Our People

Since its inception, the AoEC has been committed to maintaining the highest professional standards, becoming one of a few European coach training companies to be accredited by the three top professional bodies, the International Coaching Federation (ICF), European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and the Association for Coaching (AC). We can therefore offer you professional credentials that will be recognised internationally.

Our People

Alan Taylor

Alan Taylor UK

Alan Taylor

Alan Taylor

Alan specialises in working with managers and leadership teams, building both individual and collective capabilities via the application of a systemic coaching focus. Clients experience the benefits of working with a coach who has walked-the-talk, a coach with a unique combination of senior operational management and leadership experience, coupled with a high level of coaching competence and accreditation. Working in the UK and Europe, Alan supports and challenges clients, such that they stretch beyond stakeholder expectations. Alan’s coaching qualifications include: • Master Practitioner Diploma in Systemic Team Coaching • Advanced Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching • Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching • AoEC Gestalt coaching course • NLP Diploma

Anyima Okundi

Anyima Okundi East Africa

Anyima Okundi

Anyima Okundi

Anyima is a multi-talented entrepreneur who draws her expertise from her education in the UK. As an entrepreneur, Anyima has run a successful design entity for the past 15 years. In addition, she has valuable corporate experience having worked at British Telecom Plc., Standard Chartered Bank, and The House of Commons in the UK. Anyima is a member of the Academy of Executive Coaching’s (AoEC) East Africa faculty, and is passionate about coaching senior executives to become more effective in their leadership. Anyima holds a Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching and a Systemic Team Coaching Certification from the AoEC. She is certified to administer, interpret, and provide feedback using Hogan Assessment Systems and Leadership Versatility Index 360 feedback tools. Anyima earned her Post-Graduate Diploma in International Business from the University of Surrey and a BA in Economics from the University of East Anglia, and is also a trained counsellor.

Aurora Aritao

Aurora Aritao Asia Pacific

Aurora Aritao

Aurora Aritao

Aurora is a PCC-level executive coach, team coach, facilitator and leadership development specialist based in Hong Kong. Passionate about human capital and its strategic value to organizational success, her interests lie in understanding transformation, organizational behaviour, group dynamics and the interrelationship between personality, leadership style, culture and decision-making. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, Aurora focuses on helping executives and teams become change leaders: developing adaptive leadership skills that enable them to achieve high performance and sustain their impact in times of uncertainty and complexity. Prior to coaching and consulting, Aurora managed cross-cultural teams for 15 years at global multinationals such as Microsoft and Vodafone Group. She completed an Executive Master in Individual & Organizational Psychology (Coaching & Consulting for Change) at INSEAD Business School, a Marketing Excellence Certificate from Kellogg School of Management and Bachelor of Business from UTS, Australia. She received her Certificate in Systemic Team Coaching from the AoEC, and gained her coaching certifications from the NeuroLeadership Institute and the International Coach Academy.

David Kesby PCC

David Kesby PCC Switzerland

David Kesby PCC

David Kesby PCC

David believes everyone deserves to be led well. His purpose in life is to support leaders and organisations to create conditions for others to flourish and thrive - their people and their stakeholders. David has 30 years experience of leading and developing people and has been coaching individuals and groups since 1998. He has worked with leaders and teams in finance, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, defence, government, healthcare, manufacturing and global tech. David is an AoEC qualified Executive and Systemic Team Coach, credentialled as a PCC level coach with the ICF, and is an Ashridge accredited Coach and Organisational Supervisor. He joined the AoEC faculty in 2016 and has delivered the Practitioner Programme in Switzerland, UK and within global organisations. In his spare time, David leads a scout unit in Winchester where he lives, for young people between 16-25 years with special educational needs. His whole family is involved and he loves it!

Ebru Goksu Yildirim

Ebru Goksu Yildirim UAE

Ebru Goksu Yildirim

Ebru Goksu Yildirim

Ebru Goksu Yildirim BEc, MCC, CPCC, ORSC, NLP, STC Executive, Leadership & Systemic Team Coach Trainer, Facilitator, Observer and ICF Mentor Coach Ebru is an empowering, creative, and growth oriented ICF Certified executive, leadership and team coach (MCC, CPCC, ORSC, NLP, STC), facilitator, mentor and a trainer. She’s been coaching and mentoring individuals, executives, and teams since 2011. She has a BA in Economics, and is a Marketing Communications Expert with almost 20 years of experience, which she gained through working in different fields of Advertising and Marketing in the MENAT region. During her corporate experience, she held senior roles in the region where she led large businesses and teams. She works with individuals and teams by staying true to her life-purpose of ‘unlocking potential’. She is enthusiastic, and a high-achiever. One of her key skills is being able to meet her clients exactly where they are, holding them there just long enough to show how resourceful they are, to increase their capacity to grow. She works with her clients on mindset and energy levels by focusing on their ‘being and doing’. She truly believes this is the path to transformation and professional empowerment. Being a bilingual (English & Turkish), intuitive and fierce coach, and facilitator, she blends her coaching and training skills and tools with life and business experience. She has been based in Dubai, UAE since 2005.

Gamze Acar Bayraktaroglu

Gamze Acar Bayraktaroglu Turkey

Gamze Acar Bayraktaroglu

Gamze Acar Bayraktaroglu

Gamze Acar Bayraktaroğlu is an experienced leadership trainer of 24 years, internationally accredited EIA Master Coach and has been coaching executives and teams for 15 years. Gamze is also ESIA accredited coach/mentor supervisor, an EMCC's coach assessor and co-author of a book called- MANAGERS AS COACHES. She has deep experience in facilitating leadership, teambuilding, coaching and mentoring skills trainings. Gamze is in the global trainers team of New Haven from NY, USA and Demos-Hemsley Fraser from Germany and Talentis from France. She is one of the global coaches of Human Systems from UK and PeakInsight from USA and part of World Bank’s coach and facilitator pool. Gamze consults organisations for creating leadership and coaching cultures. She facilitates groups, writes articles on related subjects at Harvard Business Review blog and presents in national and international conferences. She is also a mentor coach and mentor trainer with her 3000+ executive coaching hours.

George Warren

George Warren UK

George Warren

George Warren

Based in Wales, George is an ICF accredited executive coach, facilitator and consultant. After a year living in Argentina, George enjoyed nine years in senior management positions in the travel industry. It was here that he noticed that, each time after being coached, he felt unstoppable, that he could tackle any problem. Following up his interest, he studied and practiced coaching, enjoying the challenge of introducing a coaching culture and style to businesses. It was while attending the AoEC’s Practitioner Diploma programme that he realised coaching was in his bones. He set up his own practice shortly after graduating, and hasn’t looked back since. An internationalist at heart, George loves nothing more than understanding different cultures and approaches. He has coached clients across Europe, Asia, North and South America, Australasia and Africa. He is deeply passionate about the topics of confidence, potential and enjoying a life and career in line with one’s values.

Gwynneth Rees-Kenny

Gwynneth Rees-Kenny Ireland & N. Ireland

Gwynneth Rees-Kenny

Gwynneth Rees-Kenny

Gwynneth has in-depth experience in the field of people development, both as a coach and within the specialisms of organisation, leadership and management development. Her broad sector-wide experience includes a US-based two-year international secondment, which provided a valuable perspective on operating in a global environment. With an HR and OD background, Gwynneth has delivered leadership and culture change programmes and also brings expertise in coaching groups within organisations, helping people to find fresh solutions for collaboration in common ground, using expertise gained from her training in organisation and relationship systems coaching. Having started as an internal coach within financial services, where she coached talent pool / fast track colleagues, she went on to certify as a coach with the Coactive Training Institute in 2005. She is a member of the ICF, with whom she has PCC accreditation, and over the last 20 years, has provided executive coaching across all sectors. Gwynneth has been involved in delivering qualifications in executive coaching since 2017 and is a guest lecturer with the University of Glasgow’s International HRMD Masters programme, delivering the Coaching in Organisations elective. Gwynneth is also an accredited, qualified coach supervisor. She joined the AoEC Ireland & Northern Ireland Faculty in 2023 and is a fabulous addition to our team.

Hanan Al Harthy

Hanan Al Harthy UAE

Hanan Al Harthy

Hanan Al Harthy

Hanan Al Harthy, MBA, PCC, STC, ORSC, STC. Executive & Systemic Team Coach AoEC UAE Faculty. Hanan is an accomplished professional with extensive leadership experience in developing and executing the human development strategies to drive sustainable business and cultural change over the past 21 years of her professional career. Her experience includes leadership development, community/society development, executive coaching. She is particularly attracted to companies undergoing change, transforming a business model to accommodate growth and corporate diversification. She works with her clients in English and Arabic.

Irene Riad

Irene Riad UAE

Irene Riad

Irene Riad

Irene Riad, PCC, STC, EQCC, CQC Irene is a multi-lingual Executive, Career and Systemic Team Coach with over 20 years, in public and private sectors, working with leading organizations and individuals to enhance productivity, maximize performance, and accelerate growth. Her subject matter expertise lies in executive coaching, systemic team coaching, leadership assessment and development, high potential pipeline development, talent and performance management, as well as learning and development. She delivers client work in Arabic and English.

John Gray

John Gray UK

John Gray

John Gray

“My role as AoEC faculty allows me to combine my experience in coaching with my enthusiasm for supporting people in their professional development and personal awareness and change. I bring empathy and insight to working with those in their learning journeys, for them to find their ideal coaching model and approach.” Originally qualifying and practising as a solicitor, John has also worked at the at the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva, in grassroots peace-building in Burundi, and establishing and leading a community mediation service. Since 2001 he has been freelance offering organisational consultancy and facilitation, non-managerial supervision, and also latterly coaching. He has developed a number of professional development programmes and initiatives, including supervision skills, effective conflict skills, team building, reflective practice, managing change, and globally responsible leadership skills and practice. His coaching practice is with leaders and leadership teams, in a wide range of local, national and international organisations. In addition to his coaching, and his faculty role with AoEC, John is a part-time lecturer in leadership and management at the University of York’s Centre for Applied Human Rights. John’s qualifications include: · Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching · Diploma in the work of the Change Agent · Advanced Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (Groupwork Skills) · Certificate in Management and Leadership · Accredited Executive Coach – AoEC

Kate Freedman

Kate Freedman UK

Kate Freedman

Kate Freedman

Kate is independent capability consultant, accredited Executive Leadership and Team coach and experienced facilitator, who has helped hundreds of managers and leaders improve their coaching and leadership capabilities. Kate has 20+ years’ commercial experience in Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Retailing and Manufacturing roles. Prior to setting up her own business, Kate led Unilever UK’s commercial capability programme and was an internal executive and career coach. She is also an experienced and accomplished skills trainer and delivered the in-house coaching skills programme at Unilever. Kate has worked on numerous change programmes and leadership interventions in her learning and development role at Unilever. Kate has worked with numerous supplier proposals to design and deploy training that creates a behaviour change and she understands how to make learning stick in organisations. Kate has been trained as a coach through the AoEC, from Skills Certificate to Advanced programme and understands how the quality of the training can enhance individuals, teams and organisation cultures. Kate’s independent coaching practice retains clients from Unilever and has added clients from Financial Services, Hospitality, and Pharmaceuticals and Technology through Kate’s strong network and associate work. Credentials • Diploma in Executive Coaching (AoEC) • Advanced Practitioner Diploma (AoEC) • Diploma in Supervision • Certified Systemic Team Coach EMCC • Accredited PCC Coach with the ICF (International Coach Federation) • Diploma in Careers Guidance and Development • BSc Food Science and Nutrition and Retail Management

Kay Young

Kay Young Scotland

Kay Young

Kay Young

Kay has a deep interest in Awareness IQ; and how awareness supports a more relational, embodied, creative way of learning, living, and leading. She’s deeply committed to supporting clients through the inner journey of leadership: deepening quality of presence; noticing energy/resistance to change; using creative experimenting to support new choices; and change. Her practice is gestalt orientated. Kay has extensive senior management experience, including: working at NHS Board Director level. She has been professionally coaching since 2003 and is currently a member of the Faculty Team for the AoEC, facilitating the Coaching Skills Certificate, and Practitioner Diploma Programmes, in Edinburgh. She is also an ICF Evaluator and Assessor, on the AoEC’s Advanced Practitioner Diploma. She has achieved the Advanced Practitioner Diploma and the Master Practitioner Diploma, with the AoEC. She is a highly experienced, ICF accredited coach. More recently, she completed her training in gestalt psychotherapy with the Edinburgh Gestalt Institute.

Leila Rezaiguia

Leila Rezaiguia UAE

Leila Rezaiguia

Leila Rezaiguia

Leila Rezaiguia BA (Hons), MA, Chartered MCIPD, PCC, ORSC, NLP, STC and EIA. Co- Founder & Managing Partner, Kompass/ Head of Academy of Executive Coaching UAE Executive & Systemic Team Coach Trainer, Facilitator, Observer and ICF Mentor Coach Leila is a highly sought-after multi-lingual Executive, Systemic Team Coach and ICF Mentor Coach with over 23 years, in public and private sectors, working with leading organisations and individuals to enhance productivity, maximise performance, and accelerate growth across 5 continents. She is renowned for her high energy, enthusiasm, passion, fun-loving nature, and her love for building connections, empowering and working with people from diverse cultures. She is passionate about 1:1 & Systemic Team Coaching, Coach Training, Coaching Supervision and Women in Leadership. Leila coaches in English, Arabic and French. Leila’s vision is to successfully contribute to the continued growth of the coaching industry in the UAE, GCC and Levant by bringing top notch executive coach training programmes accredited by all major global coach-accrediting bodies: the International Coaching Federation (ICF), Association for Coaching (AC),) The European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and Association for Professional Executive Coaches and Supervisors (APECS).

Lizzie Pawsey

Lizzie Pawsey UK

Lizzie Pawsey

Lizzie Pawsey

Lizzie Pawsey is an ICF accredited coach (PCC level) coach, facilitator, coach supervisor and consultant. She thrives on creating a space where leaders can create personal insights that transform their lives and work. She brings 20 years’ work experience in several global organisations, including Diageo, Britvic and Pernod Ricard, where she worked in a number of senior marketing and HR leadership roles. Lizzie has over 1300 hours of coaching experience and works with board, executive and senior management levels both one to one and in groups. Her clients are drawn from 15+ business sectors in the UK and globally. Lizzie is an experienced facilitator and has worked on global leadership development programmes with several clients. Outside of work Lizzie lives with her family in Twickenham and enjoys running, ski-ing, good wine and travel. She has recently embarked upon a project to complete all the parkruns in Greater London.

Ljupko Kontešić

Ljupko Kontešić Croatia & Serbia

Ljupko Kontešić

Ljupko Kontešić

Ljupo is working as an Executive & Life Coach and Business Trainer. Rich experience from a 20-year professional sports and high business environment he is using as a basis for working towards the body and mind integration in everyday life of leaders. As a business trainer he is working on projects in the region that are the domain of the development of soft skills, basis of personal development and high professional sales skills.

Louise Nicholson

Louise Nicholson Ireland & N. Ireland

Louise Nicholson

Louise Nicholson

Louise is passionate about empowering individuals and teams to reach their full potential, and in using coaching to achieve this. Louise has a BA (Hons), MSc in International Business & Management, is an AoEC qualified Executive Coach, holds a Certificate in Team Coaching Fundamentals, Systemic Team Coaching & Gestalt Coaching Skills. She is also a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She undertakes regular professional supervision for her coaching practice. Louise spent several years in London working for an international management consultancy which specialised in the field of human motivation. During this time, she worked closely with the principal behavioural scientist and delivered leadership development programmes for senior executives & management teams in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. She has coached individuals & teams from various industries (including Real Estate, Fund Management, Energy, Executive Search, Recruitment, Tech, Banking, PR & Education). As Director of the AoEC in Ireland & a member of Faculty she is committed to sharing best practice and helping others to integrate coaching into their daily management.

Lucy Tulloch

Lucy Tulloch UK

Lucy Tulloch

Lucy Tulloch

Lucy is an experienced executive and team coach with a 20-year career in specialist travel and tour operations. With a Post Graduate Certification in Business and Personal Coaching, Lucy's determination to help individuals and teams optimise their performance, find fulfilment in their work, and take control of their careers led her to start her own coaching practice. With a natural blend of warmth, challenge, support, and fun, Lucy's coaching approach is highly effective. She brings to her coaching, her exposure to significant business growth, a solution-focused mindset and practical experience of change management. Lucy's passion for travel extends to working with clients globally in industries such as travel, education, financial services, tech, and recruitment. She has continued to enhance her coaching expertise by studying high-performance team coaching, wellbeing and stress management as well as CBT for Coaching. Lucy lives in Oxfordshire with her young family and enjoys cooking and long dog walks in her free time.

Madeleine Dunford

Madeleine Dunford East Africa

Madeleine Dunford

Madeleine Dunford

Madeleine is an ICF (International Coaching Federation) credentialed PCC coach and founding Managing Director of Career Connections. She comes from a background of assessing, developing and advising the largest companies in East and Central Africa. With her qualifications from the Academy of Executive Coaching (AoEC), UK, and ICF Accreditation, she has over ten years’ experience as an executive coach. Madeleine is an action oriented, solutions focused coach who believes deeply in the resourcefulness of her clients. As an experienced leader that consults at senior levels, Madeleine’s coaching clients include the region’s largest and multinational FMCG, governmental and financial services organisations. Madeleine earned her first degree at the University of York, UK and her MSc, with Distinction, from the University of Edinburgh, UK. She has multiple specialist qualifications from USA and UK in assessing and coaching leaders for development. In 2017 Madeleine completed a Certificate programme at Harvard University, USA, on the Art & Practice of Leadership Development.

Magda Żmijewska

Magda Żmijewska Poland

Magda Żmijewska

Magda Żmijewska

In 2022, Magda was invited to join the Encyclopedia of Personalities of the Republic of Poland in the field of Business and Economics, 8th edition. She is a focused expert in developing leaders and professionals in business. Her specialist areas are: leadership, executive coaching, diagnosis and development of managerial competencies, intra and interpersonal communication, talent, life energy and change management. For over 15 years she worked in large international organisations as an HR Manager with brands including MTV Networks Polska, TVN S.A., Grupa Pracuj. Today she works as a freelancer and supports the development of organisations and leaders as a certified executive coach (AoEC, PCC ICF, ECPC). She learned life energy management from Shaolin Zen Master Hua Yang by exploring the secrets of his original life-extending system Calligraphy Health. She is the author and director of a postgraduate course at the Collegium Humanum School of Management in Warsaw - Executive MBA Leadership and Coaching with the prestigious AoEC Coaching Skills Certification.

Maja Gabrijan

Maja Gabrijan Croatia & Serbia

Maja Gabrijan

Maja Gabrijan

Maja ima petnaest godina iskustva u radu sa ljudima, razvoju timova, organizacija i postavljanju sistema za ljudske resurse. Sertifikovani je executive coach i predavač AoEC iz Velike Britanije, kao i predavač Londonske škole za odnose s javnošću. Njene ključne teme obuka su iz oblasti razvoja ljudi i komunikacije: lični razvoj menadžera, motivacija, retorika i prezentacijske veštine, coaching edukacija, krizna komunikacija, timski rad. Maja veruje da zdrava i srećna jedinka stvara zdrav i srećan sistem, te da je svesnost ključ da se to toga dodje. Mama je jedne Dunje.

Merle Viirmaa

Merle Viirmaa Estonia

Merle Viirmaa

Merle Viirmaa

Merle has been leading teams and companies, managing and developing people for more than two decades. She has worked as Member of the Board and CEO for some the largest Estonian media companies. She is experienced in change management, mergers and acquisitions, product and service development, marketing, communication and re-branding. Since 2018 she has her own consultancy business, mainly focusing in leadership and training programmes both for teams and individuals. She is a partner for Executive Education of Estonian Business School. Merle is a graduate of the AoEC Practitioner Diploma programme and is a faculty on the AoEC’s Coaching Skills Certificate and Practitioner Diploma programmes. Merle is also Gestalt Practitioner and continues her studies in AoEC Advanced Practitioner Diploma. She is an Associated Certified Coach with the ICF. Her special interest is Women in Leadership.

Natalia Zalesinska

Natalia Zalesinska Poland

Natalia Zalesinska

Natalia Zalesinska

Masters Degrees in Occupational Psychology and Human Resources Management, NLP Master Practitioner,Integrative and Generative Coach, Advanced Diploma in Executive Coaching (AoEC), Founder of Metta Coaching. Natalia is fascinated by the mystery of human nature and potential, trying to understand and find the key to unlock people’s ability to blossom and thrive. Natalia was working in London for over a decade as an HR business partner and consultant for international banks and financial institutions. The understanding she gained from this experience has afforded her a unique insight into, and an understanding of, the challenges and complexities faced by leaders as well as what is required for exceptional leadership. She has coached both corporate leaders and entrepreneurs, with a particular interest in those driven to inspire and make positive impact. Natalia extends executive coaching beyond the usual; also delivering transformational coaching programmes to those seeking to connect with their inner wisdom, to express their unique individuality and to create an extraordinary and meaningful life.

Neil Atkinson

Neil Atkinson UK

Neil Atkinson

Neil Atkinson

Neil worked in the business world as a digital communications and marketing expert for three decades before moving into coaching and leadership development. An ICF PCC-accredited Advanced Coach, he’s passionate about supporting people to develop themselves, their careers and their potential, as well as helping teams become more effective. Neil has studied positive psychology and mindfulness/meditation and created training programmes in wellbeing and resilience. He brings these interests to his coaching practice and his role as a facilitator on many coaching training programmes.

Neil Mackinnon

Neil Mackinnon UK

Neil Mackinnon

Neil Mackinnon

Neil is a coach and consultant based in London. Following an early career as a professional musician, Neil transitioned into the business side of the cultural sector. He ultimately spent 12 years at London’s Southbank Centre, the UK’s largest arts centre, in a series of increasingly senior management roles. He first worked with a coach in 2013 and found the experience transformational, resonating deeply with his lifelong fascination with personal development, growth and effectiveness. This experience instigated an odyssey of exploring coaching through a learning cycle of reading, experiencing and practicing. He brought coaching as a style of leadership into his work at Southbank Centre and began gradually building a 1:1 practice externally towards the end of his time with the orgainsation. Neil has trained with RD1st and is a graduate of the AoEC’s Practitioner Diploma program. He is passionate about supporting people to connect with their personal agency, get specific about what they want and become the best version of themselves as they go on the adventure towards getting it.

Paul Van Geyt

Paul Van Geyt Belgium

Paul Van Geyt

Paul Van Geyt

Paul is an ICF accredited Master Certified Coach and a trained ICF assessor. For the past 15 years, Paul has been coaching clients across all levels of seniority in a variety of industries, including professional services, FMCG, banking, energy distribution, real estate and industrial production. During a quality audit, the following characteristics are pointed out about Paul: “patient, honest, listening and understanding. His empathic ability is considered to be a remarkable quality”. Further coaching strengths that are mentioned by clients are expertise, knowledge and analytical capacity. Paul can operate comfortably in the heart of a group and is adept at building teams, integrating groups and creating consistency and alignment.

Peep Aaviksoo

Peep Aaviksoo Estonia

Peep Aaviksoo

Peep Aaviksoo

Peep has more than twenty five years of experience managing stock listed companies in Estonia and sitting in the supervisory boards of different public and state owned companies. He has also served as Vice Mayor of Tallinn. Peep has more than twenty five years of experience managing stock listed companies in Estonia and sitting in the supervisory boards of different public and state owned companies. He has also served as Vice Mayor of Tallinn. He has graduated from Tartu University as a basketball coach, got MBA in Estonian Business School and passed Senior Executive Program in London Business School. Today he is managing the Executive Education of Estonian Business School that is a license holder of AoEC in Estonia. He has also done mentoring for Enterprise Estonia. Peep is a graduate of the AoEC Senior Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching and is faculty on the AoEC’s Coaching Skills Certificate and Practitioner Diploma programmes. Peep is an Professional Certified Coach with the ICF.

Philip Atkinson PCC

Philip Atkinson PCC Switzerland

Philip Atkinson PCC

Philip Atkinson PCC

Philip is passionate about empowering individuals, teams and businesses to grow and in using coaching to achieve this. He first started to study coaching to be a ‘better line manager’ and the breadth and depth of the AoEC framework appealed to his curiosity about many different coaching models. He has since continued his academic and practical study by completing the AoEC’s Advanced Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching as well studying Systemic Team Coaching and Gestalt Coach Training. Philip is a regular keynote speaker on leadership and has also taught on executive programmes at London Business School and INSEAD. He is also teaching faculty for the ICAgile curriculum of programs. He has gained experience building and shaping high-performing teams at Roche, Novartis, Reckitt Benckiser, Sanofi and The Publicis Group of Communications Agencies. Philip is also a passionate beekeeper and is fascinated by how they function as a complex system, not unlike multi-national organisations. He is based in Basel and the founder of Hive-Logic Coaching & Communications.

Sophie Bruas

Sophie Bruas East Africa

Sophie Bruas

Sophie Bruas

Sophie is an accredited Executive Coach, Coach training faculty member with the Academy of Executive Coaching, Coach Supervisor, and Mentor Coach. Sophie has developed a number of executive coaches and contributed to ensuring high standards of coaching practice. Sophie has been coaching for more than seven years with domestic and international clients. Before making a career in Executive Coaching, Sophie worked as Country Director in various countries across Africa for Action Against Hunger. Sophie’s coaching is influenced by the Co-active Model, which emphasizes the systemic perspective of coaching, highlighting that various facets of the client’s life interact in motion and impact decisions. She looks for lasting solutions that impact her clients by using a direct style of coaching. Sophie earned her Accredited Coach Supervision diploma from the International Coaching Community (ICC), UK. Sophie holds an MSc from the University of Manchester and a degree in Logistics Management from the University of Paris XIII.

Stephen Murphy

Stephen Murphy Poland

Stephen Murphy

Stephen Murphy

Stephen is accredited at Master Practitioner level by the European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC). Stephen is accredited at Master Practitioner level by the European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC). He has a multi-cultural and multi-functional background. British, living in Poland with a 30-year career spanning P&G, Reckitt Benckiser, Coca-Cola Bottlers and PZ Cussons; on-the-ground in UK, Greece, Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen, Russia and Poland; with assignments in Sales, Marketing and Country/ Regional General Management. He has led and been responsible for international start-up operations, in developed and hardship locations; significant organisational change projects; business turnaround assignments and re-shaping leadership teams into effective operating units. Stephen is an active Coach Supervisor and currently coaches and mentors in China and Europe. His work is with senior management, individually and in teams, to build greater self-awareness and operational impact. Sectors include FMCG, Insurance, Banking, Software, Legal, Engineering, Logistics and Chemicals.

Sue Reynolds PCC

Sue Reynolds PCC UK

Sue Reynolds PCC

Sue Reynolds PCC

Sue Reynolds has over 20 years Human Resources experience in Business Partnership, Global Reward, Learning & Development, Organisational Effectiveness and Generalist HR. She is Senior Director for Pfizer’s Global Innovative Pharma Business with responsibility for the emerging and developed countries of the European & the Africa/Middle East Regions. Her focus is on culture, employee engagement, talent management, leadership development and organisational change. Previously Sue worked at Age Concern England. Sue is studying psychology and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. Friends, family and fitness are priorities along with a passion for her life-time interest in horses and more recently, in learning to dance.

Susie Bourne

Susie Bourne UK

Susie Bourne

Susie Bourne

Susie is an AoEC Accredited Associate Executive Coach and Accrediated Team Coach with 15 years of marketing experience at a senior level. She has held roles including Marketing Operations Director at the Telegraph Media Group and Marketing Director for the Times and Sunday Times. She has managed teams of up to 30 and her business expertise includes managing change, strategy, business planning, problem-solving, the creation of training and development programmes for 250+ people, introducing new processes and shaping the culture within newly formed teams. Susie also brings an extra set of skills to the world of business because as well as being a fully qualified Executive Coach she is also a trained, working actress with many high profile adverts and theatre work under her belt.

Trudy Arthurs

Trudy Arthurs Ireland & N. Ireland

Trudy Arthurs

Trudy Arthurs

As faculty member of the AoEC, I’ve been delivering the Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching for eight years in London, Dublin and Northern Ireland. I am currently working with a local charity to support them in developing Coaching and Mentoring Skills (ILM accredited). In 2016-2019 I co-facilitated seven Training-as-Mentor workshops to senior Earth Science academics and practitioners in London, Manchester and Dublin, accredited by the Geological Society of London. I consistently find that once clients have become familiar with the benefits of coaching, they are keen to adapt their own management and leadership styles to include a coaching approach. Reflective, mindful practice is really important to me. I strongly encourage all my clients and students to develop journaling and reflection habits. My own daily meditation, reading and journaling practices have helped me through the peaks and troughs of life, especially the Covid-19 times, and my clients have told me how much they now appreciate these few quiet moments that they have learned to give themselves in the hustle of life as senior leaders in organisations.

Urmas Kaarlep

Urmas Kaarlep Estonia

Urmas Kaarlep

Urmas Kaarlep

Urmas gained his management experience from working for 21 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Estonia, Ukraine and Slovakia. Since then, he has kept up to date with business and management by participating in several supervisory boards: a member of the Supervisory Board and the chair of the Audit Committee of the Port of Tallinn, a member of the Supervisory Board and the chair of the Audit Committee of Nasdaq Securities Depository in the Baltics and Iceland, a member of the Audit Committees of Coop Bank and North Estonia Regional Hospital. Urmas is a lecturer of finance at Estonian Business School. Urmas started coaching in 2015. Since 2020, he is faculty on the AoEC’s Coaching Skills Certificate and Practitioner Diploma programmes. To continue his professional development Urmas completed Integral Associate Coach Program and Integral Professional Coach Program at Integral Coaching Canada in 2021. Urmas is a member of ICF.

Valérie Weston

Valérie Weston UK

Valérie Weston

Valérie Weston

Valérie is a member of faculty for the Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching. She is an ICF certified executive coach, coach mentor and leadership consultant, and has over 20 years of experience in the field of people development. Committed to helping individuals and teams make the most of their talents, Valérie believes in mixing lightness and depth to create a supportive yet challenging environment where people can explore, reflect and grow. She has coached and trained executives at all levels from junior managers to managing directors and her clients include DuPont, PwC, HSBC, the World Health Organisation, Smiths Group, Forum for the Future, Concern Universal, Ardagh and Buckingham Palace. Valérie previously held senior leadership and global commercial management roles at a FTSE 100 company and was a volunteer with VSO in Africa. Her coaching roles and qualifications include: - Practitioner Diploma in Executive coaching (AoEC) -Team coaching certificate (AoEC) -Master trainer in coaching / management programmes (HSBC) -Co-active Coach (Coaches Training Institute) -Executive coach and member of faculty for HSBC University, the CIPD and the Leadership Trust. A dual French and British citizen, Valérie is happy to work in French or English.

Zia Manji

Zia Manji East Africa

Zia Manji

Zia Manji

Zia is the Director and Senior Client Partner in Korn Ferry’s East Africa alliance, Career Connections, where he heads the firm’s executive search practice. Zia brings in excess of 18 years’ experience of leading senior level searches in East Africa and also has extensive experience in executive coaching, leadership assessments and development. Zia is an accredited executive coach and faculty of the Academy of Executive Coaching. Zia’s experience spans across financial services, consumer goods, telecommunications, agriculture and media sectors. Prior to joining Career Connections, Zia was Managing Director at a large Kenyan food and consumer goods manufacturing company. Zia holds a business degree from the University of Edinburgh where he earned the John MacFarlane Award for Leadership. He also holds an Executive Master in Consulting and Coaching for Change from INSEAD, with Distinction, and is a founder member of the Africa Executive Coaching Council, developing the profession on the continent.