Coaching for Good: Keeping Humanity at the Heart of Change

What if unlocking higher performance, deeper engagement, and stronger leadership wasn’t guesswork - but science?

Amy Brann is a leading authority on applying neuroscience to business performance, helping organisations move beyond theory to measurable impact.

As a trusted advisor to global brands including EY, Twinings, Haleon, and government agencies, Amy translates cutting-edge brain science into practical strategies that transform the way people think, lead, and collaborate. Unlike many speakers who simply share research, Amy works on the frontline of behaviour change - embedding sustainable shifts in mindset and performance.

She is the author of three acclaimed books - Make Your Brain Work, Neuroscience for Coaches, and Engaged - each offering science-backed approaches to people development. Through Synaptic Potential, the organisation she founded, Amy has partnered with the Wales Centre for Behaviour Change, collaborated with the Møller Institute at the University of Cambridge to deliver leadership programmes, and led the neuroscience component of MBAs, and Sports Directorship at MMU and the Diploma in Sports Leadership run by the UN.

Her insights have been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Guardian, BBC, and The Observer, and she has been recognised as one of HR’s Most Influential Thinkers - testament to her impact at the intersection of science and performance.

What sets Amy apart is her ability to make complex science engaging, humorous, and immediately actionable. Audiences don’t just listen - they experience light-bulb moments that shift their approach to work on the spot. Her keynotes go beyond inspiration, equipping leaders with tools to unlock innovation, agility, and productivity - without burnout.

For organisations looking to future-proof their people, elevate leadership, and unlock untapped potential, Amy Brann delivers more than insight - she delivers transformation.

Sam Isaacson is an executive coach, coaching supervisor and internationally-recognised thought leader on the intersection of coaching, leadership and emerging technology. He founded the Digital and AI Coaches' Conference, the Coachtech Collective and AIcoach.chat. He regularly contributes to the profession through roles on advisory boards, a regular LinkedIn newsletter and several books, including How to Thrive as a Coach in a Digital World, Superhuman Coaching and The Digital and AI Coaches' Handbook. With a background in professional services and technology start-ups, he advises organisations and independent coaches on the ethical, systemic and practical implications of AI.

Danielle Macleod is a rare blend of executive prowess and provocative soul leadership models. Formerly the Customer Service Director at Sky, she led 10,000+ people and delivered record-breaking results over a four year period. Her corporate pedigree includes deep experience in strategic transformation, HR, and large-scale change - and after leaving Sky, she became a trusted coach to executives at global brands like HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, Salesforce, and O2 as well as many well-known public sector organisations.

She co-founded Remarkable Women where she jointly developed well over 1,000 women through a combination of online development programmes, 121 coaching and live events and retreats for almost 8 years. She now leads Wise Rebel, a movement for quiet disruptors and smart thinkers who want to make a difference and feel fulfilled doing it. She is the author of 2 books, 'Remarkable Leadership' and 'Remarkably Easy'.

She joins us to discuss a surprising personal exploration into the Future of Work, that started with a simple enquiry around what might happen to her own business with the introduction of AI and quickly became a detailed research project that created many changes in her own work.

Hetty is a leadership coach, author and thought-leader working globally; she has designed and delivered leadership/culture-change programmes for thirty years. She is Director of Publications Strategy at the Association for Coaching and Executive Editor of the influential Coaching Perspectives magazine. She is on the associate faculty of the Irish Management Institute, Henley Centre for Coaching at Henley Business School, and the Eco-Leadership Institute. Hetty maintains a strong focus in her work on women in leadership and environmental leaders, fed by her roots in transpersonal psychology, a holistic and values-based ontology that views the cognitive, emotional, physical, spiritual and contextual as an ecosystemic whole. She integrates into her practice psychoanalytic concepts and somatic bodywork.

Hetty has a degree in languages from Cambridge University, a Master's in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute and a Masters in Organisational Consulting, psychoanalytic and systemic approaches from the Tavistock Centre.

Alice Thompson-Boyd co-founded social enterprise, Social Bite, bringing George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Harry & Meghan to Scotland to support their mission - supporting the homeless community. Social Bite distributed over 150,000 meals annually, and implemented a new housing policy, housing over 700 people.

Alice holds three Honorary Doctorate Degrees for her contribution to social enterprise and an ITV Pride of Britain Award.

But behind the accolades was a quieter, harder story — burnouts that led to a severe breakdown including periods of psychosis — which eventually led her to a brand-new chapter focused on purpose, neurobiology and coaching.

Today, Alice is a certified Purpose Coach & Enneagram Facilitator with over 2000 hours of experience, working with individuals and teams navigating career transitions, organisational change and professional burnout.

Her signature 7-Month Purpose Programme blends the Enneagram of Personality, cognitive behavioural coaching, neuroscience, breathwork, and Internal Family Systems — a framework she wishes she'd had when navigating her own personal and professional crossroads.

She holds a Higher Diploma in Coaching & Mentoring with the Association for Coaching, several professional certifications in the Enneagram and the 3 Human Instincts, certificates in Applied Neurobiology, Brené Brown's Dare To Lead certification, and is currently undertaking advanced psychotherapy training — deepening her already substantial expertise in personality, shadow work, and the psychology of change.

She works with people who are ready to do the real work.

Kirsty McWilliam is the founder of ThinkEQ, a consultancy specialising in emotional intelligence, leadership development and coaching capability.

She works with organisations to build sustainable internal coaching cultures, combining executive coaching with the development of internal coaches and leaders who can embed emotionally intelligent leadership across their organisations. A key part of this work is the use of the EQ-i 2.0, one of the world’s leading validated measures of emotional intelligence, which provides a practical and measurable way to develop leadership capability.

Through ThinkEQ’s programmes, organisations can train and accredit internal coaches and leaders in emotional intelligence and the EQ-i 2.0, allowing them to bring assessment, coaching and development in-house as part of a longer-term coaching strategy.

Kirsty began her career as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and PwC, where she worked in corporate restructuring. It was during this time that she became fascinated by the human side of organisational performance — why some leaders and teams thrive under pressure while others struggle.

She founded ThinkEQ in 2008 and has since spent over 17 years helping organisations develop emotionally intelligent leadership, stronger cultures and more sustainable performance.

Suzanne Lord is Head of Operations at the BBC, leading multi‑disciplinary teams across Salford and Birmingham to deliver high‑quality content, innovation and operational excellence. With more than two decades of experience across journalism, transformation and operations, she began her career as a journalist covering major national and international stories before moving into senior roles where she has led large‑scale organisational change, redesigned operational models, and strengthened culture across complex broadcast environments.

As the AI Lead for her department, Suzanne is at the forefront of shaping how emerging technologies, automation and intelligent tools are embedded into production and technical workflows. Her work involves building digital capability, improving efficiency, and ensuring AI adoption is responsible, inclusive and firmly grounded in the BBC’s public‑service values.

For the past eight years, Suzanne has also been an active leadership coach, supporting colleagues across the organisation through change, resilience, confidence-building and career development. She combines a human‑centred coaching approach with practical experience of leading technological transformation, offering a unique perspective on how AI and coaching can work together to enhance performance, unlock potential and help teams navigate rapid change.

Coretta Hine is President of EMCC UK and a senior leader with over 30 years’ experience in public service.

As President, she provides strategic leadership to the Board, guiding governance, professional standards and the continued development of coaching, mentoring and supervision across the UK. She is committed to ensuring the profession remains ethical, inclusive, rigorous and grounded in continuous personal and professional development in an increasingly complex world.

Alongside her presidency, Coretta works as a coach and mentor, supporting leaders, professionals and organisations to strengthen their ability, expand their belief and realise their full potential, particularly in high-pressure and scrutinised environments. Drawing on deep experience of complex systems, her work explores how emotional regulation, belief stability and values-led decision-making shape performance when it matters most.

Alasdair Ireland works at the intersection of coaching, data and digital platforms, supporting organisations to better understand and improve the impact of their coaching and mentoring programmes. He runs the Hoolr Coaching Platform, which is used by organisations to coordinate coaching activity, capture structured feedback and generate insights into leadership development and behavioural change over time.

His work focuses on helping organisations move beyond anecdotal evidence toward a clearer understanding of how coaching contributes to performance, culture and talent development. Drawing on aggregated engagement data from coaching programmes across sectors including infrastructure, creative industries and sport, he explores patterns in goal setting, confidence and outcomes throughout the coaching journey.

Alasdair has a particular interest in how AI-supported insight and digital infrastructure can help scale coaching while keeping humanity at the heart of change. He regularly shares programme-level insights from the Hoolr platform to support more informed decision-making around investment in leadership and internal coaching capability.

Jack Dutney is a specialist in organisational behaviour and culture change, with a focus on how communities, networks and social movements can accelerate transformation. A former British Army officer turned Management Consultant, he helps organisations align culture and behaviours to unlock the best in their people.

Jack has led research on leader behaviour to improve retention in combat units, supported the Army’s major cultural transformation, and built large scale culture networks across public and private sector organisations. His work, The Committed 25%, published by Deloitte in 2025, explores how grassroots initiatives can drive behavioural change and provides a blueprint for embedding culture networks as a strategic organisational asset.

Anna joined SCVO as Chief Executive in April 2018. SCVO is the national membership body for the voluntary sector in Scotland, providing services such as HR, payroll and IT as well as lobbying and policy work, publishing Third Force News and hosting The Gathering and Scottish Charity Awards. Before that, she was Chief Executive of the Scottish Social Services Council for nearly 9 years. The SSSC is the professional regulator for social workers and people working in adult and children's social care.

Her career started with 18 years working in HR in local government, after which Anna joined COSLA as part of the employers' function working on, for example, national pay negotiations.

She then became lead for all policy relating to children and young people which led to her being seconded into Scottish Government to lead on corporate parenting for children and young people in the care system before moving to the SSSC in 2009.

Anna was on the board of Who Cares? Scotland for 8 years and then joined the Oversight Board for The Promise for 4 years. She is on the board of Dads Rock, and of Prosper (formerly SCDI), is a member of the Police Scotland ethics panel.

She has a degree in History of Art from Edinburgh University, a postgraduate qualification in HR and is a Chartered Member of the CIPD.

Dr Robin Henderson is Founder and Managing Director of MY Consultants Ltd, a consultancy supporting leadership, organisational development and culture predominately within the higher education sector. MY Consultants work focuses on helping individuals and teams navigate complex organisational challenges through reflective and collaborative approaches to leadership development.

Robin works extensively across the UK higher education sector, designing and facilitating development programmes for academics, professional services leaders and research staff. A particular focus of his work is the use of small-group coaching, peer learning and action learning approaches to support leaders in reflecting on real organisational challenges and developing practical responses.

Alongside institutional work, Robin collaborates with sector bodies and professional networks, including the Association of Heads of University Administration (AHUA), supporting cross-sector leadership development and research exploring the experiences and progression of professional services staff across the sector.

Before founding MY Consultants, Robin worked as an academic at the University of Aberdeen and has previously supported organisations across the private and public sector, in the provision of leadership development. This cross-sector background informs his practical approach to leadership, collaboration, and organisational learning.