by other translators. Rather than feeling supported by my professional community, I aim to put something back into it, to repay the support and encouragement that I received in my own early years as a translator. In particular, I am involved in teaching on ITI’s PSG course.

5. Freeform – here’s where you are free to riff on anyone or anything, good or bad, or just share a pearl of wisdom.

I hope there is a plentiful supply of good strong coffee at the ITI Conference!

Thanks for your time Nick, and I hope the conference coffee lives up to expectations!

This is the fourth in a series of short interviews run in the lead-up to the ITI International Conference on 16th – 17th May.