Meet Our Team

Margaret has worked within The Pipeline’s team for over five years, not only consulting with clients to accelerate their diversity agenda, but also working with participants on the Pipeline’s programmes to fast forward their careers.

Her prior experiences in both corporate HR functions, followed by consulting with large and small businesses about talent programmes and processes, and latterly as an Executive Search Consultant all provide powerful insights into how to navigate and drive careers within organisations.

She has worked across multiple sectors – retail, leisure and hospitality, financial services, fmcg, consumer electronics, property, publishing and was Non-Exec Director for a technology business in the public sector.

Obi James, a Finnish-Nigerian Leadership & Inclusion Expert, specialises in creating inclusive cultures of shared leadership and empowered relationships where every individual can thrive.

With extensive experience in multinational organisations like Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, Bloomberg and Bank of America, Obi is globally sought-after for her expertise, speaking on Inclusive Leadership at prestigious forums like the World Cities Culture Forum Summit and the Africa CEO Forum. Her strategies for fostering inclusive cultures have earned her numerous accolades, including global awards for her outstanding work.

Additionally, Obi's role as a Judge for renowned events like the Africa CEO Forum and Business Book Awards highlights her commitment to recognising emerging talent and visionary leaders. As a Trustee of the Royal African Society, she actively contributes to amplifying African voices and interests globally. She is the author of #1 Amazon bestselling book, "Let Go Leadership - how inclusive leaders share power to drive high performance,".

Obi lives in London with her 2 teenage daughters who inspire her work every day.

Tamara Dzgoeva is our seasoned Programme Director, dedicated to fostering environments where all individuals thrive and excel. With a fervent commitment to cultivating high-performing teams and empowering leaders, Tamara brings a wealth of expertise in talent development, executive coaching, and leadership enhancement.

Having honed her skills across diverse cultural landscapes, Tamara's inclusive approach is shaped by her extensive experience managing international teams and working in UK, India, Malaysia, and Russia. Her multicultural perspective enriches her strategies for building cohesive and dynamic work environments.

Prior to her role at The Pipeline, Tamara held pivotal positions at Mercer & Korn Ferry, where she developed her craft in talent development and organisational dynamics. Additionally, she serves as a board trustee for Emmaus Greenwich, a commendable homelessness charity dedicated to providing support, employment, and housing to those formerly homeless.

Tamara’s passion for empowering individuals and organisations is evident in her tireless efforts to drive meaningful change and foster growth at every level.

Nell is an experienced events manager across the private and public sectors. She anticipates the needs of participants before they themselves realise them. Her talent for delivering great customer service comes from working in the retail industry when she helped her dad on his flower stall at a very young age.

Born in London, Sanaa is proud of her Moroccan heritage. She partially spent her childhood in Morocco, and although once again London-based, she still feels strongly connected to her cultural roots.

Professionally, Sanaa worked in a range of Executive Assistant & program management roles before joining The Pipeline. Her career has taken her to posts in management consulting and global insurance, in both the UK and in Bahrain. Life in the Middle East allowed Sanaa to enjoy the benefits of a luxury lifestyle but first-class travel and an expensive apartment didn’t compensate for the culture shock. She cleverly found ways to adapt culturally, without having to compromise her own personality.

Sanaa feels she has learned an incredible amount about human behavior during her career, including how to best communicate with a variety of people. At The Pipeline, she applies her outstanding organization skills to program management and network coordination.

Alice is the Programme Coordinator for Leadership Summit at The Pipeline.  With almost 10 years experience in the world of event management, across a range of sectors, Alice brings a passion for attention to detail and customer experience to make sure all attendees have the best experience possible.  Having been a part of a family run business since childhood, determination and a go-getting attitude have pushed her to excel in the industry.

A keen volunteer, Alice has worked across a number of events including the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Birmingham, showcasing abilities to lead and act as part of a team.

Other passions include travel, cooking and spending time with family and friends to live life to the full.

Paula Leach is a Chief People Officer with over 25 years experience working in global multinational, large scale complex public sector and entrepreneurial growth organisations. Paula is passionate about the importance of leadership in building organisational cultures where people are included, can be creative and collectively productive.

Paula now runs her own Executive Coaching and Business Advisory business ‘Vantage Points Consulting Ltd’ enabling and inspiring leaders to explore and unlock their full potential and that of their teams and organisations. In 2021 she launched the ‘Vantage Points Foundation’ which provides coaching and mentoring support and inspiration to young women to lean into and achieve their dream careers. Paula is author of the book ‘Vantage Points’ published in February 2021.

Karen is a Leadership Development Expert and Executive Coach with a track record of working with senior leaders from all sectors in the UK and globally.  She brings significant knowledge of designing and facilitating complex leadership development programmes which results in behaviour change and transformation at all levels.

Karen has a robust and practical approach and believes that coaching and personal development should be based on the realities, challenges and opportunities that exist in the challenging and wonderful world in which we live.  She works with a diverse range of leaders delivering 121 coaching for Executive Boards, middle managers, small business owners and sole traders.

Her clients include BBC Scotland, EY Global Partners, Macmillan Cancer, Hermes ParcelNet, The Commonwealth, Ministry of Defence and other central Government departments.

Karen passionately believes in the advancement of women’s leadership.  She works closely with Lynn Blades and together they host three-day leadership summits with female leaders for Baroness Margaret McDonough’s and Lorna Fitzsimons’ Executive Pipeline, dedicated to advancing female leaders.

Most recently she has been coaching senior leaders who work internationally for nature conservation as part of the MAVA Foundation for Nature Leaders Academy Programme.

Alongside her business, Karen is also Chair of a Multi Academy Trust and is committed to advancing educational aspirations across young people.

Lynn Blades has endeavored to build a 21st Century Leadership workforce that is more representative of our society through her work as an Executive Leadership Coach and Diversity & Inclusion advocate.

Over the past 16 years, Lynn has coached a cross-section of clients from C-suite executives and their teams to young professionals just beginning their careers in industries as diverse as finance, auditing, insurance, education, marketing, media, government, and music. Her clients include prestigious Fortune 500 companies Nike, KPMG, EY, Barclays, and PayPal among others. She has also coached media executives at The Tate, BBC, Universal, Disney, Fox Search Light and TLC Worldwide Marketing. Lynn hosts monthly three-day leadership summits with female leaders for Baroness Margaret McDonough’s and Lorna Fitzsimons’, Executive Pipeline, dedicated to advancing female leaders.

Lynn is a contributor to Forbes and is a member of their Coaching Council. She sits on several boards focusing on developing the leadership of young, diverse talent including Creative Access Advisory Board, Working Title Films’ London Screen Academy and The Frontier Learning Trust with Imperial College, showing her passion for equality access and opportunity for leadership development.

Jennifer brings over 15 years experience as a communication and change strategist, and as a Partner in a global management consultancy, to her Executive coaching. She has worked at executive levels with, and in, a number of FTSE 100 companies in many sectors – finance, oil and gas, law, services. She works effectively in an environment of turbulent or substantial change.

She firmly believes that if people are resourceful enough to articulate issues, they are resourceful enough to find solutions. Her role is to use questioning, challenge and feedback to help clients uncover helpful insights quicker. She often helps clients to shine in their personal diversity and to lead inclusively so that diversity is welcomed, encouraged and celebrated in organisational life.

Dr Sophy Antrobus researches contemporary air power in the context of the institutional, cultural and organisational barriers to innovation in modern air forces, in particular the RAF. She joined the Freeman Air and Space Institute from Portsmouth Business School where she was a Teaching Fellow in Strategic Studies. Prior to that Sophy completed her PhD at the University of Exeter. Her thesis researched the early politics of air power and networks in Whitehall in the inter-war years. She delivered the 2020 Peter Nailor Defence Lecture at Gresham College on the subject ‘How are Drones Changing Warfare?’.

Previously, Sophy served in the Royal Air Force for twenty years including in Iraq and Afghanistan and a tour with the Royal Navy. She was awarded the MBE in 2003. Her final tour was commanding operations at RAF Valley. Prior to starting her PhD she ran a successful consultancy business working with military charities and veterans. She is a Fellow and elected member of the Council of the Royal Aeronautical Society; she also chairs its Learned Society Board.

Jennifer brings over 15 years experience as a communication and change strategist, and as a Partner in a global management consultancy, to her Executive coaching. She has worked at executive levels with, and in, a number of FTSE 100 companies in many sectors – finance, oil and gas, law, services. She works effectively in an environment of turbulent or substantial change.

She firmly believes that if people are resourceful enough to articulate issues, they are resourceful enough to find solutions. Her role is to use questioning, challenge and feedback to help clients uncover helpful insights quicker. She often helps clients to shine in their personal diversity and to lead inclusively so that diversity is welcomed, encouraged and celebrated in organisational life.

Michele is an Executive Leadership coach with an avid interest in health and wellbeing. A keen walker and believer in the power of the outdoors, she has been director of her own company Walking the Talk Ltd since 2015 offering her clients the opportunity to walk outdoors during their coaching session.

With a reputation for building excellent relationships across all sectors and successfully tackling controversial and sensitive projects, she honed her own Leadership skills as a director in local government during her 30+ year public sector career.

I am an enthusiastic leadership consultant and executive coach with over 20 years’ experience at senior levels of corporations, and of not-for-profit and public sector organisations. I have worked with middle and top managers across many countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.  I specialise in helping executives to deal with significant transitions in their life or career, as well as in leadership, teamwork, interpersonal communication, and diversity. I have coached high potential executives within company programmes aimed at redressing gender or ethnicity imbalances at senior levels.

Since December 2022, I have been an associate of the Executive Pipeline, a consultancy that is focused on helping many of the world’s most successful companies and public sector organisations achieve more ethnically diverse and gender-balanced teams.  This includes helping their female managers to achieve their potential for promotion to top executive positions. I coach participants on their two major leadership development programmes: Top Flight and Women in Leadership.

In her role as coach, Jackie works alongside CEO’s and senior leaders of global organisations helping them to do the tough work of change. She equips leaders to direct with their head as well as their heart, always seeing the leadership and people dynamic in the context of their business and commercial imperatives.

Jackie is known for moving leaders and their teams to the next level of performance. Organisations want to work with her as she brings a mix of business acumen with creativity, challenge and support.

Jackie’s work is shaped by the belief that the answers to most questions and dilemmas lie within the minds of leaders and their teams within organisations. Her approach focuses on enabling and surfacing the crucial questions that lead to new opportunities and growth in the current dynamic economy.

I’m an independent executive coach, writer and facilitator with with over twenty years’ experience working with clients ranging from GSK to Comic Relief.

My coaching approach combines psychodynamic thinking with practical communication and coaching techniques. Since I started coaching (helping an FMCG take their top 300 leaders through a new leadership model in 2000) I have drawn extensively on psychodynamic training at Birkbeck, with Tavistock, Sandler and Bath Consulting, as well as twenty years’ experience as a communications consultant, to develop a distinctive coaching approach. One that helps people understand and address underlying patterns of thinking and behaving that are holding them back, while giving them tools and techniques to build their confidence and take action to change. Much of my coaching involves helping clients understand and improve their communication style and build their confidence, for example when positioning themselves for promotion, or post promotion. (A current project in a professional services firm involves helping the pre-Partner cadre step up to the leadership role of Partner). Increasingly I work on mid/late career transitions; helping people figure out what they want to do with their ‘one wild and precious life’ and then take the actions they need to change jobs or make their life and work more meaningful.

Sue has 30 years corporate experience culminating in 15 years at board-level. Her career started in advertising working on leading accounts, then in media during the transition to digital and finally in retail with a global brief.

As a professional executive coach, Sue coaches across a breadth of industries at a senior level. Her wealth of corporate experience enables fast comprehension of client challenges and helps her to work with each client to develop realistic strategies for success.

Sue has both experienced herself and coached others around the following: working in a male-dominated environment, navigating conflicting priorities of daily growth vs. long-term strategy, the complexities of working in a global matrix structure, balancing demanding work and personal schedules and more.

Sue’s clients say her coaching is insightful, challenging, supportive and effective.

Jayne has a wealth of FTSE 300 board level and non-executive director experience. Her career started as a chartered surveyor and property consultant and then progressed to corporate life in the UK and North America where she was involved in several large-scale mergers and acquisitions. She is a subject matter expert but also an experienced all-round business woman.

As an executive coach and accredited mediator, Jayne combines this learning with the experience of working with complex issues and challenging environments. She is passionate about supporting individuals and organisations reach new horizons and achieve the results they want.

Jayne’s non-executive experience also allows her to see things from multi levels which Chief Executives and Senior Leadership Teams in particular find beneficial. Her personable approach never compromises her insightfulness and vision of how things can be better.

Pauline has held a number of senior leadership roles in the European and UK motor industry. In addition she has supported several charities in a non-executive role, drawing on her broad commercial experience as a Finance Director, Learning and Development specialist and International Human Resources Director.

Pauline is now engaged in providing consultancy support to organisations aiming to create positive commercial change while bringing out the potential excellence within their people.

Working with senior leaders to examine their strategic direction, company structure and culture, Pauline supports positive change through organisation design, leadership development and executive coaching. Recent clients include Jaguar Land Rover, Ultra Engineering, Children with Cancer UK and MacIntyre.

As an executive coach, Pauline is focused particularly on supporting senior female leaders to bring out their most authentic personal leadership in challenging environments. Feedback from those Pauline has worked with attributes her with enabling them to leverage their personal impact and influence more effectively and so drive the success of their organisations.

Kathryn Gallan is Head of Partnerships & Client Development at The Pipeline.  She is passionate about how companies spot, develop and retain their talent. Kathryn’s role involves identifying opportunities for growth and partnering with like-minded businesses and ensuring we have the structure to deliver on it.

Kathryn is also a NED at Starting Point Recruitment, a company which invests 100% of its profits in initiatives which increase social mobility. She is an Associate Member of CIPD. Prior to this she founded two businesses focused on talent and DEI.

Alison Byrom is The Pipeline’s Sales Operations Manager. She is responsible for liaising with organisations as the first point of contact to help answer queries around our open or bespoke programmes and match you to the right solution. Once programme places are booked, Alison provides all delegates and their managers with vital pre-programme information to ensure participants and organisations maximise results.

A seasoned professional, Ben brings a wealth of experience to The Pipeline, garnered from years of dedicated work in the digital landscape. His expertise spans across various facets of digital strategy, online marketing, and technology integration, making him a pivotal member of our team.

Ben is committed to staying at the forefront of digital innovation, ensuring that The Pipeline remains ahead in the ever-evolving digital landscape. His proficiency in optimising online platforms, crafting engaging digital experiences, and implementing data-driven strategies makes him an invaluable asset in our journey.

Pargavi joined The Pipeline as an Intern. She graduated with a 1st class degree in International Business from University of Hull where she also did a year abroad at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. She is extremely passionate about Diversity and Inclusion which has led her to The Pipeline. She believes that people from different backgrounds should be allowed equal opportunities to better their lives and careers.

Prof. Geeta Nargund is the chair of the board at The Pipeline.

Previously, Geeta had founded UK-headquartered CREATE Fertility, one of the most innovative companies in the fertility space. In 2021, the business was sold to IVIRMA Global, the world’s largest reproductive medicine provider.

Geeta has long championed reproductive empowerment and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers on reproductive medicine that have shaped innovative approaches in the field of human reproduction.

She serves on several national and international scientific and advisory committees, including as a board member and the vice chair of the British Red Cross and as a member of the WHO (World Health Organisation) expert sub-group on infertility guidelines.

Geeta has won international recognition not only for her leadership in the medical field but also for her philanthropic efforts. Over the years, she has received numerous awards, including the “Red woman of the year award for charity and community work”, “RBS chairman’s award” and “Inspirational woman award 2015”.

She also co-founded Create Impact Ventures to support innovators who are passionate about making a positive societal impact.

Anurag Agarwal brings over 20 years of professional experience, specialising in investments, mergers & acquisitions and advisory roles. He has been actively partnering with founder managers and management teams of SMEs as these businesses pursue key strategic initiatives.

Anurag heads Create Impact Ventures, an investment firm, which backs dynamic entrepreneurs scaling up high-growth businesses fundamentally built on delivering positive social impact. He is also a board member of Origin Coffee and Bloobloom. Previously, Anurag spent 17 years with EY across offices in London and New Delhi.

Anurag is a Chartered Accountant and earned his MBA from the Indian School of Business. Anurag enjoys traveling, sports, and staying active.

Lord Waheed Alli has held executive positions at several television production companies including the Endemol Shine Group, Carlton Television Productions (now ITV Studios), Planet 24, and Chorion.

He served as the Chief Executive of Silvergate Media until 2022, Chairman of Koovs Plc and a director at Olga Productions.

He is a member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, sitting as a life peer for the Labour Party.

Waheed is the former Chancellor of De Montfort University in Leicester and is also the President of the Croydon Youth Development Trust. He is a patron of Skillset, the Sector Skills Council supporting skills and training within the creative media industries.

Sue joined Ridgeway Partners as a partner in 2015 to lead the Retail and HR practice and work with the Board practice team. Previously Chief Executive, and a board member of a listed search firm, she has over 17 years as a practitioner in board advisory services.

Her work within the search industry has focused on board and non-executive appointments in FTSE and AIM listed businesses. With an early career in retail, she was a managing director of a leisure business in the early nineties. She moved into executive search in 1998. In addition to her role at Ridgeway Partners, Sue is a board member of Walpole British Luxury, a founder member of The Women’s Business Council and a Trustee for KidsOut children’s charity. She was awarded an OBE for services to charity and for promoting equality in the workplace, has a role on the board of the Chartered Management Institute and she is also a member of the International Women’s Federation.

Sue Couldery is our interim executive director. She is a chartered accountant with over 30 years in the private sector as CFO, with a deep expertise in Private Equity backed companies, mergers and acquisitions.  She has a reputation for being able to explain finance to non experts.

Sue is also Non Executive Chair at Yonder Consulting an insights, strategy and branding group.

Sue a mother of four boys, is a keen singer, skier and walker having recently reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.