Lis Merrick
Lis is a social science graduate, with an MBA and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Chartered Management Institute. She has a Diploma in Coaching and Mentoring with the Oxford School of Coaching and Mentoring and an MSc in Coaching and Mentoring, which she studied at Sheffield Business School.
Lis has considerable experience in the field of Human Resources, having worked at a senior level for both the Thomas Cook Group and Merrill Lynch, European Investment Banking.
Lis is a Visiting Fellow within the Coaching and Mentoring Research Unit at Sheffield Business School. She is also on the Board and an accredited assessor for the International Standards for Mentoring Programmes in Employment (ISMPE).
Lis launched Coach Mentoring Ltd in 2004 to specialise in Coaching and Mentoring. Her recent assignments include working with both public and private sector clients including the NHS, Local Authorities, NWDA, EMDA, DEFRA, the Institution of Civil Engineers, Bovis Lend Lease, the Simons Group, Fulcrum Connections, Kellogg’s, the Co-operative Financial Services, Whessoe Oil and Gas Ltd., Costain, Schlumberger, Alfred McAlpine, SITA, Allianz, Mayer Brown, Cheshire Constabulary, Acergy, Stora Enso, Danish Association of Lawyers and Economists, Abercrombie & Kent, the WWF, Statoil, Robert McBride Ltd. EBRD, JP Politikens Hus and Cumbria Probation Trust.
Lis’s expertise is in the design and running of coaching and mentoring programmes and she specialises in the development of global talent management mentoring programmes and mentoring programmes to support women through the glass ceiling. She also works internationally as an Executive Coach and Mentor with a number of senior executives in both the private and public sectors.
Bob Garvey
Professor Bob Garvey has substantial experience in the fields of mentoring and coaching, human resources development, knowledge productivity and management. He has an impressive record of research and consultancy in a range of different organisations. These include ExxonMobil, Swan Chemicals, Lloyds Banking Group, Wood Mackenzie Research and Consulting, Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts, El Lilly and The UK National Health Service. Bob has considerable international teaching experience, for example; The British Council in Uganda, Sweden, The US, Canada and The Cayman Islands Civil Service. He is also experienced at teaching in a range of universities, for example The University of Durham Business School, The Haagse Hogeschool, Netherlands, The University of Leiden, Netherlands, Manchester Business School, Uppsala and Stockholm Universities, Sweden and The University of York's Department of Management. His teaching is regularly rated as 'excellent'.
Professor Garvey holds a PhD from the University of Durham. He has an impressive list of publications in a range of journals and has co-authored four best selling books. Bob is Faculty Professor and chair in Business Education at York St John Business School, an EMCC member and has an international reputation for his ground break work in coaching and mentoring.
Linda Grant
Linda has over 20 years experience in the fields of people management and people/leadership development, predominantly working in the financial services sector. Focusing on making a difference to organisational performance through people, Linda has worked with senior leaders and board members to design, implement and manage a range of interventions to deliver transition programmes including culture change, brand development, mentoring and coaching, talent management, performance management and leadership development.
Linda’s expertise brings together an understanding of organisational development and individual behaviour as well as business focus and a practical approach. She is an accomplished coach/mentor and facilitator working with a wide range of individuals and teams including Board members, senior executives, high potential individuals, newly promoted leaders/managers and individuals at a career cross roads. Linda has also supported the implementation of a Business Mentoring programme for SMEs provided through the North West Development Agency.
People development is Linda’s passion, she has a strong desire to help individuals and teams optimise their performance and achieve their potential. She has an NVQ L4 in Human Resource Development and an MSc in Organisational Change and Consultancy, majoring in Mentoring and Coaching.
Karen Mason
Karen combines extensive commercial and management experience with outstanding credentials as a facilitator and coach. She is committed to working with business leaders, their teams and individuals to create sustainable organisations, where people really matter.
Since 2007 Karen has been involved in coaching and mentoring projects within the defence and oil and gas industries, public and third sector organisations.
Prior to becoming an independent coach and mentor, Karen was a senior manager with BAE Systems. She has 20 years business experience in a variety of operational and leadership roles. Known for her adaptability, excellent organisational and communication skills, she has a strong reputation for bringing enthusiasm and energy whilst being professional and reliable and for developing practical solutions with her clients.
Karen holds an MBA from Henley Management College and is about to complete a Certificate in Organisational Change and Consultancy, majoring in Mentoring and Coaching, which she studied at Sheffield Hallam University. She is an associate member of the CIPD and an active member of the EMCC.
Roland Spencer
Roland Spencer is a coach and facilitator with considerable experience in business development and marketing where he uses his coaching skills in order to establish and build relationships. During his career he has held a number of European and UK roles mainly within the software industry. His coaching experience and style of engagement gives clients the ability, room and permission to sit back and think.
When not coaching, Roland works for the Sheffield Business School as an Associate Lecturer and Business Development Manager.
Roland is currently studying for an MSc in Coaching and Mentoring at Sheffield Business School.
Paul Stokes
Paul is
a Principal Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management
at Sheffield Hallam University, where he is currently Deputy Director of the Coaching & Mentoring Research Unit, part of the Centre for Individual & Organisation Development at Sheffield Business School. He also leads the Organisational Behaviour & Human Resource Management subject group, managing a group of approximately 30 academic staff.
Paul is an experienced coach, mentor and coach mentoring supervisor and a deeply experienced action learning set facilitator. Paul has also designed, developed and evaluated a range of coaching & mentoring schemes across a range of organisations and sectors including the National Health Service, the manufacturing sector and large public sector agencies. He is an active member of the EMCC and has run experiential learning events and research workshops regularly for the last twelve years at various international conferences. He is the co-author of two best selling books on mentoring & coaching - Mentoring in Action (Kogan Page) and Coaching & Mentoring Theory & Practice (Sage) and numerous book chapters and journal articles on coaching & mentoring. He contributes to a regular column in the Coaching At Work magazine (Research Matters). His current research interests include the concept of the skilled coachee which he is currently researching for his PhD. As a recognised expert in the area, he current acts as an External Examiner for coaching programmes at Middlesex University and The University of Hertfordshire.
Vera Woodhead
Vera draws upon her 15 years of experience in the field of facilitating leadership development and change management to her work as a coach, team coach, facilitator and lecturer. Utilising a systemic and eclectic approach she works with organisations, teams and individuals at senior management level and above to improve the quality of leadership, business performance, engagement and to support change and develop the talent and capabilities of their staff.
Vera is an associate lecturer in Leadership at the Open University Business School, an executive coach on the NHS Yorkshire and Humber coaching register and a consultant with Learning and Skills Improvement Service. Her clients come from a range of sectors such as the NHS, Crown Prosecution Service, Leeds and Bradford Chambers, voluntary organisations and medium sized businesses such as Datong and MagHansen. Before becoming an independent coach in 2007, Vera held senior management and leadership roles in the NHS, higher education and more recently, as a director of a private commercial company.
Vera is passionate about women being visible role models for the younger generation and a strong supporter of community engagement. She is business mentor with Be Involved and Business in the Community, a young people’s mentor with the Diocese of Bradford, steering group member of NEWS, a women’s network to support women in business and a Governor at Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust.
Vera’s extensive experience is underpinned by sound academic knowledge and she holds an MA in Coaching and Mentoring Practice and Master degree qualifications in Managing Performance and Change and Business Management.