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CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - CANADA - - 4 -
CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - 5 - - INDEX - CEO T O D A Y EXECUTIVE COACHING AWARDS 2023 As the editor, I am delighted to introduce the prestigious CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards, a celebration of excellence in leadership development and executive coaching. This year, we are proud to honor a group of remarkable individuals whose contributions have significantly impacted the world of executive coaching, fostering leadership growth and organizational success. Leading the list of awardees is Navid Nazemian (Front Cover) of Navid Nazemian Executive Coaching FZCO. Known for his innovative approach and deep understanding of global leadership dynamics, Navid has been instrumental in shaping the careers of top executives, helping them navigate the complexities of today’s business world with agility and foresight. We are also thrilled to recognize Dr. Shekinah Magee from Clear And Present Executive Coaching, LLC. Dr. Magee’s unique blend of psychological insights and business acumen has transformed executive coaching, offering clients a profound depth of understanding and practical strategies to excel in their roles. Angie O’Donnell of the 3D Leadership Group is another esteemed honoree. Angie’s expertise in developing tailored coaching methodologies has been pivotal in guiding leaders to achieve their full potential, making a lasting impact on their personal and professional growth. Warner Brown of Impactful Teams has been selected for his exceptional work in team dynamics and leadership development. His approach to coaching emphasizes creating cohesive, high-performing teams, essential in today’s collaborative business environment. We also honor Beaulah M. Chizimba of Limitless Nurses for her dedicated efforts in empowering leaders in the healthcare sector. Her focus on nurturing resilience, leadership, and excellence in nursing professionals has been transformative, contributing significantly to the healthcare industry. The CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards publication is full of many other esteemed and experienced leadership coaches and this publication is not just an acknowledgment of individual brilliance but a celebration of the role these coaches play in shaping the leaders of tomorrow. We are delighted to feature many executive coaches inside this special edition and the unique perspective they each bring.
Navid Nazemian is a seasoned professional whose journey began in the dynamic world of sales, where he honed his skills for six years. Navid’s career trajectory took a deliberate shift toward human resources, a passion that has guided his professional track for the past two decades. Over a quarter of a century, Navid has had the privilege of contributing his expertise to some of the world’s most admired companies, both on a national and global scale and navigating the landscapes of both emerging and developed markets. CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GLOBAL - - 6 -
As a Coach, you have won many accolades, and you are the only two-time winner of CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards. Can you tell us more about your coaching practice? I have been coaching professionally for over a decade. And it’s been over a year since I decided to dedicate myself fully to the practice of coaching. As a coach, CEO of Navid Nazemian Executive Coaching FZCO AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE 2023 GLOBAL EXECUTIVE COACH OF THE YEAR How have your previous experiences as a senior HR executive informed your coaching? I am indeed in a very privileged position, given that I have worked for over two decades in Human Resources. I have both observed and actively participated in developmental discussions and global talent reviews, so I know from the inside out what it takes to grow and be promoted into C-suite roles. CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GLOBAL - - 7 -
I have a very narrow focus and I work with clients in two expertise areas: Mastering Executive Career Transitions and Maximising Leadership Impact for Individuals and Leadership Teams. Next to being a successful executive coach, you are also an international bestselling author. Can you tell us more about your book? My book, titled Mastering Executive Transitions – The Definitive Guide, is published by New Degree Press in New York and is available as an Ebook, Paperback, Hardcover and most recently, as an Audiobook. The book was an immediate #1 new release on Amazon, followed by its recognition initially as a national bestseller in the US, before becoming an international bestseller. This genuinely surprised me and my publisher. The book is jam-packed with insights as to why 40% of all executive transitions fail and provides a guided framework named The Double Diamond Framework© of Executive Transitions, which is delivered in a practical editable PDF format as a workbook. The workbook enables the executive, their HR partner and/or their executive coach to apply a structured and proven framework to executive transitions. Whilst the book has won accolades in the realm of thought leadership, I have always been a fan of offering a hands-on and practical approach to guide high-stakes executive transitions. As someone who’s spent most of their career in large organisations, my aim is to provide accessible and actionable insights to executive leaders. CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GLOBAL - - 8 -
Our magazine has a deep focus on CEOs. How would a CEO benefit from transition coaching? I’d like to cite an Egon Zehnder study that unveiled a surprising revelation: a staggering 70% of CEOs either find their onboarding process lacklustre or, worse, non-existent. This statistic paints a disconcerting picture, suggesting what would likely satisfy nearly 99% of regular employees in an organisation falls far too short when it comes to the onboarding of top-tier executives. In a separate study, the Aberdeen Group delved into the onboarding procedures of 282 different organisations. The results illuminated a striking disparity between those adept at onboarding and the lagging companies that comprised the bottom 30%. The top 20% of companies that are designated as best-in-class stood out significantly across vital performance benchmarks: • A remarkable 96% retention rate among first-year employees, in stark contrast to the meagre 18% seen in laggard organisations • A notable 82% of employees hired in the past year achieved their initial performance milestones on schedule, a stark contrast to the paltry 3% in laggard companies • A significant 18% year-over-year enhancement in hiring manager satisfaction, in comparison to a 1% decline among their lagging counterparts • A substantial improvement of 12% in customer satisfaction and a commendable 10% increase in customer retention, compared to a mere 2% uptick in each category within laggard organisations. So, clearly, optimising CEO onboarding and transitions not only holds tangible and quantifiable benefits, but it also stands as a crucial component of commercial success for an organisation. What are, in your view, the ripple effects of getting CEO transitions wrong? I’d like to cite another study conducted by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB), which delves into the farreaching impact of high-impact leadership transitions. Drawing from an extensive pool of over 30,000 executive leader transitions and fortified by numerous revealing executive leader interviews. The research illuminates a compelling narrative. What emerges as a striking revelation is that when a transitioning executive leader faces challenges, their direct reports tend to underperform by an average of 15% compared to those under the guidance of a high-achieving leader. This stark performance differential underscores the tangible repercussions associated with unsuccessful transitions. Digging deeper into the dynamics, the study also uncovers a statistically significant 20% contrast in the likelihood of direct reports of highperforming leaders versus those of struggling transitioning leaders being highly engaged or remaining within the organisation. These disparities extend beyond the immediate team, affecting executive peers relying on the transitioning leader and generating additional business opportunities. The ripple effects of executive transitions thus take on amplified significance. The CEB study unveils another compelling statistic: A typical large organisation boasts an average of 70 senior executives. Given an annual replacement rate of approximately 12%, this translates to an annual turnover of eight senior executive transitions. Remarkably, and despite this predictable pattern, many organisations approach CEO transitions with a mindset of mergers and acquisitions. This parallels the well-known pitfall of ineffective post- merger integration in M&A scenarios. In a similar vein, most executive transitions falter due to a lack of effective ‘integration’ of the CEO into a new role. Put differently, what would be the upside of getting CEO transitions right? Leading organisations grasp the profound ripple effects, both positive and negative, and choreograph “The book is jam-packed with insights as to why 40% of all executive transitions fail.” CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GLOBAL - - 9 -
Benefits for the Organisation The most obvious benefit lies in the reduction of high-stakes placements and the subsequent cost entailed by misjudged hires. Executive level mishiring carries a substantial financial burden, estimated at a staggering up to 30 times the executive’s salary. Research by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) further demonstrates that successful CEO transitions forecast a remarkable outcome: 90% of leadership team members led by CEOs who navigated successful transitions go on to achieve their three-year performance objectives. Within these teams, attrition risks decline by 13% compared to counterparts. A prosperous transition signifies the organisation’s skilled utilisation of the CEO’s unique talents and potential, serving as a potent testament of its commitment to executive development. Furthermore, when a new CEO is tasked with reshaping the organisational culture, a structured transition facilitated by an executive transition coach proves instrumental in fostering the adoption of a new, supportive organisational culture and leadership ethos. It also lowers organisational mistrust by sending a signal of proactive and thoughtful leadership. Benefits for the Stakeholders The RBL Group, a prominent human resources consulting firm, unveiled compelling findings in their ‘Leadership Gap’ study, surveying 430 portfolio managers and institutional investors. This research underscored the top three investment criteria: company performance (38.5%), industry favourableness (33.1%), and leadership quality (28.4%). Notably, the study also assessed the confidence levels of the same investors in evaluating these criteria. the risk of derailment by as much as 50% (Wheeler 2009). An orchestrated and supported CEO transition simultaneously mitigates critical transition hurdles and associated perils, resulting in heightened role satisfaction for the CEO. Equally noteworthy is the rapid attainment of baseline productivity levels, a phenomenon welldocumented in numerous studies. These findings underscore an accelerated transition, often up to 50% faster than peers who lack structured transition support. Moreover, it becomes evident that fruitful CEO transitions yield dividends in uncharted territories, such as propelling the CEO towards an enhanced likelihood of an internal or an external promotion following one or more successful transitions. a meticulously structured CEO transition process, often bolstered by external support. This process leverages internal resources and deploys innovative tools and systemic approaches to guide the newly appointed CEO through an impactful transition. Extensive research has diligently probed the advantages of effective onboarding and executive transitions, typically concentrating on the benefits accruing to the transitioning CEO. However, the advantages extend across three distinct stakeholder groups, each warranting detailed exploration. Benefits for the CEO A successful transition has been empirically demonstrated to curtail CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GLOBAL - - 10 -
The lowest confidence intervals surfaced in assessing leadership quality, registering at 3.75 or a standard deviation of 0.96, in contrast to 0.58 for company performance and 0.66 for industry favourableness. This disparity highlights investors’ diminished confidence in appraising leadership quality. Effectively onboarding a CEO and minimising the risk of derailment are integral facets of what constitutes leadership quality. These findings provide a nexus linking financial investment decisions to companies and their executive transition processes. Another apparent benefit stems from the collective impact of a highperforming CEO, their leadership team, and the organisation. This synergy exudes confidence to the management board and investors alike. It underscores how better alignment between organisational strategy and cultural execution can elevate employee engagement and enhance overall business performance. Last but not least, successful CEO transitions serve as a springboard for engaging external stakeholders in a thoughtful manner. When examining the expectations of younger generations from organisations, it becomes evident that a lot of these factors are not merely ‘nice-to-haves’ but genuine ‘must-haves’. What does this award mean to you? To begin, I must express my genuine gratitude. Knowing that I am the only two-times winner of this award means a lot to me. And much like the recent acknowledgements as HR’s Most Influential Practitioner, winning the Outstanding Leadership Award or being named a 100 Most Iconic Coaching Leader, it is both a humbling and gratifying experience to witness one’s efforts being acknowledged. I extend my heartfelt gratitude for the award and anticipate cherishing it in the years ahead. Yet, it is essential to underscore that my truest reward lies in witnessing the flourishing of my coaching clients and their attainment of transformational results, often seen as insurmountable prior to our engagement. How do you measure success when it comes to coaching your clients? My coach training has ingrained a singular belief about the true measure of success. It hinges entirely CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GLOBAL - - 11 -
on the feedback from the client, their line manager and their direct reports. Regardless of our self-perceptions as coaches or the level of competence we attribute to ourselves, these factors hold ultimate significance. What do you expect the remainder of 2023 and the coming year will hold for your executive coaching practice and your continuing professional growth? Last year I moved with my family to Dubai, U.A.E. to dedicate myself fulltime to my coaching practice (Navid Nazemian Executive Coaching FZCO) and to continue to serve clients globally. I am particularly thrilled about a novel offering I’ve crafted called Peer Group Transition Coaching. The inspiration for this innovative approach stems from interactions with numerous 1:1 executive transition clients who have expressed a longing for a safe space to deliberate over their transition quandaries and dilemmas among trusted peers. As you’re aware, being an executive in transition can be remarkably isolating. There are times when, for various reasons, sharing dilemmas with functional peers, supervisors, or team members feels challenging, and the prospect of a year-long, one-on-one executive coaching program might not align with the aspirations or the available budget in an organisation. This is where Peer Group Coaching, a tried-and-true method, presents an extraordinary opportunity for meaningful engagement among peers. Peer Group Transition Coaching serves as a structured, facilitated dialogue within small the organisation, and the broader stakeholder community. A few notable benefits are: 1. Trusted peers contributing external viewpoints that stimulate innovative thinking 2. Leveraging the expertise and shared insights derived from observing fellow executives’ experiences 3. Enriching the collective knowledge of the entire group across the multifaceted landscape of executive transitions 4. Cultivating robust partnerships that foster collaborative action beyond departmental boundaries 5. Skilfully guided by a thought leader specialising in executive transitions, ensuring facilitation of the highest calibre And how does this format work? This is an exclusive and strictly confidential collective comprising diverse individuals who share a common purpose. Each group is meticulously crafted, ranging from a minimum of three to a maximum of six members. As members, individuals gain privileged access to my exclusive executive transition video series. Our emphasis lies in constructing groups that encapsulate a rich tapestry of diversity and seniority, ensuring a profound collective impact. The program spans four Peer Group Transition Coaching sessions, thoughtfully distributed over six months, with each session lasting 1.5 hours. The dates are thoughtfully peer clusters under my guidance as an expert coach. In essence, it seamlessly merges coaching and mentoring with the infusion of thought leadership. Within this peer setting, each executive embarks on a journey of self-reflection, addressing personal dilemmas and hurdles while benefitting from diverse perspectives offered by fellow transitioning peers, all guided by me. That sounds rather intriguing – can you tell us more about this new format? What topics may executives bring to this format? Within the framework of Peer Group Transition Coaching for Executives, the scope of reflection extends to a range of pertinent professional transition topics: 1. Delving into the reasons why executive transitions are simultaneously challenging and exhilarating 2. Navigating the pathway to circumvent the most prevalent missteps encountered during executive transitions 3. Thoughtfully contemplating interactions with pivotal stakeholders, including your line manager, peers, and ExCo/board members 4. Immersing in the exploration and acquisition of tried-and-true strategies for achieving a seamless transition 5. Demystifying the process of strategy execution The advantages emanating from this approach span across executives, CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GLOBAL - - 12 -
pre-arranged to accommodate pivotal company events. Each session revolves around the innovative Double Diamond Framework© of Executive Transitions and features the presentation of a dilemma or transition challenge, thoughtfully shared by one or two of the group members. Additionally, each participant enjoys an individual alignment call before embarking on the very first group session. These sessions are typically conducted face-to-face (virtual options available upon request), culminating with a congenial social lunch or dinner designed to facilitate peer networking. The location of these gatherings is meticulously tailored to the preferences of the client, taking place in their city of choice. One of the program’s most valuable aspects includes four one-on-one mentor coaching sessions per member, thoughtfully scheduled after each group session. These sessions are designed to deeply embed acquired knowledge and skillfully address the distinct and individual challenges that each member may encounter on their journey. How do you maintain confidentiality in such a setting? Within the group, our informationsharing ethos revolves around the bedrock principle of strict confidentiality. Each member will be required to formalise their commitment by signing a NonDisclosure Agreement (NDA). This proactive measure ensures the utmost integrity and safeguarding of the candid peer coaching conversations that take place within our trusted group. CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GLOBAL - - 13 -
My name is Navid Nazemian, and I am a seasoned professional whose journey began in the dynamic world of sales, where I honed my skills for six years. My career trajectory took a deliberate shift toward human resources, a passion that has guided my professional track for the past two decades. Over a quarter of a century, I have had the privilege of contributing my expertise to some of the world’s most admired companies, both on a national and global scale and navigating the landscapes of both emerging and developed markets. My most recent role as the Global Head of HR at Vodafone, based at the company’s global headquarters in London, marked a pivotal moment in my career. It was an opportunity to drive transformative change at a global level, and I am immensely grateful for the recognition I received towards the end of that role as HR’s Most Influential Practitioner by the HR Magazine. I am especially grateful as this is a peer-nominated award. Throughout my distinguished career, I have been fortunate to serve for top-notch blue chips such as Adidas, GE, BAT, Roche, and Vodafone. As a HR Executive, I have consistently sought to elevate the potential of individuals and teams through targeted leadership interventions throughout the years. The profound and transformative outcomes that result from effective coaching have always fascinated me. Eventually, I embarked on my own coaching journey, a decision that was informed by insightful consultations with esteemed executive coaches and coaching institutions. This transformative journey took me on a three-year coach education track, spanning three continents and exclusively taught by Master Certified Coaches (MCCs). My employers have wholeheartedly supported my dual role as a senior HR leader and executive coach, recognising the synergies and benefits this blend offers to my professional contributions. In summary, my multifaceted career has been a tapestry of diverse experiences, and I look forward to continuing my journey by focusing as an executive coach and leveraging my diverse organisational experiences to shape the future of leadership. About Navid Nazemian CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GLOBAL - - 14 -
Email: info@nazemian.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/navidnazemian Twitter: www.twitter.com/NavidNazemian Instagram: www.instagram.com/masteringexecutivetransitions/ Book: www.masteringexecutivetransitions.com “My passion lies in supporting executives during critical transitions. I am inspired by their courage to deliver value to their organisation whilst staying true to their authentic selves.” CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GLOBAL - - 15 -
EUROPE Hervé Essa NISYT David Goldfarb Goldfarb Consulting GmbH Antonio Panico Business Coaching Italia Alex Kergall Altior Beaullah Chizimba Limitless Nurses Dr. Maria Katsarou-Makin The Leadership Psychology Institue 18 20 24 30 32 36
www.nisyt.fr NISYT is the acronym for Now It’S Your Time. We are convinced that whatever the time chosen, it will necessarily be the right time for you, your teams and your organization. NISYT is a collective of leaders who have become coaches who bring out beyond their full potential everyone’s individual resources and put them at the service of an organisational collective that is larger than oneself in complete autonomy. CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - FRANCE - - 18 -
Hervé Essa Trainer & Speaker at NISYT With more than 25 years of experience as a leader in France and internationally, Hervé Essa is committed to bringing Women, Men and Organizations to go beyond their full potential to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow together. Alignment, awareness and the impact we all have individually, in a common and shared collective, are part of the motivations that led Hervé to create NISYT (Now I’t’S Your Time). How to (re)find meaning on a daily basis, grow and make others grow by being fully self: this is my key word. Every decision, no matter how small, has an impact on our environment. The construction of a new world requires changes at all levels and we are all actors in this change. How does our behavior make it possible to create a space at the service of greater than oneself? Our holistic and humanist approach makes it possible to put Man back at the heart of organizations and to align the whole to create a larger world. “We give you the ability to develop and navigate uncertainty by staying aligned with who you are and your values at the service of a successful organization.” CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - FRANCE - - 19 - LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT COACH OF THE YEAR
David Goldfarb is an organisational and transformation consultant with a focus on systemic change in companies. 20 years of professional experience in business transformation and leadership have sharpened his focus on holistic systemic processes. He was born in 1973 and lives in Düsseldorf with his wife and their two children. David Goldfarb is managing director and founder of Goldfarb Consulting GmbH. Previously, he was responsible for leading functions in international DAX companies in the areas of change and leadership. One of his focal points was the development of necessary transformation capabilities by combining lean management with systemic change management. This experience flows into his consulting approach, in which resonance as a sociological phenomenon forms the basis of his work. As a Certified Master Coach (MCC) of the International Coaching Federation and systemic solution-oriented transformation facilitator, the cultural and emotional challenges of his projects are close to his heart. For a successful transformation, he looks not only at processes and structures, but also at the relationship dynamics. His keen sense for the quality of human interactions is helpful in this. His many years of work as a trainer for mindfulness in a corporate context have shaped his work in cultural transformation processes and the establishment of a new leadership culture. In addition, as a graduate economist, the economic and organisational challenges of his clients are important and familiar to him. Here he has the clarity, rationality and determination needed to advise his clients’ companies holistically and to clearly identify challenges and perspectives. Two decades of experience in business transformation and leadership make him an expert in complex change. CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GERMANY - - 20 -
David Goldfarb Founder of Goldfarb Consulting GmbH As a coach with longstanding experience and expert in business transformation, what does coaching mean to you? First of all, coaching is creating a safe space in which I discover and examine new perspectives with my clients. The aim is to feel the power of a change perspective and to gradually integrate it into action. Do you work with a specific coaching approach? With my clients, I try to look at the current challenges and understand the root causes and the patterns without persisting with the problems of the past. My background has shaped me to think systemically with a view to the whole. In addition, my work is characterised by a solutionfocused approach where I work in a resourceoriented way with my clients. This means looking towards the client’s future situation and using their existing skills, strategies and ideas to define steps in that direction rather than focusing too much on the problem. How have your personal experiences informed this approach? In a professional context, whether in my work with family businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises or with international corporations, I have repeatedly found that looking at the desired future and working out the first small steps towards it has often been a real breakthrough. This helped me especially at decisive turning points in my life, such as when I left the corporate world and founded my own consulting company. Here, I experienced how an attractive vision of the future can release incredible personal resources. For me very personally, the solution-focused view is a kind of superpower which often helps to find the turning point in everyday conflicts – for example as a father of two children, as a husband or in conflicting relationship constellations. What characterises your work as a credentialled ICF Master Certified Coach? I do not think any credential, no matter how high, automatically makes you a good coach. But of course, I was happy when I got my MCC credential because it not only reflects my professional experience as a coach but was also an intense learning opportunity where I got to know other wonderful coaches. A major distinction that sets MCCs apart is their ability to be curious beyond the first issue that the client brings up. But also, their discovery questions evoke awareness and facilitate the client’s growth at the human level rather than the surface level of the problem. The MCC level is the highest standard you can achieve by the International Coaching Federation. CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GERMANY - - 21 - EXECUTIVE COACHING SERVICE OF THE YEAR
You mentioned your consulting company where you work as an organisational change consultant and leadership expert. What key success factors do you see for companies to master the future? I believe that the future belongs to companies that are adaptable and changeable. A prerequisite for this is vitality in the company. This develops from the ability of employees and managers to approach each other and to relate to each other well. Communication and behaviour therefore do not take place in a vacuum but meet with resonance and reverberation. Resonance seems to be a key element in your consulting approach. What does resonance have to do with business transformation? Whether transformation succeeds is determined in particular by how people communicate with each other, act and commit to common goals. And resonance means emotional connection. If rationality and emotion are in good balance, a first step towards change has been taken: listening actively instead of passively, transparency instead of secrecy, openness instead of self-centeredness, trust instead of reservation and curiosity instead of indifference form the basis for people to identify with their organisation and engage in change. Is it possible to ensure resonance? Resonance is not a sure-fire success. It can also not be created with a ready-made kit or a certificate of guarantee. Instead, at Goldfarb we create structures to transform the quality of cooperation. We design the context and conditions in which resonant relationships can develop and become established. What difference becomes visible in an organisation when structures to transform the quality of cooperation have been created? Resonance will be evident on four levels: Firstly, such an organisation enables people to get in touch with themselves on an individual level. Selfefficacy can be experienced, which is meaningful. Potentials and abilities can unfold from there. Secondly, their actions create a quality of relationship in the team and in the leadership context that is characterised by openness, clarity, appreciation and courage. CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GERMANY - - 22 -
Moreover, their corporate architecture is characterised by connectable structures and processes. These provide a framework for meaningful action in which the corporate purpose can be experienced. Finally, the purpose speaks to both members of the organisation and its customers, with marketable products and a visible contribution to society. How can coaching support such a business transformation? In my experience it is crucial to look always at the organisation, the team and the individual as a systemic whole with mutual interdependencies. Change must involve all levels. One key learning for me is that change starts with oneself. Here, coaching can have a huge impact and should always be an integral part of any business transformation – whether for the newly appointed board member in their 100-day programme, for those responsible for change projects reflecting on their own behaviour patterns or for those exploring their own personal questioning with a protected framework. Goldfarb Consulting GmbH: “We create structures to transform the quality of cooperation” Goldfarb Consulting GmbH is a business consultancy focusing on organisational development, cultural change, leadership empowerment and coaching. With over 20 years of experience in business transformation and leadership, Goldfarb combines the high demands of leading in dynamic times with professional and emotional competence. The Goldfarb team consists of long-standing partners and companions with operational management experience and an integrative approach: organisational and leadership experts, communication professionals, psychologists and specialists in agile working. They always work with a view to the whole – the individual, the team and the corporate level. In this way, they create the foundations for successful systems based on resonant structures – scientifically sound and proven in practice. The team is united by a common attitude and common goals. High-quality standards characterise their working methods. Reliable and trustworthy cooperation forms the basis for professional support in business transformation. Goldfarb Consulting GmbH Inselstrasse 24, 40479 Düssedorf, Germany Tel: +49 211 541 299 77 E: kontakt@goldfarb.de www.goldfarb.de CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - GERMANY - - 23 -
I am Antonio Panìco. I have gained great experience in the field of sales and marketing for national and international companies and I have held various positions in an important pharmaceutical multinational, passing in a short time from Informant to Training Manager. In the meantime I have studied and deepened topics such as self-help, leadership, persuasion, neuro-linguistic programming, emotional intelligence and self-efficacy, with a scientific and rigorous approach. In 2012 I started my business as the first business coach in Italy; no one before me had dedicated to this specific subject. Then in 2018 I founded Business Coaching Italia, of which I am the CEO, which is the first company in Italy to deal with coaching for companies in a specialised way. Today it is a company that helps hundreds of Italian companies to structure their businesses and improve them through proven scientific processes, with a staff of about 22 coaches. Business Coaching Italia is committed to spreading the culture of coaching and helping companies thrive. The other line of business is the academy where we train entrepreneurs, professionals and managers to become business coaches. The BCI Method, which I created, is the result of years of studies, research and direct experience in the field with hundreds of entrepreneurs, managers and professionals. The theoretical pillar upon which the BCI Method is based is the self-efficacy theory developed by Professor Albert Bandura – the father of cognitive psychology, who in 2016 was awarded the National Medal of Science of the United States by President Barack Obama for the contribution that his theories on social learning have made to the resolution of important national issues. The coaching techniques upon which the BCI Method is based aim to achieve progressive victories for the coachee. Gaining progressive successes means, for the client, seeing his self-efficacy increase step by step – that is, his feeling of being able to concretely solve the problems that grip him in everyday life as an entrepreneur or manager or freelancer. I am also the author of two books: ‘Inarrestabile – la via dell’autoefficacia verso il tuo sviluppo personale’ and ‘Coach ricco e Coach povero’, of which the second edition has just been released in Italy. CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - ITALY - - 24 -
Can you tell us about the development of your academy? At the end of March 2023 we will conclude the edition started in the last quarter of 2021, during which we trained 41 new business coaches. In the last quarter of 2022, we launched the new edition of the course and selected 30 candidates. In fact, it is important for us to select candidates by choosing from those who have applied to join. At the presentation there were about 160 people, of whom we received 67 applications and selected 30 to enrol in the course. The goal is not only to train them, but also to collaborate with them by sharing the increasingly numerous customers that we are able to acquire. Are there any recent client success stories that you can share with us? In fact, we have at least 130 success stories among our customers, because our method leads us to select only customers that we see from the beginning that we can help, and this leads us to always achieve interesting results. CEO of Business Coaching Italia Antonio Panico CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - ITALY - - 25 - BUSINESS COACH OF THE YEAR
For example, we work with a lawyer who wanted help on marketing when he came to us, but we immediately understood that, although there were things to improve in his marketing, this lawyer was not exploiting his full potential. In fact, he did not see the possibility of creating a company around his profession, as he did not believe it possible to systematise his activities and delegate to more people. When we started, his law firm consisted of two people: himself and his wife, also a lawyer. Today he has a team of 54 lawyers and has grown by 2,000%. He helps people get out of situations of over-indebtedness and therefore his work in this historical moment is very important for Italian families. Beyond the economic success, the real success was the fact that this lawyer is bringing the issue of over-indebtedness of Italian families to parliament and is strongly influencing politics and public opinion in order to change things in our country. Another success story is that of Andrea and Francesca, who have a consulting company in real estate investments and also worked as professionals. In 2022 they saw their turnover grow by five times and this year we expect a doubling of turnover versus 2022. The organisation of the processes allowed them, among other things, to create a small team, freeing up their time and allowing them to also open a new line of business: a club deal of real estate investments that has just been created for the northern Italian market. Another story we are proud of is that of a company in the fashion world that contacted us again after the pandemic. In the past, we had already worked together to help them to grow from €8 million in revenue to €18 million. The COVID period had decreased turnover; 2022 was a time of transition and in March 2023 we started working again. After only one month of business coaching, they closed the month with a growth of 21.92% – very interesting, if you consider that we did a few hours of work together! Of all your achievements to date, which are you most proud of having accomplished? The success I am most proud of is that of the next client that we will attract and help grow. This is not rhetorical. I really believe in what we do and I strongly encourage my coaches to work hard to concretely help our customers. Perhaps this maniacal focus is the reason why we have collected positive feedback from over 700 clients from 2021 to today. But apart from that, I am proud of my team, because creating a method, making it standard, teaching it to entrepreneurs and enlisting them to follow my personal mission is, I think, the greatest work I have ever done. CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - ITALY - - 26 -
Another success I have just achieved concerns a television broadcast, which I started recording in April for a Sky Italia channel. In this 12-episode broadcast we talk about leadership, how to create corporate culture, process organisation, sales, marketing and corporate finance. The goal is to give valuable content to TV entrepreneurs, which I think will also give a further boost to our brand here in Italy. In each episode I also invited some entrepreneurs, international managers and coaches of Olympic universities, who gave their point of view on the topics covered. Do you have any other projects in the works at the moment? What can we expect to see from you in 2023 and beyond? During 2022 we focused on assessing the state of small and medium-sized Italian companies, taking into account that with fewer than 10 employees, these companies that are true lifeblood of our production system have a considerably lower production capacity than other European member states; they generate an average added value of €30,000 per employee, compared to €46,000 in France and Germany and €35,000 in Europe in general. Increasing competitiveness and reducing the production gap with respect to large companies is the key to unlocking the vast potential, still unexpressed, of the Italian entrepreneurial fabric. Digitalisation is certainly necessary, but another aspect must be corrected: the poor managerial culture of our country. To try to concretely measure the current state of managerial preparation of small and medium-sized Italian companies, Business Coaching Italia is conducting a detailed study which currently involves 4.654 small and mediumsized Italian businesses, but which in the coming months will further expand. The ultimate goal is to create a national observatory, updated in real time, on the health of the Italian entrepreneurial fabric. The research was conducted by submitting to entrepreneurs a questionnaire that aims to measure how competent the entrepreneur himself feels on certain issues necessary for the health and prosperity of his company. There are five macro-areas: leadership, business organisation, sales, marketing and finance. The results collected so far tell of an entrepreneurial class that, in terms of finance, is still not very attentive to numbers; only 40% of respondents know in which month of the year they will reach the break-even point, fewer than 30% have a business plan written to achieve their budget and fewer than 23% calculate the ROI of their investments. In terms of company organisation, on the other hand, the most interesting data concerns the lack of defined procedures relating to both the tasks and the objectives of the individual employees. Only 27% claim to have written metrics to evaluate the work done by their employees and fewer than 40% rely on collaborators able to work independently. A healthy company also needs concrete, efficient and responsible leadership that is able to guide employees. Unfortunately, it emerges that only 25% of companies have clear and measurable objectives for their employees. The same evaluations of the work, carried out by half of the sample, are not tracked and disclosed. “In 2012 I started my business as the first business coach in Italy; no one before me had dedicated to this specific subject.” CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - ITALY - - 27 -
These aspects, combined with the lack of incentive systems known and clear to all, contribute to making the employee less involved in the success of the company and today, in times of great resignation, in which it is increasingly the worker who chooses the company and not the other way around, it makes it very difficult for the company to retain the best resources. The issue of sales, which should be crucial for the economic stability of a company, has shown important shortcomings. The main one concerns the absence, for about 70% of the companies interviewed, of a written sales model, as well as individual scripts for each person in charge of the sale. Moreover, scripts for responding to objections are often missing, leaving the management of the problem at the mercy of the individual employee, something unthinkable for a company that wants to grow. The questionnaire, completed by over 1,500 entrepreneurs, clearly shows a low propensity to systematise and organise processes. Too often the company’s numbers are unknown and rarely monitored, with the risk that corrective measures for the business strategy are not taken in time. The lack of strong leadership also means that the weight of the company falls on the shoulders of the entrepreneur, undermining the sustainable scalability of the company. Who or what is it that inspires your work as a coach? I am inspired to be a business coach by my own clients. They are the ones who push me to keep working so hard. In fact, the birth of my company was inspired by my customers, so it is a choral project. When I started this business, I was alone. Business Coaching Italia was a brand in my head, and I was just Antonio Panico, business coach. ‘Business coach’ because I chose my positioning from the first moment. In fact, I could not do otherwise; it was my clients – entrepreneurs, professionals and managers – who expressly asked me. Then, with time, Business Coaching Italia srl was officially born in 2018. Again, it is not just a company; it is a choral project. The Business Coaching Italia team is made up of professionals, entrepreneurs and managers who have had successful results in their careers and who have chosen to train in my academy. There follows an 18-month-long journey during which they learn to know and apply my strategic and operational protocols: that is, everything that constitutes the BCI Method, and I will tell you... sometimes they know and apply it better than me! CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - ITALY - - 28 -
The people who work with me and become part of the BCI project are professionals who are already successful in their field and who want to put themselves at the service of other entrepreneurs and managers to help them prosper. And so they decide to embark on this long journey together with us. My academy is not free. The economic and time commitment is important and involves sacrifices, but I read satisfaction in the eyes of every entrepreneur, professional or coach who participates. Satisfaction and a lot of enthusiasm. I always remember this quote from Steve Jobs: “Great things in business never come from one person but from a team of people.” I really believe it. Business coaches are increasingly in demand. Many companies and professionals have the extreme need for concrete help to reorganise the workforce, optimise processes and start measuring and analysing their numbers. We BCI business coaches do this every day. We guide entrepreneurs and managers towards their results, making them autonomous and helping them grow continuously over time. Every business coach in my team is able to do this because there is a method that can replicate successful results, because there is supervision and because we care about the objectives set by each of our coaches. As we always say, we do whatever it takes to bring everyone to their goal. CONTACT Antonio Panico Business Coaching Italia T: +39 342-876-4441 E: panicoantoniot@icloud.com www.businesscoachingitalia.com CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - ITALY - - 29 -
akergall@altior.global | www.altior.global www.linkedin.com/in/alexkergall “My only goal is to take clients to the next level. Into full alignment with what they can achieve on this planet. Uncovering that and working with individuals who are going to influence the world, is my calling.” CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - UNITED KINGDOM - - 30 -
Today, Alex Kergall is co-founder & CEO of the coaching agency Altior. Alex started to build Altior while working full-time as Director and Financial controller EMEA for the NBA (National Basketball Association). Labelled one of London’s top coaches by Influence Digest in 2021 & 2022 and recipient of the Innovative Executive Coach of the Year award for London in 2021, Alex also sits on the Forbes Coaches Council and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health. His clients range from high velocity scale-up entrepreneurs to world-class athletes and his mission is to support changemakers in the world. In 2022, with his Performance coaching support, Alex’s has seen one of his client become a ‘unicorn,’ securing more than $150 million in series D funding and crossing the $1 billion valuation threshold as a result. The desire to realise high performance has always been alive in Alex’s DNA. As a child, he ran crosscountry at the level of National Championships. This taste of high performance awakened his calling to both realise his potential and help others do the same. This mindset saw him thrive through a 15+ years career with the NBA, where he contributed to set up Basketball Africa League – The fifth League of the NBA! “Who are you?” This was the question Alex asked himself in September 2014 and this moment totally changed the course of his life. Admitting to himself that he’d been “cruising” in his career, with years spent working at the top echelons of the finance industry for Ernst & Young and the NBA, the question caused the Cote D ’Azure-born Performance Coach, to re-evaluate the direction his life was taking. Mentored by former NBA player and renowned Psychologist John Amaechi, in a crowded world where the coaching industry has exploded, it is Alex’s solid finance background which has shaped his commitment to the critical need for measuring the impact of coaching. So much so that Alex developed the Global Performance Index (GPI) tool charting 50 markers of self-performance, to create a snapshot of potential and ensure his clients have clarity around the return on their coaching investment. A valuable tool for individuals, HR departments and leadership alike. Passionate about playing a part in making the transformational power of coaching available where it can be truly life-changing, Alex is engaged with a charity to coach prisoners & support them to transition out of prison. “The challenge for ex-offenders is that despite having served their time, in the eyes of society’s employers they remain prisoners and therefore continually imprisoned by their offence.” Whether through coaching in corporations or prisons, it is this desire to influence culture for the collective good, which defines Alex sense of purpose. An advocate of meditation technique Qigong, a mindbody-spirit practice that improves one’s mental and physical health and restores energetic balance, Alex sees alignment and a state of true wellbeing as the ultimate objective. “My only goal is to take clients to the next level. Into full alignment with what they can achieve on this planet. Uncovering that and working with individuals who are going to influence the world, is my calling.” Alex Kergall Co-Founder & CEO of Altior CEO Today Executive Coaching Awards 2023 - UNITED KINGDOM - - 31 - HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH OF THE YEAR
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