Founder

For over thirty years, Dr. Mark Rittenberg has helped organizations create communities of excellence among their people and empowered individuals to become true leaders with the ability to actualize a vision all through the power of communication. Dr. Rittenberg’s experience extends around the globe, across cultures and across industries.

Dr. Rittenberg is a Distinguished Teaching Fellow at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, where he heads the Leadership Communications program for the Evening Weekend MBA and Executive MBA core programs. His Executive coaching practice included clients from major consulting firms, Fortune 100 companies, Sandia National Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Corporation, GAP Inc., Transnet Corporation (South Africa), Sasol Corporation (South Africa) and the AT&T Corporation. In addition, he trains executive coaches and directs the Executive Coaching Institute through the University of California, Berkeley Executive Education.

In 1985, Professor Rittenberg was visiting Artist and Teaching Fellow at Harvard University where he conducted seminars in the Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Business School. In 1993, he was awarded the J. William Fulbright Senior Scholar awarded by the United States Information Agency and traveled to Soweto, South Africa, where he served as Diversity Specialist in building black/white relationships in South African corporations and education institutions. He returned to South Africa in 1994, 1995, and 1996 in order to implement Active Communicating Educational Programs as a communication intervention to assist corporate and political leadership in the transition to a multicultural, democratic, non-racial South Africa. His doctorate in International and Multicultural Education is based on his work in South Africa.

Dr. Rittenberg evolved the Active Communicating® methodology and the five Powers of Authentic Leadership® from his own background as an actor and director and through his cross-cultural education studies. The methodology draws upon acting skills and anthropological principles in skilling managers, aspiring leaders and the critical mass in becoming both powerful communicators and authentic leaders. He currently provides educational programs and executive coaching programs for international corporations including various Silicon Valley companies, AT&T, The Gap, Levi Strauss, Lockheed Martin and Sandia National Laboratories. In addition, he heads an annual Executive Coaching Institutes at UC Berkeley, Thailand and Italy where he trains new executive coaches as well as executives who want to become more effective leaders by being trained in the arts and science of coaching. The Berkeley Executive Education at the Haas School of Business certifies the coaches.

Dr. Mark Rittenberg also created the Brand Ambassador Program in the 1980’s when he led a culture change program for USA Department of Energy, Gap Inc., and AT&T. This highly effective program was used by AVIS Southern Africa in 2004 to take them from #3 to #1 in the marketplace where they have remained. Dr. Rittenberg’s methodology has successfully created culture change and value-based change programs globally from the UAE, Asia, Africa to the USA.

Additionally he currently teaches expressive communication and presentation in Executive Education Programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of San Francisco, the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, and the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Rittenberg holds a Doctorate in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco. He also holds a Masters of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Education from San Francisco State and a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California at Berkeley where he double majored in Education and Social Welfare.

CEO
Faculty & Executive Coach

Doy Charnsupharindr is an executive coach and an instructor. He has taught at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, and UC Davis Graduate School of Management, where his students recently voted him “Teacher of the Year”. He has also taught at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership (Germany) and Nanyang Business School (Singapore).

Doy started his career in the finance and high-tech industry, leading global teams in risk management, operations, business strategy, and product management. Today, he is the CEO of the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute. He is also an executive coach and consultant for some of the largest organizations worldwide. The clients he has worked with include Adobe, Amazon, Cisco, DHL, Disney, Genentech, Google, McKinsey, Meta, Moody’s, Novartis, Pixar, Procter & Gamble, and Salesforce.

Doy has an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas Business School (2011) and a BA in Economics from Stanford University (2000). He was the musical director of Stanford’s Mixed Company a cappella and a winner of the 2001 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA). As an actor, he has appeared in many stage productions and short films. He recently performed at the Kennedy Center (Washington DC). Doy utilizes his love of the performing arts to help others develop their communication skills, confidence, and leadership presence. He is a TEDx speaker and enjoys coaching other speakers. His goal as a coach and instructor is to be a catalyst for others to become authentic leaders, inspirational communicators, and changemakers.

COO
Faculty & Executive Coach

Susan Houlihan is a communications consultant, executive coach, and electrical engineer who leverages her 15+ years working in engineering and operations in the high-tech sector in Silicon Valley to bring a perspective firmly rooted in business applications to her consulting and coaching work.

Susan teaches at business schools including: Lecturer for leadership, coaching and communications in the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business EWMBA/EMBA programs, Instructor at the UC Berkeley School of Data Science, UC Berkeley Coleman Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership, UC Berkeley Center for Executive Education and serves on the Faculty of the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute.

She has been a Guest Lecturer at the School of Creative Leadership in Berlin, and Guest Faculty at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She also heads up the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute strategic operations.

Susan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from University College of Cork in Ireland, an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and is a certified Executive Coach from the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute.

In addition to one-on-one executive coaching, Susan facilitates leadership, communications and coaching workshops as well as communications coaching of presentation skills, working with clients on the material (e.g. Powerpoint) and the delivery (content, verbal and non-verbal).

A native of Ireland now based in the US, Susan is an experienced cross-cultural communicator, who has worked extensively with individuals and Fortune 500 companies in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Clients include Salesforce.com, Adobe, Facebook, Biorad, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital of Oakland, Cisco Systems, Qualcomm, Peterson CAT, Financial Women of San Francisco, IEEE, UCSF, UC Hastings, Genentech, Novartis, Cypress Semiconductor, McKinsey (Dubai), Fattals (Lebanon), Odgers Bernstein (Russia), Siam Cement (Thailand), and The Berlin School (Germany).

Susan is excited to work with people to uncover their passions, explore their values, move past their obstacles, and build a fulfilling personal and professional life.

CFO / CTO

Jenny Herbert Creek is the CFO of Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute, and a Continuing Lecturer and Distinguished Teaching Fellow at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, where she teaches courses in financial modeling, Microsoft Excel, technical communication and leadership communication. Her work draws upon more than 15 years of experience in the educational services industry, including serving as CFO of two educationally-focused companies.

For more than 10 years, Jenny has taught leadership communication, technical communication, and financial modeling at institutions that include the Haas School of Business, Berkeley Center for Executive Education, Stanford University, UCLA Anderson School of Business, the Olin School of Business and numerous corporations and start-ups. In 2021, she earned UC Berkeley’s Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching for her courses Designing Financial Models that Work and Financial Statement Modeling.

Her academic research has been published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology and has been presented at the American Education Research Association and the National Science Teachers Association.

Jenny was a nationally competitive debater in college and cares deeply about helping students develop confidence, critical thinking, argumentation and technical presentation skills. Jenny holds an MBA with honors from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and is an honors graduate of Stanford University.

Ingrid Gavshon serves as a lecturer at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, in the Leadership Communications, Creativity and Leadership, and at the UC Berkeley Executive Education organizations course, High Impact Leadership. She also lectures at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership where she was awarded her MBA.

Gavshon is a partner at the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute in charge of Strategy and International Projects and serves as executive coach and senior training consultant.

Gavshon specializes in coaching people who want to bring humanity into the workplace and to discover their authentic leadership. In addition, she coaches her clients to make impactful presentations and to be better communicators. She qualified as a UC Berkeley Certified Coach in 2010 and has a large international practice.

Gavshon is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has made several documentary films about Nelson Mandela. She draws on her filmmaking skills integrated with the executive coaching process that helps leaders discover their authentic selves and helps them actualize their vision, dreams and aspirations..

Gavshon facilitates programs at a number of international companies, in the USA, South Africa, Asia and the Middle East. These include Mubadala UAE, The Dusit Hotel Group and Eastwater Group Thailand. In California at Adobe Systems, Salesforce.com, Cisco Systems, the Peterson /CAT Corporation, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Nexius, Qualcomm, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Oakland and San Francisco. She specializes in leading Brand Ambassador programs, which are large-scale culture change projects that empower all employees as they learn to live the company’s Mission, Vision, Values and Culture and become Ambassadors for their brand.

VP Marketing & Operations

Jennifer Caleshu is a lecturer, facilitator and certified executive coach for programs in leadership, communications, design thinking and innovation who believes every human deserves the opportunity to bring their most authentic and powerful self to work every day.

She is a member of the professional faculty at the University of California’s Haas School of Business where she teaches in MBA programs as a Continuing Lecturer for courses including: Building Trust-Based Relationships, Leadership Communications, and Applied Innovation: Haas@Work. She has also facilitated both leadership and innovation programs through UC Berkeley Executive Education, including High-Impact Leadership, Berkeley Physician Leaders, KAUST Saudi Leadership Program, Public Investment Fund Training Academy, and Leading Innovative Change.

She is a faculty member and executive coach for the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute (BECI), where she facilitates leadership, communications and coaching programs with diverse clients globally. As an executive and communications coach, her clients have included a wide variety of leaders seeking to empower themselves and their teams, as well as create and delivering powerful presentations. She also serves as the Vice President of Marketing & Operations for BECI and Faculty Director for the Executive Coaching Institute.

Additionally, Jennifer has developed and led design thinking workshops for clients including Pacific Gas & Electric, GitHub, UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and Rotary International, and frequently works in collaboration with Designing Insights LLC.

Jennifer’s coaching work is informed by more than 15 years of leadership in the cultural sector with functional expertise in strategy, marketing and communications, including most recently as Director of Earned Revenue for a museum.

Jennifer earned an MBA with honors from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, where she received the “Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor” award. She also holds a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University with a focus on Issues of Adolescence. She is a certified Executive Coach from the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute and is certified in the EQ-i 2.0 assessment and Clifton StrengthsFinder. She received a certificate in Managing Implicit Bias from UC Berkeley. She is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) from International Coaching Federation.

Senior Director of Learning and Development
Faculty & Executive Coach

Reba Rose is a seasoned executive coach, social impact leader, martial artist and talent development executive. As the Senior Director of Learning & Development at Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute (BECI), Reba works with a global audience offering leadership programs that focus on the mind and heart of the leader. As a coach, Reba is a thought partner who listens deeply, engaging coaching clients in holistic inquiry to embrace emotional, physical and spiritual intelligence to catalyze sustainable transformation. She has a passion and agility for activating leaders, rebuilding trust in teams and strengthening organizational culture.

A Certified Executive Coach with BECI, Reba works as a faculty member and master coach for their executive coaching certification intensive. Over the last 20+ years Reba has worked with a global community of senior leaders in tech, finance, health, social sectors, government, life sciences, including several Olympians. Her specialty is in strengthening our ability to embody confidence and leadership as a daily practice.

Throughout her career, Reba has led strategic growth and people development both as an external consultant and internal change agent. Reba is the founder of Stand Tall Leadership Consulting and a highly skilled designer, facilitator and trainer who develops customized experiential training to shift leadership behaviors, strengthen management practices and build team collaboration. Most recently, Reba was the Vice President of People at Fair Trade USA where she focused on employee engagement and organizational culture transformation.

Invested in the development of business leaders, Reba has coached and led leadership programs at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, Olin School of Business and Nanyang Technological University. Reba is dedicated to facilitating inclusive processes that build conscious communities and accelerate positive social impact.

Reba has a Masters in Educational Psychology from University of California at Berkeley. She is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) from International Coaching Federation.

Known for her intuitive, dynamic style, and as a theater and movement artist, a martial artist with a 3rd Degree Black Belt in Kajukenbo and an advanced practitioner in Qigong, Reba offers a creative and robust toolkit for living in balance. Reba grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan then found her way to California where she put down roots. She lives in Oakland with her family and energetic big black dog.

Director of Business Development
Faculty & Executive Coach

Mehmet Sevinç is the Director of Business Development at Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute, where he oversees establishing and enhancing new and existing partnerships both locally and globally. He is also a communications consultant, lecturer and an executive coach with a consulting background in business intelligence.

Mehmet’s business intelligence consulting background enabled him to work in various different industries such as energy, financial services, non-profit, higher education, biotech, pharmaceutical, technology, Internet Security and social networking. He is a certified Oracle Hyperion Developer. He managed local and offshore teams and worked in three different continents: Asia, Europe and North America.

After participating in a two-day workshop with Dr. Mark Rittenberg and his team in August 2013, which included sharing leadership stories, dreams and aspirations with his colleagues, Mehmet became a big fan of Mark’s teaching methods and decided to quit his business intelligence career and moved into leadership development training with Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute. He has been working a lecturer at University of California, Berkeley with Dr. Rittenberg. He has also taught at University of California, Davis and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Mehmet holds an MBA from San Francisco State University and a BA in Business Administration from Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey. He is a certified executive coach from the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute. He received a certificate in Managing Implicit Bias from UC Berkeley.

Mehmet won two national sailing championships in his homeland Turkey. He was the captain of the Turkish National Sailing Team between 2001 and 2004. In 2016, he completed Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco. In 2017, he finished Santa Rosa Half Ironman Triathlon and became an Ironman.

Director of Diversity & Inclusion

Benjamin Mertz is a musician and educator based in Richmond, California. He has worked for over fifteen years with faith communities, civil rights groups, nonprofit organizations, and schools. He is currently on the board of directors of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, a faith-based organization that fights for immigrants' rights and organizes against mass incarceration and deportation. He has also worked alongside organizations like the NAACP, EqualityForward, Black Lives Matter, Jewish Voice for Peace, The Asian Law Caucus, and more.

Benjamin is a certified Executive Coach from UC Berkeley and the Berkeley Executive Coaching institute, where he's worked 1:1 with leaders from Applied Materials, Google, Cisco, Proterra, and Fairmont Hotels, among others.

Benjamin's approach to Diversity & Inclusion is based in storytelling, curiosity, creativity, open-hearted dialogue, and a foundational belief in the goodness of human beings. Everyone is the expert in their own experience, and the path to a healthier society is built with courageous truth-telling and empathetic listening. Benjamin's perspective on social issues is firmly rooted in the prophetic, musical, and literary traditions of African American history: James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin Luther King, Langston Hughes, Nina Simone, and many others.

A third-generation professional musician, Benjamin’s mother is an opera and jazz vocalist and his “grandaddy” was a bebop pianist who worked with luminaries like Sarah Vaughan and Charles Mingus. Benjamin was further shaped in a culturally diverse, multi-ethnic church community in Paterson, New Jersey. His work with BECI is centered around building bridges, strengthening cross-cultural dialogue, breaking down silos, and creating nurturing environments where all people can thrive.

Director of Operations

Faculty & Executive Coach

Amelia Kusar graduated with her MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business in 2018, where she served as Commencement Speaker and Student Association President. She now serves as an Assistant Lecturer at Haas, teaching classes in the undergraduate program, the Evening & Weekend and Executive MBA programs, and in Executive Education. Amelia is Director of Operations at Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute, where she also serves as a faculty member and executive coach.

Prior to joining Berkeley ECI, Amelia spent over a decade in the performing arts, where she worked with the world’s top classical musicians and most prestigious concert halls.

Amelia spent seven years at the San Francisco Symphony, in the Communications of Marketing departments. At the Symphony, she executed high-profile public relations campaigns for the Orchestra’s largest programs, developed and executed marketing strategies for season subscriptions, and was selected to manage a large-scale audience development initiative. She has extensive experience in public relations, marketing, audience development, operations, and change management.

Amelia received her Bachelor of Music Degree from New York University, where she studied Clarinet and Bass Clarinet and graduated magna cum laude. During her undergraduate years, she also played many professional gigs around New York City.

Amelia has a particular passion for change management, both in organizations and for the self. She brings a boundlessly warm and encouraging energy to her coaching sessions, and believes strongly in the power of holding space for others to self-reflect and develop their own solutions. She draws on her experiences in music performance, public speaking, horseback riding, and other athletics to help others fine-tune their physical, mental, and emotional awareness.

Amelia grew up in Skokie, Illinois. When not working, you can most likely find her at the stable hanging out with her oversized puppy dog of a horse, Pluto, who she loves to pieces even though he gives her lots of injuries! Some of her other passions include working with people with disabilities, tennis, exploring museums, reading textbooks for fun, and constantly challenging herself to learn something new.

Director of Program Development for APAC
Faculty & Executive Coach

Praewta Sorasuchart is a facilitator and certified Executive Coach by the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute, with a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) from the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She has experience working in both the public and private sectors within Thailand and internationally, with a wide range of people from students to executives, and across a variety of industries including branding, human resource development, technology and education. She specializes in communications, presentations and confidence; self and leadership development; and team building.

In addition to her work with BECI, Praewta is a PhD Candidate in Counseling Psychology at Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand, with a focus on positive psychology and resilience through person-centered and creative-based therapy. She is also an international debate coach with more than 15 years of communications coaching experience; she currently co-coaches the Thailand High School National Debate team.

She has a Bachelor’s Degree in British and American Studies from Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, and her Master’s Degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, giving her a cross-cultural background, and a familiarity with working within and navigating diverse environments.

Praewta believes passionately in the power of lifelong learning, and importance of continuous self-improvement and education. She believes in the ability for individuals to transform themselves and, as a result, transform society. Her passion lies in helping others to discover and develop that leadership potential in themselves at all points in their lives, whether that is in the workplace or in schools and universities because she believes that compassionate and authentic leaders create positive impacts on those around them and change the world for the better.

Associate Director of Operations

Ann joined Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute as a full-time member in October 2023. She is originally from the East Coast and moved to Berkeley, California in 2018 for graduate school. She grew up in Northern Virginia and then moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for college where she graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016. She then worked for two years in Research & Development at the battery start-up, Aquion Energy, and also professionally in Student Affairs overseeing a housing community at her alma mater, Carnegie Mellon. Ann graduated from UC Berkeley with her PhD in Materials Science & Engineering in 2023 where her research focused on discovering new battery materials. Throughout her engineering education, Ann has been involved in extracurricular activities with a variety of leadership positions in Greek Life, university housing communities, and her academic departments. As a result, she is an advocate for developing communication, teamwork, and leadership skills in educational and professional settings. In her personal time, Ann enjoys practicing vinyasa yoga, cooking, jigsaw puzzles, and planning social gatherings for friends.

Program Manager

Ariela Morgenstern is a certified executive coach and communications lecturer who specializes in bringing intention and vitality to professionals' leadership presence. As a member of the professional faculty at the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley, she teaches Leadership Communication and Active Communicating classes for the MBA and Executive Education programs. Pulling from her 20+ years of professional performance experience at the highest level across the country, she uses her expert knowledge of actor training, codified body movement analysis, and vocal pedagogy to help others authentically communicate with confidence and clarity.

Her executive coaching work leverages her experience working with teams across a breadth of industries to help people unlock for themselves new possibilities and growth within their leadership. Her coaching and facilitation clients range from emerging leaders to senior executives, tech entrepreneurs, doctors, seasoned salespeople, data scientists, and biologists at companies such as Salesforce, PayPal, UCSF, BAE Systems, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Eightfold.ai, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Blackhawk Genomics, and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Ariela is a program manager and lead faculty member for the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute (BECI), where she manages and facilitates custom programs to help lead change, diversity, and authentic leadership within organizations. She is also a master’s degree candidate in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University, where she is currently researching the effects of dominant norms surrounding executive presence. In addition to her leadership communication work, she teaches acting for singers at Stanford University, Berkeley Repertory School of Theatre, and her own long-standing Singing Actor Studio in San Francisco.

“Ariela was instrumental in helping me communicate more effectively... Her ability to draw from and integrate various approaches to personalize my training was not only impressive but essential to my success. I cannot recommend her highly enough.”

Executive Coach & Consultant

Inna Buschell is a certified executive coach who works with executives and high potential leaders in order to reach their goals and maximize their potential. She is an Assistant Lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, teaching courses including “Leadership Communications,” “Leader as Coach,” and “Creativity and Leadership,” and has led workshops on “Effective Communication Skills” for the San Francisco and Santa Clara Bar Associations. In addition, Inna facilitates workshops on authentic leadership and effective communication, and coaches clients one-on-one in various fields including technology, consulting, law, education, and healthcare, in the private, government, and non-profit sectors.

Inna works with a broad range of clients, and wholeheartedly believes in coaching as a service profession. She is committed to serving her clients by acting as a thought partner and sounding board, helping them to explore their options and think through the next steps on their personal path forward. No matter who she’s working with, Inna’s dedication remains the same: igniting her clients’ passion to work and achieve their maximum potential in order to achieve personal fulfillment while simultaneously driving their professional growth.

Inna specializes in the areas of leadership development, high impact communications and presentation skills, and trust building. In her work on leadership development, Inna partners with her clients to foster a practice of self-reflection, empowering them to develop an actionable plan for success, while providing them with honest feedback, unconditional support, and accountability. In communications coaching, Inna draws on her experience in theatre and public speaking to create a safe place for clients to take risks, while she shares an external perspective on strengths and areas for growth. There is no one-size-fit-all approach to professional and personal growth, and Inna works by developing custom-tailored coaching to meet each person’s unique needs.

Inna attended Wellesley College where she earned a B.A. in Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, UC Berkeley School of Law, and holds a Certificate in Executive Coaching from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

Consultant for Corporate Engagement
Executive Coach & Facilitator

Stacy King is an executive coach and consultant focusing on high impact leadership and partnering for real change. Through her work with the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute, she’s become known for her dynamic style, visionary approach and real-world perspective. With a background spanning multiple industries—including B to B and B to C—Stacy has management and hands-on experience in business and project development, strategic planning, operations, revenue generation, sales and customer service.

As an executive coach, she specializes in working with global senior level executives including C-suite, business owners and aspiring leaders. Areas of expertise include leading with impact, developing executive presence, unlocking innovation and fostering authentic communication with humanity. Through her partnership with BECI, Stacy can also provide large-scale corporate realignment through inclusion, team building and trust—which in turn, results in greater productivity and enhanced life value.

After receiving her BECI certification, Stacy joined the Berkeley team as a partner in corporate engagement—a select group of over 250 international coaches and consultants representing a diverse array of professional and cultural backgrounds. She also served as a panelist at the Institute’s International Coaching Conference on Business Development.

Stacy currently operates a private coaching practice based in Dallas, Texas. She aims to be a catalyst for change, empowering people to become effective leaders in the workplace and beyond.

Prior to coaching, Stacy was a strategic business consultant for myriad clients—Carnival Cruise Line Brands, Paul Allen’s Experience Music Project and Planetary Resources, among others. She was also founder/CEO of several private and publicly-owned companies including Clear Channel Exhibitions and S. King Collection.

Consultant for Corporate Engagement
Executive Coach & Facilitator

Samir has devoted 40 years to various managerial roles in the sales and marketing sectors, specializing in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) such as Food & Beverage (F&B), Home and Personal Care (HPC), and Healthcare. In his capacity as Executive Director, he was tasked with ensuring, developing, and maintaining the highest standards of sales, distribution, and marketing productivity across the Middle East. He accomplished this through effective leadership and inspiration of diverse teams, including Functional, Cross-Functional, Self-Managed, Distributed, and Hybrid Sales Force and Marketing groups.

Renowned for his expertise in knowledge sharing, Samir is celebrated as one of the foremost trainers in his field, focusing on both quantitative and qualitative skill development.

Samir holds a double major in Business Administration from the American University of Beirut and Social Sciences from the Lebanese University. He also recently obtained an Executive Coaching Certificate from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute (BECI).

On a personal note, Samir is a proud father. His daughter, Grace, currently works as a senior copywriter at the Central Communication Department of the Edelman Advertising Agency in New York and his son, Daniel, is a system engineer at General Motors (GM) in Michigan.

Consultant for Corporate Engagement
Facilitator & Executive Coach

Allan spent 20 years as an agency creative dreaming up ideas, writing them down, pitching, selling and producing them, day after day, year after year, for dozens of the world’s biggest brands. His agency background exposed him to leaders and business challenges across many industries including healthcare, finance, media, and consumer goods making him a versatile coach and accountability partner.

A lover of ideas, Allan now spends his time working with individuals and teams to retune their creative antennas to achieve their wildest aspiration through the alignment of passion and purpose.

As the founder of Idea Doula, Allan divides his time as an executive coach and “idea doula-ing,” a unique type of creative consulting that helps individuals bring their ideas to life.

He received his certification from the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute and is an active member of their roster of facilitators. In any interaction Allan commits to show up and be present, tell the truth without blame or judgment, and pay attention to what has heart and meaning.

A passionate mental health advocate, Allan is also a faculty member at the Psychedelic Coaching Institute where educates coaches on how to safely explore plant medicine as a healing modality. He is also the founder and co-host of the 20-episode podcast Alz In The Fam, which documents his journey with his siblings caring for their mother who suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease.

He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife, 2 children, 2 cats, a dog and lots of plants.

Allan’s superpower is encouraging people to reframe the limiting beliefs that prevent them from reaching their fullest potential.