About me

Shaped by experience. Grounded in values. Committed to growth.

My path to leadership and to coaching has not been linear.

I grew up in a context shaped by conflict, responsibility, and change. I began working at 18 and supported my wider family financially from an early age. Those formative years instilled resilience, adaptability, and the importance of making decisions when there are no perfect options. These lessons continue to inform how I lead and how I coach today.

Over the course of my career, I have lived and worked across countries and continents, navigated different cultures, systems, and expectations. These experiences have reinforced a simple truth: context matters. Leadership is never abstract but always shaped by environment, timing, and personal history. 

At 40, through combination of circumstance, I made a deliberate decision to reinvent my professional direction. Rather than following a prescribed path, I leap-frogged my career into senior leadership roles by drawing on experience, curiosity, and a willingness to question assumptions. Including my own. This period of transition deepened my appreciation for reflection, clarity, and intentional growth.

Today, alongside senior roles in strategy, innovation, and partnerships, coaching sits at the heart of my work.

I am deeply committed to coaching because I have seen, in myself and in others, how powerful it can be to have space to think, reflect, and grow without judgement. I see coaching as a way to support people in becoming the best version of themselves, on their own terms, rather than trying to fit someone else's idea of success or leadership.

I believe strongly that diverse life experiences and diverse ways of thinking lead to better decision-making and more innovative problem-solving. I celebrate individual differences and work with clients as whole people shaped by their histories, values, and ambitions.

I am a lifelong learner. I am currently undertaking an Executive MBA, and hold professional coaching qualifications, including EMCC Global Coach / Mentor Practitioner accreditation and Level 5 Coaching Professional qualification. I also hold an MSc in Project Management and a Postgraduate Diploma in Economic Management and Policy. With over 30 years of professional experience, I bring both depth and perspective to my coaching practice.

Urban Legends Coaching reflects this philosophy:  a belief that leadership is shaped by lived experience, that growth is continuous, and that the stories we carry can be questioned, reframed, and used with intention.