Coaching Culture

Aakil Caunhye is a Senior Lecturer in Business Analytics at the University of Edinburgh Business School.

His research focuses on robust optimisation and stochastic programming, both of which are mathematical modelling techniques used to optimise decision-making under uncertainty.

Aakil holds a PhD in Systems and Engineering Management from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, as well as MSc and BEng degrees in Industrial and Systems Engineering from National University of Singapore. He obtained his Advanced Certificate in Coaching Practice in 2024.

Aakil was formerly Senior Tutor of the Business School and he believes that systemic integration of coaching into the student support and development model can help students become more resilient in the face of uncertainty.

Lee has worked in Learning and Development for 21 years. She works with senior leaders in a range of industries such as Banking, FMCG, Financial Services, Energy and the third sector.

Lee has a BA in Philosophy, an MA in Philosophy, an MSc in Gender, Policy and Inequalities, a Postgrad Certificate in Social and Political Sciences and a Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy. She is currently studying for an MA in Psychosynthesis Psychology.

Lee is a member of the International Coach Federation at Master Coach level and is also an ICF Mentor Coach. In her coaching work she integrates theory and practice with a spirit of play and lightness to produce breakthrough results for her clients.

Jenni is a qualified and accredited professional coach through the Association for Coaching.

She began her career in the recruitment industry before transitioning to HR roles in the Finance and Higher Education sectors. Jenni then established her own business, specialising in coaching and career development. With 7 years of experience working at the University of Edinburgh, Jenni contributed to both the Careers Service and the central HR team.

Since 2000, she has been an Associate Coach with the Business School. She works with individuals to support next steps through coaching and mentoring, and has a positive and solutions driven approach. Jenni believes that coaching can empower individuals to navigate towards their future potential, overcome challenges and achieve their desired outcomes.

Rona has been a coaching practitioner since 2005, (Strathclyde University certification and Association for Coaching accredited). She is a principle-led coach supervisor (Institute of Leadership and Management) and coach mentor, with over 25+ years experience in leadership and development roles.

Rona has successfully run her own consultancy, working with diverse clients across the private, public, higher education, and charitable sectors. Passionate about fostering coaching cultures, she is dedicated to helping individuals and organisations achieve their goals.

Rona’s approach integrates strengths-based coaching (Cappfinity) and emotional intelligence (EQi 2.0) to enhance self-awareness and confidence, helping deliver sustainable results as her coachees navigate fast-changing environments. She thrives on empowering students and professionals to grow and succeed, which without a doubt, is her passion.

Stuart has worked as a Motivational Speaker since 2015, working with a broad range of schools, universities, and business all over the country to promote positive psychology and inspiration.

Having worked in the Student Development Team previously, Stuart has first-hand experience of working with Business School students and the challenges and opportunities on offer along the way. Stuart has worked as a coach since 2020, and on the Edinburgh Award since 2022.

Gaining his certificate through the British Psychological society, Stuart particularly focused on Cognitive Behavioural Coaching (CBC). This is recognising blocks to our progress and challenging our self-limiting beliefs to overcome them.

Stuart is currently in the process of setting up his own speaking company, aimed at creating kinder cultures in schools and businesses. Alongside this, he freelances as a Motivational Speaker, Communication Skills Trainer, and Event Host.

Pauline works in the University of Edinburgh Business School where she is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing. In this role she designed and co-leads courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels on Marketing and Climate Change. Pauline passionately believes in the transformational potential of coaching as a powerful tool to help us achieve better lived lives, individually and collectively.

She is also the Deputy Director for Teaching and Partnerships Strategy within the Business School. Her PhD thesis applied a sociological lens to academic knowledge and practice within Marketing in order to help reimagine it.

Pauline passionately believes in the transformational potential of coaching as a powerful tool to help us achieve better lived lives, individually and collectively. She is an accredited coach and coaches as part of the Edinburgh Award in Global Employability within the Business School.

Shelly-Ann is a Certified Board and Executive Coach, Author and CEO of Alphastute.

With an early career in law as a Trinbagonian State Prosecutor, she chose to diversify her career from law to business. She holds a PhD in Management Research from King's College London, a Masters with Distinction in International Business and Emerging Markets from the University of Edinburgh Business School, a Bachelor of Laws and a Postgraduate Diploma in Career Advice and Information.

Her coaching superpower is using managerial strategies to empower clients to bravely self-lead and her coaching specialties include high-performance and career development. In 2020, Dr. Gajadhar was announced as one of the Top 100 Alumni over 100 years at the University of Edinburgh Business School.

Kathryn is an accredited coach, emotional intelligence practitioner, and learning designer with a passion for lifelong learning.

CIPD qualified and with over 25 years of experience in learning and development, Kathryn has been at the forefront of digital learning since the internet boom of the 1990s. Now, she’s focused on exploring how the latest wave of AI is transforming how we teach and learn.

Kathryn believes that wherever you are in your personal or professional journey, you are never the finished article. Every new experience, encounter, and challenge is an opportunity to grow and reshape yourself. As a coach, she creates a space for clients to pause, reflect, and experiment with incremental steps toward meaningful change.

Lara Isbel is an executive coach and facilitator with over 10 years of experience. Her approach combines evidence-based coaching methodologies with a strong focus on emotional intelligence and self-awareness. Lara is dedicated to empowering individuals to unlock their full potential and make meaningful contributions to their organisations and their broader professional community.

Lara also develops and delivers leadership and management programmes with MY Consultants, a consultancy specialising in higher education.

Before starting her own business, Lara held senior roles in higher education, including as Assistant Director of the Institute for Academic Development in the University of Edinburgh.

Lara has a background in life sciences and is interested in innovation and entrepreneurship. She completed Entrepreneurial Scotland’s Saltire Fellowship programme in 2018.

Peter has been a qualified professional development coach since 2017. His initial experience came from coaching within the Edinburgh Award as part of the Student Development Team, where he gained extensive insights into the student experiences and trajectories associated with the Edinburgh Award in Professional Development.

Since July 2022, Peter has expanded his coaching practice beyond the Business School into the fields of Fintech and technology consulting, where he works with a diverse group of seasoned professionals. He enhanced his coaching expertise by becoming a Strengths-Based Coach through Capfinity in 2019, guiding individuals on a journey focused on leveraging their strengths in a positive coaching framework.

Jo is a Student Development Manager within the University. She has worked in industry for 20 years specialising in learning & development, people management and project management. Jo has extensive experience in the private sector working for Lloyds Banking Group and BskyB.

Jo is an accredited coach, specialising in Cappfinity Strengths coaching, a trained counsellor and an experienced facilitator. She is passionate about career and professional development with a keen interest in helping students achieve global employability after their studies. Jo allows individuals to take control of their development and create opportunities with energy and enthusiasm.

Jo works with MSc students on campus in the Business School and two part time online cohorts.She is currently completing a part time, online, Diploma in Digital Learning.

Kirsty McWilliam is the founder of Think EQ, with over 25 years of experience working with senior leaders. As a Master Executive Coach, Kirsty use this experience as a consultant to advise organisations on building sustainable coaching cultures. She founded ThinkEQ in 2008, after a career as a Chartered Accountant in PwC and KPMG. ThinkEQ is now Scotland’s only certification centre for the EQ-i 2.0, a scientifically validated tool for measuring emotional intelligence, an accredited coach training centre and a supplier of Executive Coaches.

With a speciality in emotional intelligence, strengths and positive psychology, Kirsty has worked with across various sectors. Her clients describe her as passionate, collaborative, and generous.

Qualifications: Chartered Accountant (ACCA), Accredited Master Executive Coach, and EQ-i 2.0.

Sophie’s coaching journey began in 2018 when she became an accredited group coach through the University of Edinburgh Business School’s peer-to-peer group coaching programme. Since then, she has pursued further accreditation in strengths and developmental coaching and is currently supporting MSc students completing the Edinburgh Award in Global Employability.

As a member of the Association for Coaching, Sophie has supported the personal and professional development of over 90 coachees, helping them to identify their strengths, build confidence, and unlock their potential.

Currently, Sophie works as a Public Sector Operations Transformation Consultant at Deloitte and is working to further expand the coaching culture within the firm to create additional development opportunities for junior talent.

Teea is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing. She has been working at the Business School since 2019. After finishing her doctoral degree at the University of Oulu, Finland, she relocated to the UK in 2014, first at Lancaster University and then Edinburgh. She has experience of teaching both at UG, PGT and PGR levels.

Teea’s research interests lie at the intersection between marketing and organisation studies, and one of her most recent research projects focuses on how market actors can imagine and perform future sustainable markets.

Teea became interested in coaching by first being coached herself. She completed her coaching qualification in 2021. Since then, Teea has applied coaching in her academic roles, and she has also been one of the Edinburgh Award coaches.

Rachel is a Business Engagement Manager in the Student Development Team. She works closely with external companies and organisations to offer opportunities that enhance student employability and really values being able to make a difference through her role.

A new member of the UEBS coaching team for 24/25, Rachel undertook her coaching training with Coaching Direct (now ThinkEQ) in 2020 and has previously coached on the School of Social and Political Science Edinburgh Award.

An alum of the University of Edinburgh with an undergraduate degree in Archaeology, Rachel also has a PhD in Archaeology from the University of York.

As a Student Development Manager at the Business School and certified coach, Andra works closely with our MSc students to help them develop skills for academic and career success. As a qualified Cappfinity strengths practitioner, she specialises in helping individuals uncover and leverage their unique strengths.

Andra also plays a key role in developing our mentoring programme for 3rd and 4th-year undergraduates, ensuring it aligns with our coaching culture and equips students with the confidence to excel in the graduate job market.

She is passionate about guiding students toward their full potential by providing a supportive space where they can set rewarding goals, experience meaningful growth, overcome challenges, and thrive by prioritising their well-being.

Silke is an international certified professional personal leadership coach (CPCC/NLP) at Develop and Grow, author, facilitator and consultant with over 25 years of experience helping people across the world to reach their goals and ambitions.

She holds an MBA from the high ranked WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management/Germany and a recent MSc Digital Education from the University of Edinburgh.

During her 15 years of working in International Marketing/Brand Management at Procter & Gamble in Germany, UK and Switzerland, she led international teams and projects.

One of the things she enjoys most is deeply engaging with people and helping them to learn and grow to find their inner compass and transform into their true self. She loves coaching people to succeed, whatever their definition of success is and believes in providing personalised caring support.

As a proud University of Edinburgh alum, with over a decade working with University students and with a professional background in sports, sales and marketing in both the UK and Spain, I am an accredited coach with 6+ years coaching experience.

My coaching style is to adapt to the person I am working with to ensure they get the most out of our sessions. I'll support, listen and challenge. I aim to create a safe space for my coachees to reflect and share their professional experiences, challenges and ambitions and co-create tailored pathways to help my coachees get closer to making these ambitions a reality.

Personally I'm a sports and fitness fanatic and you'll often find me running or cycling near the office!

Helen joined the Business School in 2019 where she heads up the Student Experience Team.

Helen started her career in the voluntary sector in a Business Development role and quickly moved into learning and development in the voluntary sector, and then the NHS. It was in the NHS that Helen was first introduced to a coaching culture and quickly bought into the power of coaching for personal growth and also for transformational change.

She qualified as a coach in in 2020 and has enjoyed coaching students and colleagues ever since. Helen holds a MSc in Adapted Physical activity from Leuven, Belgium (1995) and a MSC Management of Training and Development from the University of Edinburgh (2004). She continues to love learning and has been attempting to study Spanish for many years.

Amanda is Deputy Director of MBA Programmes and has worked at the Business School since 2013 leading on professional development and executive coaching for students across the MBA portfolio.

She is an accredited Member of the Association for Coaching UK (AC) with over 20 years’ experience in retail management, executive search consultancy and talent management working both in the UK and Europe. Amanda is also EQi 2.0, Strengths (Cappfinity), OPQ and Korn Ferry (Assessment for Leadership Potential) accredited.

Amanda has worked with a number of corporate clients on behalf of the Business School, including executive coaching on custom and open programmes. She is passionate about working in partnership with her coachees to help them build confidence and realise their full potential.

Lucie is Head of Student Development in the Business School and has over 12 years of experience leading student development initiatives in higher education. She has worked in universities in both the UK and USA, specialising in skills development, employability, marketing, recruitment and partnership building.

Over the past six years, Lucie has been dedicated to coaching students, focusing on enhancing their skills and supporting them to reach their full potential. Her expertise lies in creating tailored development programs that equip students with the tools they need to succeed academically and professionally. Passionate about empowering students, Lucie is committed to helping them navigate their career paths, build confidence and achieve their goals in an increasingly competitive job market.

Alice Thompson is a distinguished Business and Purpose Coach, uniquely positioned with tangible real-world experience of entrepreneurial success. Her transformative journey includes co-founding Social Bite, a nationally recognised social enterprise which, under her leadership, reformed housing policy with the Scottish Government, receiving three Honorary Doctorate Degrees and an ITV Pride of Britain Award.

Following her own burnout and healing journey, Alice now empowers high-achieving professionals to find deeper purpose and fulfilment without sacrificing well-being. Her science-based coaching approach combines neurobiology, cognitive behavioural techniques, breathwork and the Enneagram.

Alice holds the prestigious Livingston Medal and multiple certifications in coaching and psychology. With a unique blend of business acumen and personal transformation experience, Alice guides individuals and teams towards authentic, purpose-driven success, fostering both professional excellence and personal well-being.

Stella is a Business School alumna with a background in consulting and over seven years of experience in supporting students with their professional and career development.

She has been a qualified coach for more than five years, with a supportive and friendly style tailored to the unique needs of each individual.

Stella leads on internationalisation and entrepreneurial activities within student development and leverages this expertise in her coaching. She takes the time to listen and understand her coachees, helping them discover their goals, unlock their potential, and set actionable plans to achieve their ambitions. She is passionate about supporting her coachees on their journey to success.

With over 15 years of coaching experience, Jackie has worked with managing directors, business owners and students, helping them achieve their goals and unlock their potential.

Her coaching career began at Bangor University, where she facilitated action learning sets for senior professionals.

More recently, she’s coached MSc students at the University of Edinburgh, guiding them through academic and career challenges. Jackie holds an MBA and a BA (Hons) in Marketing, alongside advanced coaching training, including ILM Level 7 courses. Her coaching approach is tailored to individual needs, focusing on building confidence and overcoming barriers. Jackie looks forward to working with our students, to help them succeed and achieve their full potential.