Career Transition Testimonials

Mike’s coaching skills represent a unique combination of being relentlessly encouraging and upbeat and being courageous and experienced enough to be brutally honest by telling me what I need to hear even if it’s not what I wish to hear! This combination results in clarity of thought about what my marketable skills are in NED world and a realistic view of where those skills might be put to use. Without this clarity all the networking in the world would be meaningless— as I discovered before working with Mike. I also admire his CV writing style— simple, concise and devoid of professional puffery and hyperbole which makes me—and I think most—feel uncomfortable and is in any event counterproductive. The detailed information on recruiters focused on NED work was a huge time saver too. By emailing the right people my newly focused CV I secured some great networking meetings very quickly.

Mike and I met through the Financial Times Non-Executive Director Diploma, during which Mike delivered a presentation about “Securing your First NED Role” and addressed the participants’ questions. Mike’s insights were extremely valuable for my search process; he emphasized the need to prepare for the search, to assess my suitability for a NED role and to understand the situation to which I would be best suited. A few weeks later, I asked him to help me revise my executive resume into a one tailored to non-executive positions. We also worked on my Memorable Repeatable Message (i.e. my selling line). I have been delighted by the outcome of my collaboration with Mike, and by the quality of his input. Mike is also a great guy to work with: available, responsive and anxious to provide clear and precise answers. More importantly, with Mike’s help I have expanded my portfolio of NED positions; I was recently elected Chair of the Board of one of the world’s largest NGOs in the area of sustainability, I joined the Board of a scientific start up and I am currently involved in the selection process for a NED to one of Europe’s largest retailers.