Perspective Forged in Complexity
Hello, Bonjour, Hallo, Hola, Hej, Salam
The Wisdom of the Journey
True leadership is not found in a textbook. It is forged through transition and refined by the ability to see the human being behind the system. My path has taken me from the intensity of conflict to the complexities of global boardrooms. Environments change. The need for clarity remains constant.
The Formative Years
Agency Discovered in Chaos
In late 1979, my life changed overnight. Fresh from high school, I was sent to the front lines of the Iran-Iraq war. This was a formative period. Amidst the chaos, I discovered the power of personal agency. I volunteered to teach fellow soldiers to read and write. Even in extreme environments, we retain the dignity to choose our path.
A Life Between Cultures
At 23, I moved to Belgium in search of openness. This transition required a profound adaptability. Today, I live at the intersection of identities. I navigate seven languages daily, with English and French as my professional anchors. I do not just bridge words; I bridge the cultural nuances that shape how leaders think. This Multicultural Fluency is essential for international professionals navigating cross-border complexity.
The Assessor’s Edge
I understand the rigour of professional growth because I have lived it from both sides. I earned leadership roles through demanding assessment and evaluation processes and later served as an internal assessor in formal assessment centre processes, selecting and developing management talent.
This dual perspective allows me to see the unspoken criteria of advancement. I help you understand and master the benchmarks by which you are being measured today.
Strategic Leadership Legacy
Context shaped by three decades in publicly listed organisations including Siemens, Orange, and Worldline.
Alongside my coaching practice, my perspective has been shaped by many years of leading complex, large-scale transformation initiatives within large organisations. This background informs how I work with leaders today, particularly when they face the less visible challenges of organisational life: alignment across boundaries, informal influence, and decision-making under competing priorities.
Rather than transferring past solutions, I draw on these experiences to help clients recognise patterns, anticipate friction, and navigate complexity with greater clarity and confidence.
Designing Coherent Global Operating Models
A recurring theme throughout my career has been helping organisations balance global coherence with local accountability. This involved designing operating models that introduced standardisation where it added value, while preserving the flexibility required for local performance.
One such initiative was the rollout of a global management system within a multinational organisation. Success depended less on formal authority than on building shared understanding. Alignment was achieved through stakeholder engagement and what I describe as stealth governance: enabling adoption through trust, relevance, and shared ownership rather than mandate.
Applying Systems Thinking at Global Scale
My leadership approach is rooted in systems thinking, applied to simplify complexity and create clarity at scale.
I led the deployment of a global multi-site certification framework, providing consistent governance across 30+ countries while preserving local responsibility and compliance. A single, coherent global system replaced fragmented local approaches, delivering cost synergies and shared reference points for stakeholders.
Beyond efficiency, this work reduced fragmentation and reclaimed leadership capacity — enabling leaders to shift focus from managing friction to driving growth and strategic priorities.
Commercial Intuition and Customer Equity
Sustained performance consistently depended on sound commercial judgement as much as on formal controls. My work in this area focused on strengthening organisational awareness of risk, value, and long-term partnership dynamics.
This included the development of a corporate approach to assessing quality of service in high-value contracts, supported by established portfolio and risk-thinking frameworks. The intent was to improve decision-making around suppliers and partners, helping organisations shift from reactive management towards proactive value creation. By strengthening commercial intuition, teams were better positioned to protect long-term customer relationships and increase customer equity over time.
Inclusion & mentorship
Leadership, in my view, ultimately means enabling others to grow, belong, and contribute. Alongside my corporate career, I have been a dedicated mentor with Duo for a Job, supporting young job seekers from diverse backgrounds as they navigate their entry into the labour market.
This commitment reflects a belief that professional growth and opportunity should extend beyond organisational hierarchies, and that leadership responsibility does not end at the boundaries of business.
Teaching and Academic Credibility
Sharing knowledge was the thread that connected my career. As a guest lecturer in IT Governance at Solvay Business School of Management & Economics and INNO.COM, I translated intricate systems into actionable strategy. Eventually, I realised the most important system is the human one.
Today, I work exclusively as a coach, drawing on this legacy to support leaders and professionals as they navigate complexity, responsibility, and change.
Curious How We Might Work Together?
You are welcome to schedule a free discovery session to explore whether coaching with me is the right fit for you.
Want to learn more about my methodology?
Discover how I integrate a curated belt of proven coaching frameworks and tools with a lifetime of leadership experience to drive your meaningful change.
Background and credentials
Academic & Professional Rigor
