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Dr. G Clotaire Rapaille, or Gilbert Clotaire Rapaille, is a French-born American cultural anthropologist and author. He is the author of the best seller The Culture Code, and more than 10 other books, including 7 Secrets of Marketing in a Multi-Cultural World. Rapaille is also the CEO and Founder of Archetype Discoveries Worldwide, located in Palm Beach, Florida.

Today, Rapaille is best known for his contributions to the advertising and marketing business world, researching the impact of culture on business and markets. He is a hired consultant for companies wishing to break into new markets.

According to archived versions of his website, "Dr. Rapaille's technique for market research has grown out of his work in the areas of psychiatry, psychology, and cultural anthropology" and he "received a Masters of Political Science, a Masters of Psychology, and a Doctorate of Medical Anthropology from the Universite De Paris - Sorbonne."

Rapaille has also made many appearances as a marketing expert in US and international media, such as Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and CBS’s 60 Minutes. While his approach has also been covered by Fox News, CNN Money, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and Rolling Stones.

In addition to his books, he is known for advising politicians and advertisers on how to influence people's unconscious decision making. After moving to the United States in the early 80s, he has worked for 50 of the 100 biggest American companies cited by Fortune magazine. Among the clients he has worked for, according to his website, are General Motors, Procter & Gamble, General Electric, Boeing, IBM and AT&T.

He is also known as “the car shrink” in Detroit. Rapaille has been credited with design innovations for the PT Cruiser, SUVs, and the Hummer, and has worked with General Motors, Ford, Jeep, Citroën and Daimler Chrysler.

However, several elements of his biography, client list, and the field of his doctorate, were challenged in an investigation conducted by the newspaper tabloid Le Soleil in March 2010, following the award of a controversial contract to Rapaille by the city of Quebec. The embellishments on his résumé led to a cancellation of the contract.

Rapaille claims that his work identifies the unstated needs and wants of people in a certain culture or country, which he calls a cultural archetype.

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Clotaire Rapaille", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0