ABOUT ME

My first profession was forestry, where I had an incredibly rewarding 30 year career working with some amazing people from all walks of life. I had many roles: from supervising squads of men in the forest to advising ministers, and from setting-up new organisations to leading multi-million pound programmes. I now have a portfolio of coaching, consultancy, convening and non-executive roles in a range of sectors and countries. 

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My working life has taken me around the world to incredible places, and has given me privileged access to the joys of the UK countryside. I have been a CEO, advisor, high-level moderator and non-executive director.  The biggest change I've navigated in my professional life was in 2019, when I chose to leave a successful position as CEO and Chief Forester for Scotland and to establish my portfolio business. So I've navigated quite a few changes in life. Along the way I've battled the demons of anxiety and 'impostor syndrome' and felt the exhilaration of taking a bold step into the unknown. If you're interested, I detail more of my journey and what I've learned in a blog here.
 

I was introduced to coaching in 1995 and have worked with coaches through each of the big professional changes I've made subsequently. I grew so much through each of those transitions, and I learned how the application of coaching techniques as a manager could have powerful impacts in my own teams. As a result, I trained and qualified as an International Coaching Federation approved coach in 2020, and have been working with clients ever since.

 

My clients range from early career rising-stars to late career gear-shifters; from business founders to senior civil servants, and from established professionals wanting to change things up to whole teams wanting to tune-up their collective performance. My particular focus is on working with people in their 50s or 60s asking themselves 'what next?'. I have never been one to neatly separate my 'work-life' from my 'home-life'. I am the same person showing-up whether it's for work or family or friends, and I bring this approach to my coaching. I work with clients to explore their whole experience of life, to tune things up and shift gear.