Mariano de Bernardi
Mariano is an experienced management consultant, trainer, facilitator and coach. His areas of expertise include Operations Strategy & Management, Procurement & Contracts, Supply Chain Management, Quality Management and Project Management.
Mariano enjoys helping managers implement positive changes to reach their full potential. He uses proven tools and exercises to ensure that managers get the most out of their resources. Mariano’s extensive background in corporate strategy and operations, supply chain and quality systems supported by a dynamic, friendly style makes his training highly effective.
He has helped a wide range of organizations across the private and public sectors in Europe, Asia and America, improving their performance and implementing lasting change through consulting, facilitation, training and coaching.
Mariano is convinced that the opportunity to reflect and debate in an honest and non-judgemental environment, is a great motivator to increase performance and implement effective change.
Mariano is a certified coach, a management and leadership skills trainer and an international business consultant, continuously learning from his experience at work and from new academic developments. He is particularly interested in the field of neuroscience, and consistently incorporates new proven techniques in his work.
Mariano started working in the financial sector, and after five years moved to work in a global consulting firm. In this position he learned how to design and deliver effective consulting and training programmes leading to improved performance, continuous improvement and effective and lasting behaviour change. Since then, he has worked with different global consultancies, designing and delivering improvements programmes for companies around the world. He has helped global companies including Air France, Siemens, Kraft Heinz, Nestlé, Philips, Bosch, Novartis or Acerinox, and has also worked with family owned companies and non-profit organisations such as the NHS, labour unions and universities. He is also an international speaker in summits and events.
Pippa Blakemore
Pippa Blakemore set up her international management consultancy business in 1985, more than 36 years ago.
Pippa’s academic background is Pure Mathematic, Applied Mathematics, Physics and Economics. Pippa studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Bristol University and graduated in Politics. The following year Pippa completed a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in History. Pippa conducted research on the European Institutions and her writing and editing work was extensively published in books and articles.
Pippa worked in a range of organizations before setting up her own business as a consultant. These included a global food distributor; a management consultancy firm; a public relations consultancy and lecturing in a college on Government and Economics.
Pippa’s consultancy work has three inter-related characteristics. Firstly, advising on creating and implementing strategy. Secondly, as an Interim Director, working within organisations to solve problems. Thirdly, delivering relevant training based on her first-hand experience in the real world of facing all the challenges which are faced by her delegates, in all areas of leadership, management skills, public relations and marketing. She does not just deliver academic theory but gives real-life practical and relevant advice and suggestions which are immediately applicable when delegates return to work.
Pippa has worked for more than 250 International and UK organisations all over the world, including central, regional and local government, professional service firms, global corporates, not-for-profit organisations, academic institutions and charities.
Pippa has written more than 80 articles which have been published worldwide, in several languages. Articles have been written about her in leading publications in several countries. Pippa’s expertise is such that she is also regularly asked to review books on her specialisms.
Bill Blakemore
Mr. Bill Blakemore is an independent business consultant and lawyer, who now specializes in developing and delivering management training programmes within his specialist areas including Procurement, Contracts, Tendering, Negotiation, Corporate Governance and Sustainability.
Bill was a senior manager for 18 years with British Telecommunications plc (BT), working in sales, marketing, business development and strategy. Clients included UK Central Government departments such as the Home Office and Department of Education and major corporates such as McDonalds, John Lewis Partnership and Harrods. He also was responsible within BT for relations with EU institutions such as the European Commission and members of the European Parliament.
After BT, Bill established and ran the SPARKS Network on behalf of local authority clients in London. This was an EU-focused research, influencing and communications programme focused on reforming European cross-border law enforcement in relation to transport. Bill also worked as an evaluator and expert for the European Commission.
In his early career Bill was a practicing barrister (a British advocate lawyer).
Bill has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Bristol, professional qualifications as a barrister from the Inns of Court School of Law and a Master of Science degree in Business Management from London’s City University Business School. Bill is also an associate of CIPS, the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.
Over the last 10 years Bill has designed and delivered many open and bespoke training courses in his areas of specialism. Courses have been delivered in-person or, more recently, via Microsoft Teams, Zoom or other virtual platforms.
Bill’s clients have included the UK Ministry of Defence, the Royal Navy, Ministry of Finance, Ghana, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), Cameroon Oil Transportation Company, Presidential Guard Command, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait Fund, Angola LNG, Saudi Aramco, Karachaganak Petroleum Operating BV, Kazakhstan, Dragon Oil, Turkmenistan, Addax Petroleum, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Port de Djibouti.
Matt Brown
Matt is a Learning and Development (L&D) Consultant with a passion for developing people to meet their potential.
Prior to setting up as a Consultant, Matt gained over 20 years’ L&D experience working within the multi-site service sector focusing on Leadership and Management Development. As well as working in the UK, Matt has designed and delivered programmes in Europe, the Middle East, and North America, including formal Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) qualifications. Before moving into L&D Matt spent nearly 15 years working in Operational Management in the retail sector, which he is able to draw on to bring his sessions to life.
Matt has worked with a number of different clients including delivering sessions for Veolia Water Technologies, GUK, Discovery and Coopers Fire.
Matt holds an MBA (Merit) from Northampton Business School, with his dissertation looking at “An analysis of the relevance of traditional Contingency Theories of Leadership in the 21st Century Business Environment, with particular reference to Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Models.”
He is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and a Member of the ILM, the CMI, and the Learning and Performance Institute. Matt also holds an Advanced Certificate in Business Coaching, is accredited to deliver the Belbin Team Roles by Belbin Associates and the Everything DiSC© profile by DiSC GB, is an NLP Practitioner and has previously sat on the Editorial Board for the CIPD Toolkits for Trainers publications, and was a reviewer for the CMI Management Book of the Year.
Jon Burton
Jon is an International Training Consultant, NLP facilitator, interpersonal skills coach, sports coach, tour guide, writer, presenter, Soul singer and songwriter, who specializes in Communication and Interpersonal Skills for managers, senior managers and directors.
Jon has worked as a freelance trainer since 1993, and his philosophy in work – as well as life – is that learning should be fun, and should be an enjoyable experience, because positive associations in the classroom support and anchor the strongest, most effective learning and development experiences. His enthusiasm for his subject is evident, and his classroom sessions are always lively, engaging and full of energy. Jon firmly believes that everyone is capable of excelling and that given the opportunity and motivation, everyone is capable of reaching a personal level of self-actualization.
Following a successful early, stage career, Jon moved into Travel & Tourism, and then on to L&D as Training Manager for two large UK independent travel companies, and later for the Industry’s National Training Board. Jon holds Honours degrees in Travel & Tourism and Psychology, and during his time in the Travel Industry, he enjoyed twenty-one years as a Chief Examiner for the City & Guilds of London Institute and five years with the National Council for Vocational Qualifications and Investors in People.
Since becoming a freelance trainer, Jon has worked extensively for both governmental and private industry in Africa, the Middle East, India and throughout Europe, where he continually provides training interventions for Business & Management Development, Human Resource Practice, Essential Interpersonal Skills and L&D Management. His extensive client base includes ABB, American Express, British Airways, BUPA, Cognizant, the DVLA, Emery Worldwide, Exxonmobil, Gerber Foods, GKN Westland, Heatric-Meggitt, Hellman International, Honeywell, Lloyds Bank, Mercer HR, the Met Office, RHR Mulberry, the NHS, SAAB, Siemens Industrial, Transport for London and Zurich Insurance.
Federica Ceresa
Jean-Paul Noel-Cephise
Jean-Paul has been a been a business coach and academic trainer for 16 years. He began lecturing for BPP University then Kaplan Training before becoming a freelance consultant in 2016. He has a first degree in Accountancy & Finance (1992), a Law conversion Degree (CPE) (1994) and qualified with the ACCA in 2007.
After graduation he worked as a Legal Executive for 4 years, specialising in immigration cases before going on to become a Business Analyst in the financial services sector post-ACCA qualification.
He specializes in Financial Management, Law, Management and Financial accounting as well as Marketing and Leadership qualifications. He has worked for Osborne college, Southbank Uni, Kaplan, BPP as well as other smaller consultancy firms on an ad hoc basis both internationally and within the UK.
Outside of his professional vocation he is a published author and has appeared on a few TV programmes as part of both family finances and relationship discussions and is currently developing his own specialist TV and Radio talk shows.
Bronwyn Crawford
Bronwyn started her career in hospitality, followed by corporate training where her role was to dramatically improve health and safety and reduce injuries at a South African mine by project managing actor-led performances in local dialects to ensure workers were clear on safety messages. Bronwyn studied project management through the Southern Business School, during this time.
Bronwyn enjoys challenges and when asked to, built a law firm and led the HR function through various change cycles, her focus being on the development and building the empowerment muscle of each employee. She then established and managed a conference and events business attracting and building long term relationships with clients the likes of Protea Chemicals (a member of the Omnia Group, a publicly-listed diversified provider of specialised chemical products and services.)
Bronwyn’s passion for personal growth and embracing change led her to further her studies in professional coaching and a degree in Organisational Psychology while simultaneously choosing to work as a consltant.
Since working as a consltant, Bronwyn has helped organizations, government, and NGOs large and small, adapt and improve via change throughout Africa, United Kingdom, Middle East, and Asia. She builds committed relationships with clients, works alongside their change management project teams, engaging with employees to maximise participation and effectiveness. Guiding the communication and perception of employees. Minimising employee resistance to change and protecting the wellbeing of the business.
An example being the implementation of a new corporate strategy and value system affecting 150 employees over the course of 12 weeks. This project involved aligning staff with the new vision, values and direction of the company, and ensuring they were embodying them. This work led to improved employee engagement and growth in repeat customers for the company.
Bronwyn concentrates on employee development, behavioural and culture change through identifying the crisis point and challenges various stakeholders are experiencing, designing and delivering learning and development programs to those in leadership positions, as well as employees at other levels.
Bronwyn spends any free time studying and presenting keynote preseantations to audiences of up to 500 people on issues such as managing change in these turbulent times, bridging the gap in corporate culture, leadership and employee engagement, recognition and retention, wellbeing matters in business, managing ones mind and time for business and personal success, and embracing diversity and inclusion.
Bronwyn believes in Dr Demartini’s quote: “When you are truly inspired by something, you cannot fail, because you don’t give up.” Bronwyn is inspired by making a difference to as many peoples’ lives as she is able to, specifically in business. Whether she is supporting, challenging, training, or coaching them to reach their greatness, she fully commits to their success.
Darren Leiser
Abdul Nelson
Abdul is a management training consultant with over 17 years’ experience in this field. He holds an MSc in Technology Management, a PgCert of Learning & Teaching in HE, a PgDip in Management Studies and is PRINCE 2 Practitioner certified. He is a qualified Investors in People’s Assessor, a member of the CMI; the Higher Education Academy, and the British Computer Society. Abdul came to consultancy from an academic career where he initially conducted knowledge management research for Rolls Royce Plc at London South Bank University and then moving onto lecturing at the LSBU Business School. His primary expertise is in HRM, Sustainability (CSR & ESG), Change Management, Project Management, Quality Management but he also delivers training in Data & Information Systems (including HR Analytics & CRM) and Administrative Skills for Personal Assistants.
He has published papers on artificial intelligence, superalloy machining and education.
Abdul’s has delivered training and consultancy for the likes Johnson Matthey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Nigeria), The Saudi British Bank (SABB), Central Bank of Ghana, Bank Indonesia, Bank of England, Central Bank of Italy, Medical Research Council at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Biffa Waste Services, Central Bank of Nigeria, United Nations Development Programme and the Royal Hashemite Court of Jordan
Abdul also has a number of publications in Artificial Intellegience and Enhancing students’ IT skills to improve achievement.
David Pugh
David is a chartered accountant with a varied career path covering different financial management positions. He qualified with Deloitte & Co in the City of London, and then worked for a public shipping and logistics company for 19 years progressing through various financial roles covering both the UK and abroad, culminating as a divisional finance director. He then gained experience in the food sector where he participated in two management buyouts, and has performed many financial interim roles in different organisations. David is a chairman of two audit committees, director of private companies, trustee of two charities and a trustee of an educational academy. He has recently sold his accountancy practice but still does consultancy work. His lecturing experience spans over 10 years, and as well as lecturing on financial training, his other recent lectures have been to technical tax groups and start-up organisations.
David has lectured physically for organisations in the UK, Hong Kong, Dubai, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, and more recently provided online courses for UK, China, and the Middle East.
Clients include delegates from Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority, Advanced Electronics Company Lid in Saudi, Aramco , Bank Indonesia, CCCC International in Hong Kong, Central Bank of Nigeria, Egyptian General Petroleum Company, Institute of Chartered Accountants, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Kuwait Oil Company, Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Oman Ministry of Tourism, Qatar University, Saudi Electricity Company, Sankyu Saudi Arabia, Taaleem School Group in Dubai, and Wellington College in China.
Christian Thornæs
Christian Thornæs delivers advanced programmes in banking, finance, accounting, risk management and leadership related topics.
He has worked with investment banks, major global corporate and retail banks, central banks, global fund managers, sovereign wealth funds, management consultancies, major law firms, financial market regulatory organisations, exchanges, central securities depositories, global custodians and many more. He has experience from delivering courses in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Far East, South East Asia, Japan, Australia, South America and the United States.
Before beginning his consulting career, Christian worked as an investment banker and financial engineer in London and Hong Kong. His main responsibilities were to structure and sell new financial products to clients on both the issuer and the buy side.
Christian has an MBA from INSEAD, France as well as a BSc and a MSc(Econ) from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.