PROPEL PERFORMANCE GROUP - Key Persons
Grandson of Viktor Frankl, Alexander Vesely, MA. is a producer and award-winning documentary film director and licensed psychotherapist. He is also head of the Viktor Frankl Media Archives in Vienna and co-founder of the Viktor Frankl Institute of America. Vesely began in TV- and film-production and co-founded the production company Clipwerk. His interest in psychology and cinema led him to become a licensed psychotherapist and guest-lecturer at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film (HFF) in Munich, Germany. Vesely worked with renowned dramaturg Christian Mikunda at CommEnt Production Group over five years before continuing his work with Noetic Films in Los Angeles, California. In 2010, his documentary Viktor & I won several awards. Besides his therapeutic practice, he travels the world speaking on the topic of Logotherapy, the meaning-centered school of psychotherapy founded by his grandfather Viktor Frankl.
Alia is a Registered Psychologist, with focus on organizational, team and individual resilience, leadership and curiosity.
As a leader and advisor, Alia has served as an enabler to thousands of leaders and teams, in some of the most intricate environments, both in New Zealand and globally. Over the last five years, Alia has worked with leading organizations in peak performance sports, the commercial, not-for-profit and government sectors as well as the creative industries.
Alia has served with the New Zealand Defence Force since 2005. As an Army Officer, Alia served with the New Zealand Special Air Services (1NZSAS) and the Counter Terrorist Tactics Group, headed NZDF Organizational Development and the development of the Defence Leadership Framework.
Her military operational experience spans across Afghanistan, Syria, Israel and the wider Middle East as well as East Timor and the Solomon Islands. She was awarded the NZDF Meritorious Service Medal and the United Nations Commendation for successfully leading through acute and critical incidents in Syria between 2013 and 2014. Further to her registration, Alia holds a BA, MSc and a PhD.
Allan's great strength lies in growing authentic, connected high-performing environments that generate self-reliant, empowered people. The by-product of his personable and collaborative leadership style is a proven track-record of consistent world-class results with his teams winning numerous World Series trophies, Olympic and Commonwealth medals and New Zealand's illustrious Halberg Award for sport.
Allan is highly sought after for his expertise in culture, connection and creating teams that dominate on the world-stage. His transition from successful professional player to title-winning coach has given him unique experience in what it takes to build inclusive cultures that produce Gold-medal performances.
He brings a competitive edge that drives results and promotes creative problem-solving in high-pressure moments. His coaching is defined by skilfully combining tactical and technical expertise to generate fresh solutions. As a respectful and inspiring communicator, Allan has been engaged by leading International organisations to help develop and evolve their cultural and performance strategy.
Alongside his many accolades on and off the rugby field, Allan is a proud father to four amazing children. In his spare time you will find Allan with his family or indulging his passion for surfing
Anita Sands is a U.S. based board-director, author, and speaker. A former Fulbright Scholar, she holds a Masters in Public Policy and Management as well as a Ph.D. in Atomic and Molecular Physics.
Ben is a transformational coach supporting leaders to achieve high performance. He works with individuals who are committed to dramatically increasing their results in life both personally and professionally. His work is demanding and centers on achieving personal integrity (physical and emotional) to evolve the behavior required for obtaining their high-performance results.
Ben has achieved business success with an entrepreneurial track record building Human Capital business in Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Before founding Renaissance Leadership, Ben founded Renoir Partners in London. Earlier in his career, he was Executive Director of Robert Walters PLC. He was a member of the team and Board member that built the company to $350 Million in revenue and led the company to an IPO on the London Stock exchange (www.robertwalters.com).
Ben is passionate about supporting his country of birth, New Zealand, to participate and achieve success in the North America market. He is Chairman, North America Beachheads Advisory Board within New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE). He is also a Venture Partner with MOVAC - one of New Zealand's leading Venture Capital firms.
Dan has spent his career dedicated to leading, coaching and developing others across a broad range of disciplines and industries. He is passionate about unlocking human potential, pushing individuals and teams to see more in themselves than they previously thought possible.
Dan began his career at the US Military Academy at West Point, subsequently serving as an infantry officer on the front lines of the Iraq War, planning and executing more than 300 combat operations in Baghdad. After departing military service, Dan completed a master's degree at Harvard University and began building organizations, programs and resources to empower individuals facing major career and life transitions. Spanning academia, non-profits, big tech, venture capital, and startups, Dan's efforts have supported thousands of individuals and teams pursuing clarity and alignment amidst critical moments of uncertainty.
In addition to his formal education, Dan is a graduate of the US Army's elite Ranger School, Stanford University's Ignite Program for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and the Presidential Leadership Scholars program, a premier leadership development program led by former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Job Titles:
- Coach, Advisor and Consultant to Top Levels CEOs
James R. Doty, M.D. is a neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, inventor, entrepreneur, best-selling author and philanthropist. Over the last decade his research has focused on promoting empathy and compassion as the necessary components of not only a healthy life, but one of meaning and purpose.
James has been a coach, advisor and consultant to top levels CEOs and senior executives around the world, promoting the value proposition of compassion and empathy as tools to empower themselves, their employees and increase employee engagement, creativity and productivity while decreasing human resource and healthcare costs. He is a highly sought-after speaker, having delivered to audiences at leading technology companies including Google, LinkedIn, Apple and Facebook both in Silicon Valley and internationally.
As well as adjunct professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and being founder and director of the Stanford University's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE), Dr Doty is a friend and advisor to many spiritual leaders including the Dalai Lama. His New York Times bestseller Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart has been translated into 40 languages.
Dr. Doty founded multiple companies in the health sphere. In addition, he holds multiple patents and acts as board member and advisor to medical device companies and multiple venture capital firms. He is a veteran of the US Army having spent 9 years on active-duty service where he received the Meritorious Service Medal.
Gilbert Enoka has a long history of success as a mental skills coach with New Zealand's corporate and sporting elite. He is internationally renowned for his 21-year history with the All Blacks, first as their mental skills coach and now as All Blacks Manager - Leadership. He has been with the All Blacks for over 250 tests and during that time the team has won back-to-back Rugby World Cups, one Laureus Award (for the best team in the world), 18 Bledisloe Cups, three Grand Slams, eight Tri Nations and six Rugby Championships.
Gilbert has worked as a mental skills coach for the All Blacks, Canterbury Crusaders, the Silver Ferns and the Black Caps and strongly believes that players who are mentally prepared will perform better on the day.
He has also worked as a highly skilled practitioner, working on performance enhancement for over twenty years with top CEO's, business, and sporting elite.
Gilbert is philosophical in his approach to his own life and thrives on working with people who are in pursuit of excellence, consistency, and sustained performance over time.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO Handel Group
Lou is a lead Executive Coach, driven by inspiring and helping others to discover and grow into their next level of leadership.
Lou brings her clients' insights from more than 25 years in leadership roles, many of those as MD or CMO. Her diverse corporate and entrepreneurial marketing background includes building successful businesses across a wide range of sectors in Asia, the UK and Europe, North America and New Zealand.
In previous senior corporate roles, Lou led the marketing transformation at Vodafone New Zealand from a traditional telco to a digital services company, implementing a restructure to an agile operating model. She played a key executive role at Icebreaker evolving the brand into a profitable, global retailer and preparing the business for sale to US retail giant VF Corporation.
She is certified in Transformative Coaching through Coach Masters Academy, an accredited member of the International Coaching Federation.
Lou is motivated by inspiring people to bring their best selves to every day and thrives on partnering with leaders who are committed to putting in the work and dedication to realise their potential in how they live, lead and work.
Mike is a proven leader in organisational change and crisis management. His distinguished career culminating in New Zealand Police Commissioner saw him working with people from all walks of life, helping them achieve more in themselves to make change in their wider organisations and communities. With results that routinely exceeded projections and expectations, he now teaches those same skills to leaders across both the corporate and governmental worlds.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner Executive Coach All Blacks Performance Labs
- Performance Coach
Partner | Executive Coach All Blacks Performance Labs
Nerolie Curran is a performance coach for forward-focused C-suite executives looking to find greater capacity in their leadership roles and personal lives by supporting them to create more tailored, intentional lifestyles.
Nerolie has lived and worked in North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Her corporate career blended her passion for both sport and business by working in senior leadership roles with some of the world's biggest brands, including Nike and Red Bull. She founded her own strategy and business development consultancy, before becoming immersed in performance coaching and leadership training as a partner at Propel Performance Group.
Nerolie has worked with CEOs, executive teams and senior leaders in the business sector, but also with the highest performers in sport, including Formula 1 teams and Olympic athletes. While having broad sector executive experience, her expertise and interest lies in working with business founders and their teams internationally in the fast-paced, innovative world of tech startups.
Nerolie has owned creative and hospitality businesses, is fueled by fitness and sport and finds joy with her three daughters.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Founding Partner
- Founding Partner Executive Coach All Blacks Performance Labs
Founding Partner | Executive Coach All Blacks Performance Labs
Simon is an experienced CEO and entrepreneur, who after a significant life changing event, dedicated his life to help others access their limitless potential.
Simon believes creativity is our greatest natural resource. Applied well, creativity has the ability to transform the businesses, brands, companies and the communities that surround us.
With more than 20 years experience working in creativity and innovation around the world, Simon joins PPG with extensive experience in corporate strategy, marketing, business transformation, customer experience design, communications and creative story telling. Simon shares a specific passion in the contagious culture of high performing teams. He works extensively with next generation leaders, youth, business venturing and the startup community.
Tony Philp is a Specialist High Performance Manager who draws the best out of individuals to get the best out of teams. A former professional athlete, Tony achieved a double degree in Management and Sports Management and his work with for New Zealand Rugby over the past decade has helped both the New Zealand men's and women's Rugby Sevens teams deliver to their potential on the international stage. Through change management and implementing processes that build on proven fundamentals he has helped shape some of New Zealand's most successful teams.
By taking a holistic approach to the whole person and their performance mentally as well as physically, he creates the conditions for individuals to achieve their best. By doing this his teams excel, achieving successive victories and multiple Olympic and Commonwealth medals as well as winning the Rugby World Cup Sevens. Beyond the working world Tony is proud father of two sons.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Executive Life Coach
Victoria Anderson is an executive life coach, working with individuals to transform their lives, families, and vocations. This results in clients creating more joy, happiness, and fulfillment in their lives. Victoria is committed to guiding clients to expand their capacity and align with their spiritual path.
Her first experience with coaching was in 2012 when she was coached by Lauren Zander, Founder and CEO Handel Group. After six months of coaching she experienced a remarkable difference in her health after years of living with Crohn's Disease. The method was so compelling, Victoria committed to training with the company. Working with Lauren, she also created a more connected marriage and a better relationship between herself and her family. Victoria commenced her training with the Handel Group® in 2014, coaching students attending the Leading Your Life class at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Victoria is a Southern California native, and lives in Silicon Valley with her husband and two children. She enjoys hiking, going to the beach, walking, traveling, cooking and attending Pilates and yoga classes regularly. She is a meditator, journal keeper, and writer.