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 Organisational Change and Consultancy, majoring in Mentoring and Coaching, which she studied at Sheffield Hallam University.
Lis has considerable experience in the field of Human Resources, having worked at a senior level in Human Resources, for both Thomas Cook and Merrill Lynch, European Investment Banking in the City.
Between March 2002 and April 2004, Lis held the post of National Mentoring Co-ordinator for the JIVE Project, a National Development Partnership, which aims to break down gender segregation in the engineering, construction and technology sectors.
Lis is a Senior Associate of Clutterbuck Associates and is an accredited assessor for the International Standards for Mentoring Programmes in Employment (ISMPE). She is also an active consultant of the Coaching and Mentoring Research Unit at Sheffield Hallam University and is about to become a Visiting Fellow.
In June 2004, she launched her own company, Coach Mentoring Ltd, a consultancy specialising in Mentoring, Coaching, Human Resources and Organisational Change. Her recent assignments include working with both public and private sector clients including the NHS, Local Authorities, 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, Abercrombie & Kent and the WWF.
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 on an individual basis, as well as working with organisations with certain groups of people e.g. Abercrombie & Kent with the coaching of their talent pool and WWF in coaching leaders of their key network initiatives globally,
Lis was the Chair of the Committee, which organised the first UK EMCC (European Mentoring and Coaching Council) Conference at Ashridge Business School in April 2007. She also undertakes regular conference speaking and facilitation engagements e.g. with David Clutterbuck at the CIPD Coaching Conference in London in October 2007, speaking at the EMCC Conference in Prague on Talent Management Mentoring in December 2008 and running a creative workshop for coaches with Vivien Whittaker at the UK EMCC Conference in April 2009.
Research in mentoring and coaching is of great importance to Lis, in order to continue to build on her knowledge and practice. She has published academic papers on both Mentor Supervision and Mentoring Women through the Glass Ceiling in conjunction with Paul Stokes of Sheffield Hallam University. The research on Mentor Supervision is ongoing in conjunction with the Danish Association of Economists and Lawyers. In addition, she has developed a heuristic for Talent Management Mentoring, which was presented for the first time in Prague at the EMCC Conference in Prague in December 2008 and this research is being continued with Professor Bob Garvey and Paul Stokes at Sheffield Hallam University. She is also a regular contributor on mentoring to “Coaching at Work”, the CIPD coaching and mentoring journal.
Paul Stokes
Paul is
a Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management
at Sheffield Hallam University, where he is currently course leader and admissions
tutor for the MSc in Mentoring and Coaching. Additionally, he is an active
member of the Mentoring and Coaching Research unit within the Faculty of Organisation
and Management. He is a member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council
(EMCC)
as well as serving as part of the EMCC Conference Committee. Paul works with
students on industrial placements as well as teaching a wide range of subjects
including mentoring and coaching, organisational behaviour, strategic management,
human resource management and organisational change, at both undergraduate
and postgraduate level.
Paul’s background is in research, having worked on a national research project into organisational learning for the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, following on from completing his MSc in Human Resource Management. Having attained a Post Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching, he is also
completing his PhD, which explores the role of middle managers in knowledge management and organisational learning.
Paul has also been involved in a range of mentoring and coaching research
and consultancy projects with clients including: South Yorkshire Police, Business
Link for London, Connexions Trade Partners UK, Business Link Surrey, Health
Action for Stoke, Yorkshire Forward, South Yorkshire Investment Fund.
Sandi RhysJones,OBE
Sandi has more than thirty-five years experience in marketing, communications and training for professional, technical and business to business organisations. She is experienced in the management and practical implementation of business development and branding programmes, including culture change, talent management and corporate communications. Co-founder of RhysJones Consultants in 1976, she has particular expertise in the construction and engineering sectors, both in the UK and overseas, with clients including contractors, consultants, suppliers, representative organisations, local and national government.
Sandi is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building, a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She achieved merit in all modules of the MSc course in Construction law and Arbitration at Kings College London, and is an accredited mediator, utilising the techniques in day to day management of conflict and change.
Sandi has been involved in a number of good practice initiatives, particularly in relation to recruitment and retention issues, and has developed innovative mentoring and coaching schemes, practical toolkits and guidelines, training programmes and seminars.
Sandi is a Non-Executive Director of the Simons Group Ltd, a private construction and development company with blue-chip clients in the commercial, retail, pharmaceutical and health sectors. The organisation employs 600 people and has a turnover more than £260m. Her key areas of involvement are strategic marketing, business development and talent management. She is a Trustee of the Royal Marines Museum, with particular responsibility for human resources and marketing, and Trustee of the Governing Body of the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology.
Sandi was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1998 for services to the promotion of opportunities for women in the construction industry and awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Sheffield Hallam University in 2005 for services to women in construction and engineering.
Mylene Baxter
A French national with over 12 years experience in working in the UK in the property development and construction sector, Mylene Baxter has extensive experience in European and Global learning and development. Specialising in leadership and management development, Mylene has designed and implemented programmes such as mentoring and coaching in Bovis Lend Lease as part of their leadership and talent development strategies. She has, for example, implemented specific mentoring programmes to support the development and retention of women and graduates in the organisation and has introduced coaching as part of the senior leadership programme.
Mylene's expertise is to understand organisational issues and needs relating to their people and deliver developmental solutions which will enhance their people's development, performance and well being. She headed the European Lend Lease Foundation for 4 years which focuses on the personal development of employees and their families.
She is committed to the development of people, for their own benefits and those of organisations of any size and loves seeing people grow and believe in their own potential.
Mylene is a Licentiate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Valerie Bennison
Valerie is an experienced Human Resources Manager with particular experience in a highly technical engineering, project management and construction background in the oil and gas sector with experience of the full generalist function.
Valerie has particular experience in working with Senior Management Teams to develop a practical and cost-effective human resource strategy to support the organisations aims and objectives and operational needs. With particular experience of Talent Management including people development and resource planning across head office and multiple projects. Developing and supporting managers in performance management using good coaching skills and where necessary grievance and disciplinary procedures.
TUPE transfers and the development, set up and management of new systems and supporting organisational change. Negotiation and set up of Project Industrial Relations plans and agreements for construction sites. Ten years experience of supporting U.K. and international projects from proposals to commissioning and responsibility for recruitment internationally.
Believes it is essential for business development that the Human Resources function fully understands and plays a significant role in the business working alongside as an integral part of the senior management to provide innovative solutions and through development of the workforce the positive working environment needed to allow a business to achieve its full potential.
A Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.