CONVERSANT SOLUTIONS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Consultant / Asia
Adrian Chong brings more than twenty-five years of experience in entrepreneurship, sales, general management and training to the Conversant group. Specializing in teams and organizational effectiveness, Adrian helps individuals, teams, and organizations achieve bottom-line results and become measurably more vital.
He has extensive experience working with organizations ranging from government institutions to global corporations in the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Indonesia, China and Japan. Among his client list are Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citibank, AIA, Prudential, Chubb Insurance, NTUC Income, Watsons, Roche, Oracle, Cisco Systems, Unit 4, the Changi Airport Group, Housing & Development Board, National University Health System, Institute of Mental Health, Health Promotion Board and the Ministry of Education.
Adrian loves helping others to be more influential and connected - to make a difference through the human touch to deepen relationships. He believes that in our world where the pace of business is getting faster and faster and with technology focused on making us more connected, it's ironic that many feel more alienated than ever from each other. Adrian strongly believes this alienation is the main obstacle to having better relationships, working better together and having a more purposeful life.
He is passionate about family values and giving back to the community which he does through various volunteer organizations. He enjoys keeping fit by going to the gym, running along the beach and going head-on in weekly battles on the badminton court.
Job Titles:
- Senior Marketing Manager
- Senior Marketing Manager / Americas
As Senior Marketing Manager, Adrianne prides herself on being a good listener and an empathetic person with the desire to never stop learning. At a very young age creativity and working hard were instilled; a true renaissance woman. Thanks to her dad, she grew up with the sayings, "Once the job has begun, never leave it until it's done" and "The early bird gets the worm" and it is how she lives life today. You'll often find her starting a conversation by disarming people with jokes as laughter and play are ways she enjoys connecting with people.
Similar to Conversant's vision, she's drawn to design because of its beauty, simplicity and clarity and feels it is a catalyst for creating authenticity, wonder, community, difference, and love. Through Conversant she has found a place of belonging and where she can apply her strengths. She finds it rewarding to be part of a company that centers themselves around designing conversations to create meaningful connections. Her goal is to make a difference by supporting Conversant's brand and voice, ensuring consistency in our messaging that reflects our vision, our purpose, and our values. In doing so, awakening the world.
Adrianne has a background in Advertising, Graphic Design, Marketing and Landscape Architecture. She was raised in Austin Texas which is where she lives with her husband Patrick and their two young children. She enjoys spending time being involved with her family, evenings with friends, neighbors, and her children's school. Her hobbies are drawing, painting, Interior design, landscape design, holiday decorating, gardening, reading, watching movies, dancing, traveling, creating new experiences and long-lasting memories.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Consultant / Europe & UK
Alan has a background in finance, IT and organizational development and a qualification in corporate governance and learning and development, so brings a broad business view to Conversant.
He is passionate about helping individuals and groups be productive. He believes in creating a safe environment for people and encouraging them to open up to new possibilities to improve engagement and reduce stress.
Alan believes that helping employees to reskill quickly in a world that is changing ever more rapidly is a big challenge for companies seeking to increase agility. He sees this as a challenge as much about encouraging people to have the right conversations at the right time as transforming mindsets about learning agility.
When he is not working, you will find Alan mainly outdoors playing golf, cycling, trekking and occasionally running. He also enjoys yoga, is a keen photographer and an armchair rugby fan!
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant
- Senior Consultant / Americas
Anne Murray Allen is a senior consultant at Conversant and previously a Global Partner. Anne's career working in organizations has been both as an insider and as a consultant to large multi-national organizations. She is a systems-thinker who has had bottom-line experience in a variety of organizational functions. Anne has taught graduate level management classes and has presented at conferences around the world. She has authored and co-authored a number of articles in organizational performance and been published in a variety of journals over the last 15 years. She is a past recipient of an American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) Torch Award.
During her tenure at HP, Anne served in several executive positions within the company including assignments leading knowledge management, strategic planning, culture integration (HP/Compaq), manufacturing production, and IT. Since joining Conversant her clients have included Lockheed-Martin, The Nature Conservancy, CH2M Hill, Audio Precision, and The Port of Portland.
Today her major area of focus is helping organizations work across sectors and organizations to engage multi-stakeholders. She has deep practice and knowledge in helping her clients build effective collaboration across boundaries, especially when they are facing complex challenges where uncertainty is high and alignment to shared purpose and outcomes is necessary for meaningful action to occur.
Anne has an undergraduate degree in psychology, an MBA, and a DSocSci. In her downtime, you will find Anne enjoying time with her family. She enjoys most outdoor activities but especially hiking, camping, riding horses, canoeing, and skiing.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chairman of the Board
- Vice Chairman of the Board / Americas
Bill's significant experience in corporate finance, healthcare, energy, private equity, mergers, and acquisitions, as well as real estate and hospitality, brings a diverse and dynamic view to Conversant. In addition to acting as the Vice Chairman of the Board at Conversant, Bill is the founding partner of BoyarMiller, a Houston, Texas-based law firm. He is a practicing lawyer and has been involved in the ownership and management of law firms for 38 years.
Bill built his successful law firm on culture first, and those values are evident in his impact and role at Conversant. These values include integrity, community, and balancing commitment to work and family.
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Development
- Director of Business Development / Americas
Bill is passionate about what's possible when people come together for the purpose of exchanging value. So he chose a path in Sales, Sales Leadership, and Sales System Development to help companies and their business developers get into that intersection with their best clients for the purpose of creating the highest value for both. His work starts with his unique perspective regarding sales and business development: there is no such thing as "selling," there is only buying.
Bill believes one of the biggest challenges facing business today is the need to connect with buyers in ways that inspire…ways that are authentic to the business, powerful for the client, and reveal the true and meaningful distinction the business offers. This connection is in the conversation, and the ability to listen deeply for what clients desire and need, fitting perfectly with Conversant's values, principles, and point of view.
In addition to his over 20 years in business development, Bill spent a number of years as a business coach helping leaders and companies grow and excel. Bill's other deep passion? Music! Whenever he can, you'll find him playing guitar, at home or on a stage with a band, in his hometown of Richmond, VA. He also enjoys traveling, and tastings of fine wine, great food, and well-aged bourbon with his wife and friends.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Executive
- Consultant / Americas
Bobbi Stedman is an accomplished C-Level Executive who leverages her experience, leadership, high standards, and critical thinking skills positioning her as the go-to executive for thoughtful, pragmatic solutions that drive accountability. Employed by three global brands, and having lived in Denmark while working at Vestas, Bobbi has become a valuable asset in understanding how to operate within various cultures and regulatory environments.
A diversified leader, Bobbi has overseen corporate communications, health and safety, human resources, information technology, process excellence, public affairs, public contracting, strategic planning and analytics. Bobbi is recognized as a calm, steady, confident leader with a strategic agility to drive innovation and growth in partnership with a diverse and talented workforce. She is an innovative and inclusive leader that makes a meaningful impact on People and Business.
Bobbi has an MBA with an emphasis on organizational development and a B.S. in Business Management with a minor in Human Resources Management. She is a trained coach and has certifications in PROSCI change management and Hogan Leadership Assessment.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Senior Project Manager
- Senior Project Manager / Americas
Brianna has been a project manager for many years, with experience ranging from retail display production with Nike and Adidas to managing creative campaigns for Alaska Airlines and Amazon. With a background in art and design, Brianna loves finding creative ways to solve problems and always looks for opportunities to improve complex systems to benefit all stakeholders.
Brianna thinks some of the biggest challenges organizations face today include fostering empathic connected leaders while being able to adapt quickly. The work landscape is changing on fronts such as technology, sustainability, and meaningful DEIJB conversations, and companies need to be open and agile in order to thrive.
She was first introduced to Conversant while supporting the Credibility, Influence & Impact program as a wrangler at The Home Ranch in Steamboat Springs, CO. As a lifelong equestrian, she was extremely moved by the power of using horses in helping facilitate leadership development. She has always reflected on those weeks as being extremely impactful and has stayed in touch with the Conversant team ever since.
From an early age Brianna had a strong interest in the outdoors and leadership. From hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, to backpacking and canoeing in the Brooks Range of Alaska with the National Outdoor Leadership School, she finds being outside can help foster relationships with ourselves and others. Brianna has worked on ranches across the American west and specifically loved the connection between horse training and connected leadership.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Quality Assurance
- Senior Director, Quality Assurance / Americas
With 25 years' experience in account management, coaching and consulting, Carolyn brings a wealth of perspective and skill to cultivate committed, coordinated action and accelerate important business results. Carolyn loves challenges that require a concoction of complex human relationships, unbridled creativity, and financial or system constraint. She brings a calm empathy, rigor, optimism, and clear purpose to everything she does.
Carolyn has produced valuable results for clients all over the world, including The Nature Conservancy, Standard Chartered Bank, Sprint, Presbyterian Health Services, Telstra, Genworth Financial, US Cellular, The Energy Foundation, Hewlett-Packard, Gates Corporation, Liberty Global, and Lloyds Banking Group.
Carolyn was certified as a Professional Co-Active Coach by The Coaches Training Institute in 2002. She is a certified practitioner in Hogan Assessments, the ECHO Listening Profile, and the Decision Styles Assessment.
Carolyn believes companies are faced with a false choice: efficiency and profits or messiness and meaningful connection. Her professional experience proves that by systematically weaving proven processes throughout meaningfully connected relationships, we can make things happen and make a difference in the world - one conversation at a time.
A classical violinist with orchestral music in her bones, Carolyn draws on her experience of individually gifted artists collaborating in ensemble to produce harmonic results.
Carolyn strives to live usefully and cultivate connection with others. She loves to be in the wilds with family and friends, to cook delicious food, and to enjoy a good laugh at a bad joke.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Project Manager / Americas
Dana believes that the stories we tell, both about ourselves and the spaces we inhabit, vitally shape our experience and impact. In a time when differences can seem like divisive liabilities, she is eager to rewrite the narrative and restore the collaborative genius generated by diverse perspectives working in tandem.
A former teacher, Dana has witnessed the transformational power of experiential learning.
In her current orchestration role, she delights in navigating logistics and creating the necessary organizational structures and resources to facilitate these types of experiences for others. With a diverse background in education, marketing, design and fine art she is an agile communicator with an unabashed bias toward elegant, efficient solutions.
Curious by nature, Dana loves encountering new ideas via podcasts, exploring the wilds with her husband and metabolizing what she finds through a variety of visual art mediums (yes, that's probably paint under her fingernails).
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Consultant / Asia
- Consultant for Conversant 's Asia Pacific
Dr. Hoh Kim is a Consultant for Conversant's Asia Pacific office based in Seoul. He is also the founder, head coach, and lead facilitator at THE LAB.
Hoh's mission is to reimagine the way executives communicate with customized workshops that emphasize exploration and play. He has collaborated various artists including actresses/actors and jazz musicians to creatively approach leadership and organizational culture in the digital age.
With over 20 years of experience at the upper echelons of public relations, communications, and crisis management, he has learned that influence, insight, and interaction are the cornerstones of leadership in the digital age. As a sought-after executive communication coach, Hoh draws from a vast supply of wisdom, gathered at universities in Korea and the United States, through Cialdini Method and Marshall Goldsmith certification programs, and from many highly productive years at Edelman-the world's largest independent PR firm-where from 2004 to 2007 he led the Korean office to record revenues.
Hoh has authored multiple titles, including Cool Survival Kit and Reputation Society. He lives in Seoul, Korea where he runs his own woodshop, writes, and guides high-level executives from around the world to find their most persuasive voices.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Consultant
- Associate Consultant / Americas
Emma Rose has worked in the leadership development, organizational change, and strategy alignment world for the past 8 years, most recently applying her talents to clients in the non-profit, insurance, marketing and communications, and finance industries. She is passionate about designing experiences that support meaningful and enduring change, a value she brings to her facilitation and coaching style.
Her past roles and studies have given her a diverse range of experience, from policy, sociology, and psychology to brand building, relationship-driven business development, and behavior change. From early in her career, she's had many opportunities to sit at the strategic table, collaborating with and learning from leaders and global executives across industries and disciplines. Having worked in various organizational functions and studied system dynamics, she approaches her work with a research-first mindset and a natural capacity to think big-picture and long-term.
Emma Rose has a bachelor's degree in International Affairs and Certificate in International Media from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She graduated from Conversant's flagship leadership development program, Credibility, Influence & Impact, in 2016. Coupled with her 20+ years of exposure to Conversant's principles, Emma Rose has a deep understanding of our body of work and how to make it accessible to any audience interested in improving their ability to lead through connection.
She currently lives in Arvada, CO with her cockapoo Archie and spends most of her time outside of work with her Crossfit community, reading a good fiction book, and cooking to a great vinyl soundtrack.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Consultant
- Executive
- Senior Consultant
Evelyn Jonkman is a global Conversant consultant with over 25 years of management and consulting experience in both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors across four continents.
Her clients include Motorola, Shell, Unilever, Philips, Western Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Standard Chartered Bank, 7 - Eleven, Woolworths, SuperConcepts, AMP, Medibank, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education and Sportsbet.
Evelyn has held board positions in community and local government initiatives as well as several executive roles in community organisations. She is a Judge for the Telstra Women's Business Awards and the Banksia Sustainability Awards.
Evelyn previously worked in venture development for Social Ventures Australia, a non-profit philanthropy organisation, as a management consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Pakistan and The Netherlands, and as a Project Manager in the USA and Thailand, specialising in change management and enterprise-wide system implementations.
Evelyn is a qualified executive coach with clients from the health sector, corporations and government. As a facilitator, she has led workshops in success, sustainability, and wellbeing for various organisations, including the MBA program at the University of Melbourne and Masters Programs at Swinburne University
Evelyn has designed, led and facilitated programs in leadership, high performing teams, cross-boundary collaboration and organisational culture in the food industry, health sector, financial services and non-government organisations. She is also a sought-after keynote speaker.
With a focus on purpose at individual, team and enterprise levels, Evelyn has been able to create a renewed focus on the customer experience. Alignment around purpose has led to stronger organisational vitality across all sectors in which she works.
Evelyn has a B.Sc from the University of Melbourne and Masters of International Relations (A.S.I.R) from the University of Amsterdam, as well as various assessment product accreditations and coaching qualifications.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Consultant / Americas
Gabriel brings tremendous expertise and passion to helping organizations build effective and high-performing teams and ensuring leaders, managers, and team members are equipped to generate and sustain exceptional results.
For over 25 years, Gabriel has been providing services worldwide for the U.S. Government, tech startups, and Fortune 100 companies including Apple, Chevron, and Epiroc in the areas of high performing team development; first-time manager training; executive coaching; cultural transformation; professional learning and leadership development; and human-centered design.
Gabriel also has a specialization in working in high-risk industries such as Energy, Petroleum, and Mining in addition to other industries such as Environment, Health Care, Technology, and Engineering.
Experience has shown us that teams generally do not just "click" into productivity, particularly if innovation, agility, creativity, speed, and efficiency are important. Gabriel works with individuals, managers, and teams to allow for high-performing teams to develop and thrive.
When not playing basketball or eating ice cream with his daughters, he is most likely on a plane to meet clients, friends, or family. Gabriel volunteered for nine years as the Manager of the Santa Clara Youth-at-Risk Foundation Mentoring Program in San Jose, California. He is an associate founding member of Escuela Matriztica de Santiago founded by Dr. Humberto Maturana and Ximena Davila. Gabriel speaks fluent Spanish and English.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Senior Consultant
Greg is a Conversant consultant who has over 20 years of experience partnering with a wide range of organisations as a consultant, facilitator and executive coach, specialising in culture transformation, change management, leadership and high performance team development. He has worked with organisations in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, UK, USA, Hong Kong, China, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Fiji and India - across a range of industries including financial services, insurance, rural services, superannuation, construction, retail, consumer goods, education, health, government and telecommunications.
His clients include Australia Post, CSIRO, ANZ, Coles, BHP Billiton, Telstra, Yahoo!7, Elders, Transfield Services, Sydney Trains, Australian Industry Group, CSL, Heinz, ING, Country Road, StarTrack, Grocon, Swinburne University, ESSSuper, Rural Finance, PPB Advisory, Austin Health, Golder Associates, E*TRADE, GWA Group, ME Bank and FleetPartners.
His qualifications include Executive Coach from the Australian Institute of Executive Coaches, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner from Erickson University, Systemic Consultant with Borwick International, Corporate Transformation Consultant with Richard Barrett & Assoc, Coaching for Performance Program with Sir John Whitmore - Institute of Human Excellence, Fierce Conversations Program with Susan Scott - Fierce Inc, Positive Psychology Program with Dr Martin Seligman - University of Pennsylvania, Graduate Diploma of Education from ACU, and a Bachelor of Arts from La Trobe University.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Project Manager / Americas
Guy Connolly brings his love of the arts to the everyday experience of being human, finding beauty, tragedy, and fascination in even the smallest things. He sees stories and conversation as the pillars on which humanity is built, and as a Project Manager, works to support the right conversations and stories at the right time.
As a novelist and musician, he brings creativity and a love of collaboration into the workplace. His background in music production and sound reinforcement has informed a deep love of technology that connects people to one another. His years of work in hospitality and service have instilled a strong appreciation of people's complex lives, their everyday circumstances, and the anxieties that are universal to us all.
When he isn't dedicating time to supporting others at Conversant, you'll find him entrenched in other worlds-of his own creation as often as of others'.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Project Manager / Americas
Haley has a background in Civil Engineering and Business, starting her career as a project engineer in the general contracting and construction industry. Her background in engineering has taught her how to bring logic and critical thinking to all different types of problems and has shown her that intentional hard work and effort can bring you to a multitude of different opportunities and solutions.
Connecting with others is something Haley prides herself on and continues to challenge herself and others with every day. It allows people to grow, better themselves, and continuously learn about the world and the people in it. Human connection is the backbone of a thriving community.
Traveling is something that is near and dear to Haley's heart and she enjoys the unique opportunities for connection and historical and cultural appreciation that travel can offer. Haley loves adventuring through the mountains (both by hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter), learning new recipes to share with friends and family, going to the gym or yoga class, and finding new restaurants in downtown Denver.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Project Manager / Americas
As she puts it; "I'm a Jackie-of-all-trades and I like bad puns."
Jackie cultivates workplaces that are as joyful as they are productive. She achieves this by utilizing a range of skills that marry art and science, providing creative solutions set in reality. Both capable and flexible, she is adept at making sense of ambiguity in our ever-changing world of work. Jackie values building lasting connections with clients including Franklin Templeton, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, The Nature Conservancy, Under Armour, and Vestas among others.
Jackie's diverse career started with a focus on public relations and the arts. In 2014, she earned a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She further developed her skills at various non-profit organizations and museums throughout the country providing insights for strategic development, educational programming, event management, and fundraising. Using her puzzle-solving mind and eye for design, she's also held roles as a graphic designer, brand strategist, and social media marketer.
Socially driven, Jackie feels most fulfilled when hosting mirthful parties and cooking for friends and family. In 2018, she followed her heart to Colorado embarking on life's greatest adventure with her husband, Erik. She loves spending time in the great outdoors: whether it be hiking through the mountains, swimming in the ocean, or drinking in historic sites.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Consultant / Europe & UK
Jane has over fifteen years' experience as a consultant, facilitator, and coach specializing in the fields of leadership and communication and has worked as an associate with Conversant since 2012. Clients range from a broad range of industries, including healthcare, finance, and banking, retail and hospitality, energy, technology, and logistics. Her work focuses on classroom facilitation and one to one coaching. Jane has significant international experience and is a fluent French and German speaker. She has led group programmes across the world in English, French and German.
Jane is a strong believer in the power of effective communication to drive better performance and collaboration at the individual, team and organizational levels. Her work focuses on helping leaders develop stronger working relationships with colleagues through better quality conversations and enhanced emotional intelligence.
Prior to running her own business as an independent consultant, Jane worked as a Vice President and Senior Project Leader with Forum Europe's Customer Experience practice where she was responsible for leading major change projects. In her earlier career, Jane worked as a Change Management Consultant for the NatWest Group, providing internal consultancy services to all areas of the Bank.
Based in the Peak District, UK Jane enjoys spending her spare time hiking and watching rugby. She also enjoys travel, reading, and theatre.
Jane has a joint honors degree in French and German (with distinction in spoken French) from Nottingham University and is ACIB qualified.
Her client experience includes: American Express, Bayer, BP, BT, Cisco, Coca-Cola, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, DuPont, Eurostar, GE, HP, Honeywell, Johnson and Johnson, Marks and Spencer, Microsoft, Novartis, Sainsbury's, Sheraton Hotels, Sun Microsystems, Unilever, Waterstone's.
Job Titles:
- Head of Operations
- Head of Operations / Americas
As Head of Operations, John's goal is to make things run well. When things run well, people are happy, and when people are happy, they flourish. This view of human flourishing is what led John down a career path in operations. Structures, processes, and policies are, at their best, mechanisms designed to allow people within systems to thrive as individuals. At Conversant, John keeps a strategic eye on identifying, implementing, updating, and overseeing structures to support responsible business growth and planning that advance the company's vision and promises of authenticity, wonder, community, difference, and love.
Prior to Conversant, John served as Chief Operating Officer and subsequently CEO of ECHO Listening Intelligence. He has a bachelor's degree in Contemplative Psychology, a Master of Divinity in Mindfulness and Organizational Development, and an MBA.
John lives just outside of Boulder with his wife, Lee, who leads a small community practicing in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Outside of work, John enjoys hiking, trips to the mountains, listening to political podcasts, and enjoying casual evenings with Lee and their friends.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Consultant
- Associate Consultant / Americas
Katie is devoted to building agile structures that incubate and empower creative solutions. Through connecting the purposes of others with the right timing, Katie looks for ways to unlock greater collective potential.
With a background in both visual design and linguistics, Katie finds she is most fulfilled when she is bridging different spheres and connecting seemingly disparate communities. Katie's vision for the future of work is one of more connected human interaction across modern media, boundaries, and cultures.
Katie is always trying something new and enjoys discovering unique niches. Ask her about travel philosophies, knitting, mixed/augmented reality, therapy dogs, or swing dancing-or better still, share your own discoveries with her.
Job Titles:
- Consultant & Experience Designer
- Consultant & Experience Designer / Americas
Kell Delaney has a boundless curiosity and playfulness that he brings into all areas of his life-work, relationships, hobbies, and his partnerships with his clients.
As a Consultant & Experience Designer working for Conversant, LLC and based out of Boulder, Colorado, Kell's primary focus is on bringing his curiosity and playfulness to working with individuals, groups, teams, communities, and organizations (human beings) to build connection: through relationship, conversation, curiosity, play, and empathy. He strongly believes that everything we do happens through human connection (good or bad!) and that the opportunity to affect lives, communities, and the world is grounded in improving the quality of these connections.
Kell also has a particular fascination with how technology is shaping how we work. He leads the charge on everything having to do with the adoption of technology in the workplace for Conversant clients and is most focused on keeping the "human" and our relationships front and center in this new world. He is widely read, experienced, and constantly exploring the cutting edge of learning, collaboration, and how people do their best work in the modern workplace.
Kell holds an MA in Communication from the University of Colorado Boulder and it was in this program where he developed a fascination with the gap between what we aspire to be and who we are in our day to day. From the surprising conversations that emerge from a World Cafe to the transformative insights revealed during a complex collaboration project, it is experiences like these that reveal our "gaps" to us. With the right perspective, focusing on closing those gaps can be a playful and profound way to grow, learn, and transform our contribution.
In his free time, Kell loves experiences that help him to play even more-by escaping into the mountains of Colorado with friends to ski, hike, or to enjoy the challenge of his most recent obsession-mountain biking.
Job Titles:
- Executive Coach, Senior Consultant
- Executive Coach, Senior Consultant / Americas
Krista brings over 20 years of leadership experience to her role as consultant and executive coach. Her first-hand experience working and leading teams in fortune 500 companies in financial services and retail industries contributes to her strong understanding of the challenges leaders face today. As a senior leader of organizational development and talent development functions in global roles, she has focused the majority of her career on leadership and team development.
Krista believes one of the biggest challenges that leaders face is their ability to be self-aware and fully embrace their own natural leadership style. As a coach, her approach is to help leaders tap into their unique strengths and increase their results through alignment of values, purpose, and presence. She has a passion for helping people connect deeply with their sense of purpose and find the joy that comes with leading authentically.
Given her love for research and natural curiosity about human behavior, Krista often loses track of time when reading about neuroscience, mind-body connection, and mindfulness. She infuses her research into her work with teams and leaders, helping leaders to focus on their overall wellbeing.
While she enjoys traveling, her roots are in Northern California where she was born and lives today with her husband and two daughters. When she's is not working or researching, you'll find her outside hiking, trail running, or walking the family dog and communing with nature.
Job Titles:
- General Management Accountant
Following graduation in Accounting at Swinburne University, and after qualifying as a CPA, Margaret has worked in a variety of finance and accounting roles, including internal audit, forex brokerage, management accounting, and general bookkeeping. She has worked for a range of organizations in the private, public and voluntary sectors.
Since graduating in Fine Art from the Victorian College of the Arts (now part of Melbourne University), Margaret has been an artist-in-residence at a community-based print-making workshop, where she serves as Treasurer and workshop facilitator. Her work has been the subject of a solo show and included in several group exhibitions and museum acquisitions.
In her spare time, Margaret enjoys keeping fit, going to the cinema, eating good food, and visiting family overseas.
Matt is a highly experienced people and culture consultant with over 20 years of hands-on experience designing and delivering development programs on a personal, team and organizational level.
He has a lifelong passion for understanding and working with human systems - and in helping organizations shape the optimal environment for their people. He has a strong belief that organizational environments where individual learn and grow not just foster performance but they support happier and healthier communities.
Matt refuses to believe in the notion of work as drudgery and that it is nothing more than collecting a paycheck and he has spent his professional life helping individuals and organizations discover and develop their true potential.
Matt's skills cross the consulting spectrum from the facilitation of strategy and planning off sites (at board and senior executive levels) through to the design and hands-on rollout of leadership and culture change programs. He can work seamlessly between C-suite and the front line.
Matt is passionate about experiential learning, his family, the ocean and the wilderness. He has just recently returned from a multi-year odyssey combining all of these things by traveling overland across the world with his wife and three young daughters - trying to show them how amazing this world truly is.
Matt holds an Honors degree in Psychology from UNSW, Certification IV in Training & Assessment and Outdoor Education and accreditation in a variety of personality and assessment tools. He has worked at senior levels of both the public and private sector and across a wide variety of industries.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Executive Assistant / Americas
Melissa focuses primarily on keeping up with and organizing the ever-changing, always demanding day-to-day puzzle of what is Mickey Connolly available for next! In that role, Melissa enjoys making personal connections with other executive assistants literally around the world. Her #1 bookmark is an indispensable global time-zone conversion tool! A second hat that fits her well is Program Manager for Conversant's premier Credibility, Influence, and Impact program. Melissa says it is equally a privilege and a joy to meet participants in person, supporting their deeper dive into development as a leader with impeccable care and attention to detail.
Melissa came to Conversant in 2011 from 25+ years as a Producer in the advertising and marketing arena where she thrived on bringing creative visions to fruition in all forms ranging from printed pieces to TV spots - a career that served her well in preparation for the dynamic enterprise that is Conversant. Supporting conversation that affects profound change has been life-changing for Melissa, too!
Melissa's Texas roots are still evident even after 20 years in Colorado; particularly when an "all y'all" or a "bless your heart" slips into a chat. For fun, she enjoys dancing, gardening, hiking the open spaces near her home and always appreciates a recommendation for an interesting movie or new book to add to her queue.
Job Titles:
- Chairman & Founder / Americas
- Strategy
For over 25 years Mr. Connolly and his colleagues have explored how communication impacts coordinated action and organizational culture. Working in global commercial companies, police departments, and military organizations has led to a conviction: any gr oup can achieve more with less time, money, and stress if they apply the "communication for action" techniques.
Mickey has worked with over 100,000 managers, educators, and negotiators to resolve conflict, improve relationships, and accelerate achievement. Conversant associates have worked in 400 organizations in 90 countries to achieve mission-critical goals ahead of time and under budget.
Mickey has co-authored two business books, including The Vitality Imperative: how connected leaders and their teams achieve more with less time, money and stress. and The Communication Catalyst: the fast (but not stupid) track to value.
Mickey has worked directly with C-suite executive teams on execution of strategy and cultural transformation in companies such as: Citigroup, Genworth, Kimberly-Clark, Humana, Telstra, Mondelez, AMP, Australia Post, Johnson & Johnson, National Australia Bank, Zurich Insurance Group, McDonald's, Woolworth's Australia, Standard Chartered Bank, and The Australian Football League.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Consultant
- Associate Consultant / Americas
Patrick loves to bring people together. He has an earnest desire to set occasions for "a-ha!" moments through open, honest and clear conversations. He believes that anyone can learn the habits to live a full life and that all it takes is practice.
With a background in motivational psychology, Patrick has helped as both a player and coach for groups ranging from seed-stage startups to global corporations. He has spent time in finance, real estate and technology sectors assisting senior leadership on how to collaborate effectively and design a system to get more with less time, money and stress.
In an age of technology proliferation where solutions are built-in search of problems, Patrick brings a robust background to focus on root causes of a system‘s lack of alignment. His fundamental belief is setting a culture of authenticity and understanding a common human purpose are key to any organization's lasting success.
Patrick has an MA in Experimental Psychology from Columbia University, an MS in Technology Commercialization from McCombs School of Business at UT Austin and both a BA in Philosophy and a BS in Psychology from Texas Christian University.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Executive
- Consultant / Europe & UK
Paul is an executive coach and leadership development facilitator who has worked in numerous industries, multinationals, government agencies, schools, and local communities in more than 50 countries on five continents. He has worked in the context of Conversant with energy, banking, and FMCG clients on safety, customer focus, and negotiation. Current clients are Deloitte, Bupa, ExxonMobil, Sage, Carnival, KornFerry, and Accenture.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Consultant / Americas
Peter works with the human being in a professional context. As an executive/team coach and HR consultant he follows his vision: a world that is aware. He helps his clients shed light on their blind spots and discover the answers to their questions to make informed decisions. The phrase "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate" by C.G. Jung reflects what drives Peter in his daily work.
Since studying psychology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, Peter has been interested in people in their professional surroundings. In the first chapter of his career, he worked as an HR manager in a Fortune 500 company in the financial services industry. In 2013, after his MBA, Peter started his own HR consulting company focusing on coaching services. He is an active Professional Certified Coach member of the International Coaching Federation.
From his Sao Paulo-based office, Peter attends to clients from all over the world in English, German, and Portuguese.
When not in his office, Peter can be found with his wife on the streets of Sao Paulo, either doing his jogging exercises, walking his dog, at home on his couch reading a good book and listening to his favorite music, or enjoying the sun and sea on the Brazilian beaches.
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant / Americas
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer & President / Americas
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant / Americas
Job Titles:
- Marketing Coordinator / Americas
Job Titles:
- Project Manager / Americas
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant / Americas