BEYOND UNITY - Key Persons
Brian Noble, an English rugby legend, is a BU business partner and part of its global fellowship. Brian is currently an English rugby league coach following his distinguished career as a rugby league footballer. Noble was a Great Britain representative hooker, but is best known for his coaching career, during which he coached the Bradford Bulls, the Wigan Warriors, the Crusaders RL and the Salford Red Devils in the Super League, and the Great Britain national team.
He was the first coach to win three Super League Grand Finals, and is one of only two coaches to have achieved that feat along with Brian McDermott. He was formerly the Director of Rugby for the Toronto Wolfpack, and also works as a pundit for BBC Sport.
Within the game Brian's outstanding achievements include;
As a leadership psychologist and performance coach, Ed's mission is taking people beyond what they thought was possible and nudging them towards a limitless life. Ed spent over a decade as a professional whitewater kayaker, both as an athlete and expedition leader in extreme environments, before transitioning into business psychology.
Gianfranco Zola is one of the world's most celebrated footballers, a BU business partner and key member of its global fellowship. Though Gianfranco is known around the world for his incredible performances with the Italian National Team, Chelsea, Parma, Napoli and others, he is a kind, humble man whose best move isn't with his feet, but his ever-gracious smile.
He spent the first decade of his playing career playing in Italy, most notably with Napoli, alongside Diego Maradona and Careca, where he was able to win the Serie A title, and at Parma, where he won the Italian Super Cup and the UEFA Cup. He later moved to English side Chelsea, where he was voted the Football Writers' Player of the Year in the 1996-97 season.
During his time at the club, he won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, two FA Cups, the League Cup, and the Community Shield. In 2003, he was voted Chelsea's greatest player ever. He was capped 35 times for Italy from his debut in 1991, appearing at the 1994 World Cup, where Italy finished in second place, and Euro 1996.
After a stint with Italy under-21s, Zola began his club managerial career with West Ham United of the Premier League in 2008 in the Premier League. He was manager of Watford from July 2012 until he announced his resignation on 16 December 2013. From December 2014 to March 2015 he managed Cagliari in Serie A. He returned to Chelsea as the assistant of new Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri on 18 July 2018, ahead of the 2018-19 Premier League season.
Gianfranco has excelled as a manager, combining his skills and experience from the pitch with a deeper leadership awareness honed throughout his lifetime.
Job Titles:
- Special Advisor & Consultant, China
- Xinfu 's Special Advisor
Joe is Xinfu's Special Advisor in China, and co-author of "Dream Company, Dream Leadership, Dream Life" - our book featuring interviews with 100 of China's leading private entrepreneurs and MNC and SOE leaders. He is currently the CEO of Bond Education, one of the largest private education groups in China focusing on tutoring middle and primary school students. He is also an active social philanthropist in supporting handicapped children's education and serves on Zhou Chunya's Five Color Foundation Board.
Job Titles:
- Operations Manager, Xinfu China
For the past four years, Joy has managed Xinfu's operations in China and has been integral to Xinfu's growth in China.
After gathering eight years' full time language training experience, Joy started her mission to become a bridge between Eastern and Western culture. Joy has worked as Asia liaison for numerous Western clients since 2013. Joy is an expert in helping daily business communication run smoothly and coherently, helping in areas such as mistranslation, misunderstanding due to culture shock and has a keen eye for detail.
Luke is the Client and Media Lead, where he is responsible for client engagement, business development, as well planning and implementation of transformational events. Prior to Beyond Unity, Luke spent six years as a primary school teacher, developing extraordinary patience and empathy, which serves him well in how he approaches coaching and development.
His leadership style, informed by his teaching experience, focuses on deep, heartfelt fellowship, and adapting to the needs of all he comes into contact with. Luke finds unique ways to anchor growth and development for lifelong learning.
He earned a bachelor's degree in Media and Communications from Deakin University, as well as a Diploma of Education from La Trobe University. He has worked on elevating his mindfulness and consciousness for more than a decade under the leadership of Wayne Linton.
Outside of BU, you can find Luke buried in a Tolkien book or trekking out "on the road," as Bilbo describes it, forging a fellowship quest. He has a keen interest in meditation and yoga and frequently blogs about leadership and personal development.
Mike is Beyond Unity's Mining Practitioner and is responsible for business development and outreach to the extractive industries. With a bachelor's in Mining Geology, Mike has spent over 3 decades working in remote parts of the world from francophone Central Africa to the South American Andes mostly for First Quantum Minerals where he was Manager for the entire Latin American region.
Mike's linguistic capability in French and Spanish has served him well in his management style which is based on collaboration, outreach and empathy. He lists among his achievements the discovery of new copper deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo and running an open pit mine for 2 years in Katanga Province.
Mike has always been drawn to sustainable mining practices and now runs a consultancy focused on responsible mining. His passion is achieving the energy transition through responsible and purposeful industry practices and employing mining products in the best way to combat climate change.
A fan of running and yoga, Mike embraces a daily practice that revitalises his energy to do the things he does best. Now living between St. Andrews, Scotland and Arequipa, Peru he lists one of his favourite personal traits as the ability to integrate and adapt.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Co - Founder
- Founder
Steve's mission for several decades has been to be a CEO confidant, assisting them to transform their companies and now serving CEOs, future presidents, sporting and cultural icons to becoming extraordinary leaders.
Steve in his early years always wondered why some leaders and institutions weren't better ran. His life work evolved to find new ways for leaders to pioneer business, develop fellowship, find unified leadership and improve human performance. Along this journey he has:
As co-founder and CEO of Beyond Unity (the world's global leadership experts), Steve's main focus is acting as the personal confidant to the CEOs of some of the largest, fastest-growing, and most successful companies in the world. Steve is also working with the next generation of leaders to create more global and entrepreneurial future Fortune 500 businesses.
Job Titles:
- Special Advisor - PR & Communications
With almost 30 years of global communications experience in mobility, technology and luxury, including 15 years in Asia (11 in mainland China), Trevor is a seasoned strategic counselor for C-suite executives, with a track record of leadership, entrepreneurship, creative storytelling, public affairs and crisis management.
He is co-founder and CEO of Fruition Global Communications and former CCO of Xinfu. In addition to leading global communications for Fortune 100 companies and brands including Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Jeep, INFINITI, Chrysler and others, he served as a press chief for the Atlanta Centennial Olympics soccer venue in Birmingham.
He was a finalist for PR Week's global in-house professional of the year in 2020 as well as the top PR executive in Asia Pacific. He is an active member of The Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club and The Explorers Club. He currently serves as communications counselor for Xinfu.