The son of a New England lawyer and a sculptress, Christopher Hyland, 56, pursued studies and a business career that have taken him into the worlds of international relations, travel, architecture, design, home furnishings and politics.
His secondary education took place in New England and in Switzerland where he acquired his fluency in French. He studied at the Ecole Nouvelle de la Suisse Romande and graduated from the American School in Lugano, Switzerland.
Mr. Hyland received his Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, B.S.F.S. in 1970 from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Washington, D.C.
Following a tour of active duty in the National Guard, Mr. Hyland matriculated in the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to pursue a wide range of graduate courses of potential interest. Through the school’s unique cross-registration arrangement with Harvard University, he studied The New Testament in the school of Theology; Issues and the Planning of Higher Education, The Organization, Administration and Programming of the Secondary School at The Harvard School of Education; Neurology at the Harvard School of Medicine; and Middle Eastern and International Politics at the Harvard School of Government.
While still in his twenties, Mr. Hyland founded his own company now known as Christopher Hyland, Inc. located in New York City, which he serves today as President. The firm consists of a highly respected collection of worldwide fabrics, wallcoverings, rugs, lighting and other home furnishing products serving the residential and commercial needs of designers, architects and decorators across the United States and abroad. Using state-of-the-art computer technology, it offers thousands of products to its clients from showrooms in the following key cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dania (Florida), Denver, Scottsdale, Vancouver, Dallas, Houston and Las Vegas.
Mr. Hyland and the company are continuously featured in the editorial pages of leading architectural and design publications, among them: Architectural Digest, Veranda, House & Garden, Town & Country, Interior Design Magazine, Design Times, Elle Décor, Traditional Homes, Avenue, House Beautiful, Metropolis, Shelter, and Elements of Living.
Mr. Hyland has been involved in several civic, voluntary efforts involving diverse American communities and their interests in ancestral countries, cultures, and regions. He has championed numerous causes such as peace in Northern Ireland and Somalia; credit unions in Ukraine; recognizing the independence of Croatia, Slovenia and Kosovo; the creation of a Sovereign Orthodox Church-State within Kosovo as well as the importance of a stable democratic Serbian State; recognition of the evolving composition of the Israeli electorate; a national design award and inclusion of Americans of all backgrounds in government.
He also worked with the non-profit, neighborhood, arts and design, small business communities, Eastern Europe, and disabled veterans0 communities.
Mr. Hyland initiated, organized and facilitated several conferences on among other subjects, Eastern and Central Europe; housing; veterans; communities; non-profits; small business; the disabled; Indian country; Ireland; design and manufacturing towards an inclusive America. Ideas put forth in these conferences have been included in on-going discussions both in and outside of government
Mr. Hyland has been an outspoken commentator on foreign affairs.
Mr. Hyland was featured in a B.B.C. Documentary which included his role furthering peace in Northern Ireland. He has also appeared on I.T.N. expressing his views on the Irish and Balkan situations. He is also mentioned several times in Daring Diplomacy, a book on the Irish peace process.
In recent years, he has been invited to speak before organizations as diverse as Steuben Glass; The National Association of Non-Profit Managers; The Croatian Fraternal Union; The National Association of Lebanese American Organizations; The National Association of Industrial Designers and the National Association of Credit Unions among others.
In May of 1993, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Savannah College of Art and Design with thousands of students one of the world’s premier schools of design and architecture. Mr. Hyland has an honorary Doctorate in Economics from the Kiev National Economic University in recognition of his support for the Credit Union movement in Ukraine.
Mr. Hyland has been an extensive traveler all of his life spending time in Europe, the Middle and Far East and the Caribbean, including trekking expeditions through the Himalayas and living on a Kibbutz in Israel. In the summer of 1997, he made his first visit to Israel since 1966 having been invited by the Sanz Medical Center in Netanya. The highlight of his visit was a private meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
An avid sailor since his youth in Marblehead, Massachusetts he was a member of a junior yacht club. He makes annual trips to Greece where he sails and to Austria and more recently to Vail where he skis.
He is an avid furniture designer and photographer.
He makes his home in New York City where he is a member of the Lotus Club, a social and public affairs club known for the diversity and inclusiveness of its membership. He is also a life member and proprietor of the Boston Athenaeum in Boston, Massachusetts.