Coach Class

We reconnected a few years ago at a cricket test match at Lords over a glass or two of very good quality wine, having crossed paths at Asda. An accomplished leader, Ade started his career working in his family's shop in Glasgow. As a young man, he learnt the art of buying and selling and listening to customers, and how to actually make money.   If you buy something for X and sell it for Y, th...

Mark is currently resting in between roles, having previously run companies like Speedo and more recently Wolverine Worldwide.  Like me, he's found Barefoot at a point in his life where he has the time and capacity to learn more about coaching, having practiced it throughout his managerial career. He's been reflecting on our two week half term about the fact that as coaches we are always...

We met on Twitter ten or so years ago, since when we've become virtual mates. Both comms professionals by trade, we had a shared connection in Hamish Thompson. Mark describes himself as a public speaker and campaigner, a Social Media and PR Pro, with demonstrable experience of getting around in a wheelchair, having an incurable, progressive illness called Multiple Sclerosis. He's not a n...

Emma and I met each other on Twitter back in the days that social media platforms were fun, vibrant and full of unexpected opportunities to connect with like minded people in the real world. Since then we've worked together, coached one another and formed a strong friendship. Emma is impossible to put in a box, which is ironic, as she can often be found inside one of her many shipping contain...

Sanja Kon describes herself as a digital executive and international keynote speaker with a passion for coaching, spirituality and self development. She was born in Sarajevo in a mixed marriage, moved to Italy before war broke out, attended one of Europe's top universities, and has settled (for now) in the UK where she is currently the CEO of Utrust, a disruptive Fintech blockchain crypto cur...

Doug was most recently a global vice-president and head of Amazon UK from 2016 to 2020. He is currently chairman of the British Heart Foundation, and the director at Natural Histroy Museum. He left Cambridge University with a maths degree, before getting a PhD at Edinburgh, then he taught at Aarhus University in Denmark, before joining the civil service, then going into consultancy with McKinsey &...

Rob Chester studied law before getting into retail, having worked his way through Uni at the local Tesco. His father had given him advice as a young man - offering three options, become a doctor,  a lawyer, or an accountant. Counting wasn't his strength and he couldn't stand the sight of blood. So he ended up being a lawyer running shops. Which came in handy when he started to look at th...

Michelle has over 20 years experience managing teams, with a background in marketing communications, project management and insurance. Before joining Reech - her current agency - she worked with the Environment Agency and DEFRA, on high-profile campaigns. She describes herself as an enthusiastic and effective leader and team player motivated by making a difference and adding value wherever she wor...

Judith McKenna is president and CEO of Walmart International where she leads 550,000 associates across 23 countries. Having joined Tetley pub company from a law firm, they decided to move offices down south, she suddenly found herself without a job, and a nine month old baby. One day she got a call from the retailer based over the road - Asda - and started her career in retail. She was promoted to...

Hava is a Positive Psychology Life Coach, and fellow Barefoot student. In this conversation we reflect on week 2 of the course where we practiced asking questions with ruthless compassion, being empathetic provocateurs, while donning our challenge coats along the away.  In her day job, Hava is situated at a Bakerloo line underground station, where she leads and manages a team to deliver high level...

Marjorie Ellis Thompson has worked on Capitol Hill and in Parliament, as a lobbyist for CND and the Royal College of Nursing, head of communications for the Commission for Racial Equality and founded Saatchi & Saatchi Cause Connection. She was also chair of CND during the first Gulf War and is co-author of Brand Spirit: How Cause Related Marketing Builds Brands with Hamish Pringle. I had the p...

Claire Foy is Head of Learning & Professional Development at Coutts, and also a fellow student on the Barefoot ICF accredited Post Graduate Certificate in Business and Personal Coaching. In this podcast we both reflect on week 1 on the course, what we learned and discovered, and our hopes and aspirations for the future. Claire was brought up in the Caribbean, she is happiest living a simple li...

Jon Wragg is a versatile and broadly experienced Commercial and Retail leader, with a strong track record. His experience is Global, it covers Apparel and Home categories, includes Private Label development and Premium Brands, is both B2C and B2B; and it encompasses physical retail and 20 years in e-commerce.  With both Board and Executive experience, he sees himself as a results-driven team playe...

Fiona is passionate developer of people and high performing teams. She believes this is key to a business' success. She thrives on learning, developing and challenging herself whether in the work environment or personally. With a proven track record in the world of fashion, Fiona has had a successful career working at Next, George, Dunelm, and River Island where she built an entirely new bran...

Jill is an executive coach with more than 25 years experience operating at the highest levels in business. She started her career in America, which exposed her early on to a very entrepreneurial way of working, and the well documented American approach 'that anything is possible'. Jill is now the founder and director at theeightytwo having become an exec coach. Her aim is to help people...

Ellie in her own words is a seasoned executive with many years experience at board level and working internationally.  She is a qualified Executive Coach; working with Non-Execs, emerging and established leaders, and an ambassador for Girls Out Loud - a multi-award winning, not for profit, social enterprise, established in 2010, on a mission to raise the aspirations of teenage girls in the UK. She...

In the first episode of Coach Class I had the pleasure of speaking to Stephen Smith, President and CEO at L.L.Bean. Steve and I worked together at ASDA here in the UK, before he became CEO of the family owned outdoor clothing retailer in Maine, USA. Since then I've been lucky enough to have L.L.Bean as one of my clients. Steve thinks about leadership as curiosity, and trying to get the best o...