Edward De Bono (1933)    

He is a Maltese psychologist and physician. He writes prolifically about lateral thinking - a concept he pioneered.
De Bono is also a consultant, working with such companies as Coca-Cola and Ericsson.
He studied at St Edward's College and subsequently gained a medical degree from the Royal University of Malta. Studying at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, he gained an honours degree in psychology and physiology and a D.Phil in medicine. He went on to complete a PhD at Cambridge, and to faculty appointments at Oxford, London, Cambridge and Harvard.
In 1969 De Bono founded the Cognitive Research Trust (CoRT) which continues to produce and promote material based on his ideas. In 1979 he co-founded the School of Thinking with Michael Hewitt-Gleeson.
He has written 75 books with translations into 37 languages. He has spent the last 30 years teaching thinking, including working with governments, corporations, organisations and individuals, speaking publicly or privately on many matters.
In 1995, he created the futuristic documentary film, 2040: Possibilities by Edward de Bono, a lecture designed to prepare an audience of viewers released from a cryogenic freeze for contemporary (2040) society.
De Bono has detailed a range of 'deliberate thinking methods' - applications emphasizing thinking as a deliberate act rather than a reactive one. His writing style is simple and clear, though often criticised for being dry and repetitive. Avoiding academic terminology, he has advanced applied psychology by making theories about creativity and perception into usable tools.
De Bono's work has become particularly popular in the sphere of business - perhaps because of the perceived need to restructure corporations, to allow more flexible working practices and to innovate in products and services. The methods have migrated into corporate training courses designed to help employees and executives 'think out of the box' / 'think outside the box'.


(Source: Wikipedia)