High Impact Europe Limited
Founder and the Managing Director of High Impact Europe Limited, executive coach, consultant and moderator with extensive experience as a leadership and impact development coach to Senior Leaders.
High Impact Europe is dedicated to developing the qualities of leaders and impactful leadership communication. This vocation is fulfilled in a variety of ways:
As a coach I have worked all over the globe (for 17 years), accompanying Senior men and women to explore and realise their full potential as leaders; to develop their impact as they prepare to face critical moments of communication; to explore and reinforce those qualities that others seek to follow.
Feet on the ground, head in the clouds
Prior to creating High Impact in 2005, I enjoyed life in the Corporate world (Mars, Unilever, Kraft), in France and the UK. After 13 years I left that world and went on a journey into the performing arts – a journey which was to change my life. After studying at GSA (the Conservatoire) I became a professional actor for 6 years. It was an amazing time and a quest for personal creativity and purpose.
Transformations and the quest for openness with High Impact
The journey to become an actor was huge, edifying and brutal. I particularly remember the words of my mentor, “Grant, you must strive to keep the insights of your life and to lose the baggage in order to find the truth in yourself”. It was as an invitation to open myself up to explore what else I could also be. This has become the essence of the work we do at High Impact. Opening people so that they may explore themselves freely as leaders and as impactful human beings.
The experiences we began building found inspiration, therefore, in the world of the performing arts and the actor’s journey. It became quickly apparent that these experiences were high impact and transformational. Participants would explore themselves more deeply, discover themselves more powerfully, connect more with themselves as communicators, often take big decisions to change things or to explore new paths and much more. The energy I get from this is my driving force.
Among the main qualities we seek to explore through our work, openness is one that I personally attach great importance to. It is where connections are made and it is where we embrace change, difference, opinions, feedback, criticism, challenge, exploration, appreciation, love and much more. It requires constant effort and has become my purpose in life.
The extra mile – our greatest responsibility
As coaches, we must be prepared to do the same that we ask of our coachees, to ask the tough questions of ourselves, to dare to go beyond and to give freely and generously of ourselves in service of the work and of others. This is our greatest responsibility.
I married to a wonderful French lady and living in Lyon. My passport says “British”, my heart says “français”. My children inspire me. My colleagues tell me I have a childlike playfulness and a joie de vivre. Our clients tell me I am full on and engaged. My body tells me I have still yet many things to explore… so let’s get on with it.
I am an original founder of High Impact Europe, having worked closely with Grant to develop our offering and brand back in 2007. Unexpectedly, I started my career in Market Research doing data analytics and quickly decided that wasn’t really for me. I attended a training course and was inspired enough by the trainer to say to her afterwards, “I want to do what you do.” I’ve never looked back. So began my journey through IT and technical training, to HR & soft skills training and into the world of leadership communication and impact development.
I have worked on all five continents and with people from over 50 different countries which I know helps me in my quest to improve my openness to people from different backgrounds and perspectives.
At my core, I like helping people in all aspects of leadership and communication impact, through coaching and training. For example, I felt proud when I helped Jean-Christophe transform his conference presentation so that he truly demonstrated his desire to connect to his people and acknowledge their cares and concerns. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment when a participant emailed me, unprompted, two years after a programme to express his deep gratitude at the huge impact our philosophy had on his life. I feel privileged each year when I visit an orphanage and apply High Impact experiences to support groups of children and adults from the UK and Romania. My proudest moment happened when, 6 years after purchasing an oboe for a 12 year-old girl from a favela in Sao Paulo, she was accepted on full scholarship into London’s top music academy. For me, it really doesn’t get better than that.
I have a business degree and my post-graduate studies have led to me becoming a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. I am on the Board (previously Chair) of the Association for Business Psychology which keeps me connected to the evidence-based side of people development. I also hold testing qualifications and a Diploma in Performance Coaching. This means I am able to use tools such as OPQ, Wave, Hogan, JTI, Lumina Spark and 16PF in my work. I’m also quite inspiration driven, which recently lead me to complete a Blockchain Strategy Programme with Oxford University.
I am dedicated to curiosity and openness. I am a huge fan of non-fiction books such as ‘Sapiens’, ‘Why we Sleep’ and ‘The Future of Humanity’ because these books shape my life deeply in my quest to achieve balance. When I’m not deeply engrossed in a book, you can find me on a mountain bike in the wilderness or on a yoga mat doing the 5 Tibetans, a simple series of exercises to start the day.
My mischievous nature sometimes gets me into trouble. I guess you’ll have to work with me if you’d like to know more about that…
« The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dream »
I love this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt as it pushes me to dream big.
Dreaming of journeys, discoveries, energizing experiences, moments of sharing.
As the daughter of expatriates, I was lucky to leave for adventure at a very young age, and I got used to expanding my comfort zone. The stress before the big leap became the sign of an exciting new chapter
After a double Master’s degree in Management (EDHEC) / Finance (EADA), I worked for over 15 years in operational marketing / sales management in an International Retail environment. I enjoyed working in multicultural teams, leading audacious projects and ensuring my teams’s personal growth. My career path is marked by 6 different new positions, including a return from abroad, a period of job hunting and 2 returns from maternity leave.
I work with passion and commitment. I learn to adapt to constraints, to question myself. I have moments of happiness and moments of doubt. I identify my strengths, my tendencies under stress and how best to work with my thoughts/emotions. I adapt to the teams around me and am curious to understand their perspectives. I train in coaching* to enhance my managerial skills. I seek to gain in impact to have real added value.
Today, with this same desire for impact, I train and coach with heart, humor and spontaneity. Fascinated by neuroscience, I enthusiastically share my understanding of the brain to give even greater meaning to the work we do. I take great pleasure in accompanying our clients towards the transformation they desire.
* Certifications: CPCC (Institut Co-Active), ACC (International Coaching Federation), CNTP (Institut BeAbove)
My Path to Coaching
A graduate of HEC, I began my career in marketing at Danone and later at Sanofi. There, I developed strategies for iconic brands (Danette, Activia, Actimel, Doliprane…), managed P&Ls, led ambitious projects, and supervised cross-functional teams.
Through these experiences, working at the heart of complex and often siloed organizations, I developed strong convictions about the importance of human relationships and governance issues as essential levers of sustainable performance. I came to understand that my place was “alongside” the business: serving leaders and their teams, and contributing to the creation of the conditions for their success.
Driven by a desire to have a deep impact on the transformation of individuals and systems, I transitioned into Human Resources. As part of the HR leadership team at Opella Consumer Healthcare, I supported leaders in structuring their organizations, leading their teams, and refining their personal leadership, within environments undergoing large-scale transformation.
Certified as an Executive Coach since 2021, I now support individuals and teams in (re)connecting with their power to act in the face of complex challenges. My guiding thread is connection: connecting individuals to themselves, to others, and to their ecosystem, in service of their ambitions.
I bring to my clients:
What Recharges Me
Coming from Savoy, the value of work and self-responsibility were in the center of my upbringing. I built myself thanks to music and encounters, in contact with nature and the great outdoors, whose values I gradually integrated: courage, humility, integrity, confidence and awareness to act. The practice of sliding sports and contemporary dance taught me to use Embodiment and Intuition to surf with the elements (rather than to go against them).
Graduated from the university, I have more than 25 years of experience in the Financial sector, with a career DNA organised around organization and transformation in various fields (Operations, Business Development and Customer Service , Products and Solutions).
Before becoming a consultant – coach – facilitator, I had main responsibilities in leading Business Unit (onboarding department composed of more than 550 people in 25 countries, head of Corporate Key Accounts, etc.) and strategic projects of transformation (improvement of the Customer culture, optimization of processes, scale up of activity, etc.). These “field” experiences were enriched by the Coach & Team training of the Transformance Pro school in Paris.
At ease in complex and multi-cultural environments, I have the ability to interact with all the different levels of the organization (Comex/Codir and Middle Management) and to connect short-term operational issues and the long-term strategic vision to move the lines. I like to grow up individuals and teams by relying on the levers of training and facilitation.
Inspired by the Rogerian alliance, I believe in the ability of individuals and teams to make organizations more lively, human and responsible for their ecosystem while creating a more sustainable, inclusive and growing future.
My singularity: a passion for People and Business pragmatism.
It is in this context that I position myself as a “sparring partner” for leaders and their teams. I help them to design and embody transformations and to deploy the change.
I live in Paris and I appreciate the diversity of backgrounds and thoughts, the positive attitude and the freedom.
My mantra: “Movement is life” – Leonardo da Vinci
I live my life inspired by Gandhi’s words: “Live your life as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” I want to live my life fully, in line with my values, with joy and give my best to my passions and to those around me. I take great pleasure in feeding my curiosity. That said, it is not easy to honour this maxim every day.
I lived 38 years trying in vain to ignore my unpleasant emotions. I was fortunate to have a fast-track career. After graduating from the French business school ESSEC, I led and grew a startup to 100 people in 8 offices around the world. I then became Vice-President in a multinational market research company, in charge of a product line employing more than 700 people. After a few years though, I realised that I no longer enjoyed what I was doing.
I have always been passionate about humans. First to understand myself, my strengths, my values, my sources of joy and my limiting beliefs. As a manager, I loved most bringing the team members together, having them feel like they contributed to something greater than themselves, seeing them grow and succeeding as a team. It was quite natural for me to become a coach and facilitator.
It was during a silent Vipassana meditation retreat that I rediscovered my emotions, their power and their connection with my body. My coaching school, Co-Active Training Institute, taught me how to convert the power of these emotions. By using body and space, I help my clients to use their intuition, find answers and grow.
Seeing my clients discover their power and use it gives me joy. I love to see them take risks, adopt an attitude of curiosity. I also like to help them achieve goals aligned with their deep motivations.
I come from Paris and London is my home. I appreciate the diversity of backgrounds and thoughts, the positive attitude and freedom. I have lived in Singapore and Germany and worked with clients on 5 continents.
Outside of coaching you will most likely find me with my wife and 3 children or running in nature. I also love a good meal filled with laughter and passion, surrounded by loving, caring or inspiring people.
I did the exercise of asking my friends and family what they would say about me to put in a bio. I came up with 3 strong words.
Confidence, optimism, memory … and an ability to live several lives !
Everything fits together, and what forged me professionally comes first and foremost from my personal universe. As a former martial arts practitioner, I was double world champion in my discipline in 2007 and 2008 in Japan. This taught me how to set ambitious goals, deal with the fear and stress of big events and find winning strategies, which I then adapted to real life to help people develop their confidence, blossom and dare. (If you’re still wondering what discipline I’m talking about, it’s chanbara, a modern martial art of Japanese sword fencing). It was during this period that Hokusai’s Great Wave of Kanagawa took on a real dimension in my life, and represents a symbol that carries me through my daily life and gives me inexhaustible energy. For a native of the Atlantic coast, it’s perfect!
“If you make progress ONE day, make progress EVERY day.“
My optimism and enthusiasm for life as well as my curiosity are what enable me to provide you with a pleasant, useful and, I hope, unforgettable experience. To avoid being the dusty lesson-giver in his fishbowl, I constantly apply this mantra to myself.
Working with memory is a field I’m passionate about, bringing together neuroscience, common sense, fun ; it grants social skills I consider the most powerful. Has it ever happened to you in a meeting that you didn’t dare interact with someone because you had forgotten what their name was? A few simple, yet little-known techniques can help us build confidence and legitimacy in our interactions.
Professionally, I’m a certified trainer and coach. My career has mainly taken place in the world of finance and consulting, where I have held operational positions as manager and director of commercial structures. I’ve always been strongly convinced that the greatest wealth of any company lies in the men and women who make it up. That’s why I’ve chosen to devote my time and energy to people. I practice open, courageous, responsible and respectful communication based on NLP, Non-Violent Communication, Color DISC (of which I’m certified) and a large dose of authenticity to put myself at the service of the groups I accompany and facilitate individual and collective movement.
“I like to talk to people like no one has ever talked to them before” is probably the phrase that inspired Grant, founder of High Impact, to meet me and bring me on board.
From Hubspot to Molière
After a commercial training, I joined the corporate world as a Business Developer, in London. After five years, I began my journey into the world of the stage, to become an actor. I had the pleasure of training in this profession in Paris, which also allowed me to embark on the path of other exciting professions related to it – such as writing and directing.
Theatre as a new gateway to the Corporate World
When I embarked on a career in theatre, it did not immediately seem compatible to me to pursue a career as an actor and a career in the corporate world. Nevertheless, after a few months, I entered the corporate world again – to my great surprise – through another exciting door: training.
Indeed, taking a step back from the professional world allowed me to make rich connections between what I was experiencing in my learning of the stage, on the one hand; and my past experiences in business, on the other hand. The more I practiced theatrical improvisation, with all the constraints of teamwork that it imposes, the more I made the link with my professional experiences and the dysfunctions I observed there.
The work of the actor (and that of the improviser) is at the crossroads of a multitude of almost antagonistic skills, which have their place in business: the ability to listen while being heard, self-discovery while keeping the awareness of the group, self-confidence that is not opposed to humility. These exciting balances are an ongoing quest, and I believe they are crucial to healthy relationships between members of a high-performing team.
Pride in feeling useful
One of the proudest feelings I have is leading a breakthrough workshop that helps participants feel confident, feel better and feel better. This is why it is particularly important to me to invest myself in providing high-quality training.
It is also good to question what we believe to be obvious
For nearly seven years, I had the chance to live and/or work in a large number of countries, from Madagascar to Mexico, Belgium and Saudi Arabia. The cultural differences I observed there, including in business, seemed fascinating to me and were strong sources of questioning on what I thought were obvious. Accepting the difference in practices and cultures is, I believe, an important driver for understanding the challenges of my partners.
Coming soon…