The Pipeline Team

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.

Pargavi has joined The Pipeline as our Intern. She has recently graduated with a 1^st 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.

Karen has been profiled in Media Guardian, The Evening Standard, The Independent on Sunday, The Sunday Times Business section – Andrew Davidson interview, Company Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Vogue and The Independent. Karen has appeared on Channel 4 News, BBC Global News, ITN News, BBC Breakfast News. 

Karen is an experienced speaker both within her industry sector and wider, and has spoken at: Management Today Inspiring Women conference, Mumsnet Workfest, AANA Reset Conference in Sydney Australia, the Huxley Summit, Advertising Association Lead Conference, has given a TEDx talk, and was a panellist for The Guardian Changing Media Conference whilst also guest editing the publication, Sunday Times Style “What She Said” column. Campaign’s most recent “BAME Issue” was guest edited by Karen. Karen is also a permanent contributor to The PipeLine Training Programme, focused on helping organisations progress their female talent. 

Prior to becoming a full-time executive coach, Lynn spent almost 20 years in the media industry as an award-winning (Emmy, National Press Club and Peter Lisagor Award for Investigative Journalism) television journalist, writer, producer, and on-air presenter/contributor in the USA and UK. Her excellent communication skills and distinctive can-do spirit were honed in professional posts with top international networks including BBC, ITV 1, CNN, CBS, CNBC, GMTV, Fox Health Network, E! Entertainment, BET and Showtime, where she developed and presented hard news as well as entertainment programming.

Lynn is known for her no-nonsense yet non-judgmental approach to coaching, upheld with total commitment to empowering her clients. She insists that measurable results can be obtained when time is valued as a commodity used to achieve leadership growth. Lynn inspires courage, humility and discipline in her clients and consistently coaches leaders to uncover their hidden potential for success.

Professor Chris Bones is Dean Emeritus at Henley Management School, Professor of Creativity and Leadership at Manchester Business School and Visiting Professor at the University of Aberdeen. He advises on the academic content of The Pipeline programmes.

Professor Bones is an organisation and change strategist who is consistently ranked by his peers as one of the most influential thinkers of his generation. He has written extensively for professional journals and major newspapers.

He published his first book, ‘The Self-Reliant Manager’ in 1994 and contributed to the republished works of Peter Drucker. His latest book ‘The Cult of Leadership’ addresses the reasons behind the malaise in leadership and what can be done to restore trust in business. It won the 2012 Management Book of the Year Prize – the first UK winner. Before entering the world of academia Professor Bones had a successful career in industry spanning 30 years. He has also advised the current and previous Governments on M&A and pay.

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.

Michele is an Executive Leadership coach with an avid interest in health and well-being. With a reputation for building excellent working relationships across all sectors and tackling controversial projects, she served as an executive manager in local government during her 35+ year public sector career. She led a diverse range of services such as housing, transport, planning, economic development,regeneration and corporate policy including leading on the delivery of the £90m Metrolink town centre extension for Oldham.

A keen walker and believer in the power of exercise and 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 sessions.

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.

William Devine is a Senior Executive Coach working with leaders and teams across all sectors of the UK and Internationally, and is the head of The Pipeline’s coaching practice.

William is also an expert in supporting organisations to recover, restore resilience and grow through traumatic events. He works with organisations nationally and internationally.

William runs his own boutique business providing psychological services to organisations in the UK and beyond to support the wellbeing and resilience of their people.

He has qualifications in Psychotraumatology and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy having practiced with individuals, groups and organisations for over 20 years. He is a member of various professional bodies in Coaching, Psychotherapy and Trauma e.g. AOC, BACP, BACP Coaching Division, FPC, UKPTS, ESTSS.

Lorna is co-founder of The Pipeline and is a trusted advisor to big cap companies and Whitehall on gender and developing executive female talent. She is also a Board member of the UK Fashion Textiles Association, UKFT, Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership and a trustee of the education charity, SHINE. Lorna is deeply committed to unlocking women’s potential at the top of corporate Britain as well as realising growth in the Northern Powerhouse.

Previously, Lorna was the founder and Director of The Alliance Project, a £150m public-private partnership to bring back textile manufacturing to the UK and CEO at the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM). She turned BICOM into an internationally renowned centre of excellence. She was also a visiting Fellow at the Defence Academy’s Advanced Research and Assessment Group and former Member of Parliament for Rochdale.

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.

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.

Initially, Simon began his career as a lawyer, however, he changed career direction in the mid-1980s when he returned to University to study for an MBA. He joined the academic staff at Ashridge Management College and was soon promoted to head of the Marketing Faculty.

In 1992, he left academia and set up his own consulting business. Simon then became the Marketing Director of Sears, helping to relaunch and subsequently demerge Selfridges. From there he was appointed Marketing Development Director of EMAP plc and helped launch and develop magazines such as FHM, Red and Heat, as well as working closely with all EMAP music and entertainment interests.

Until August 2004, Simon was the Group Marketing Director for Barclays plc, where he instigated significant change and built Barclays into a world- class marketing organisation.

Until March 2011, Simon was the Chief Marketing Officer for Standard Life plc where he instituted a major re-structuring and re-positioning programme. He has also recently carried out major pieces of strategy work for easyJet, BAA, Harper Collins, Cannes Lions & BDO.

Simon has a strong practical approach, backed by a thorough appreciation of latest analytical techniques. He is a lively and compelling speaker in constant demand on the international conference circuit and European business schools.

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.

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.

Simon Linares is an Executive Coach and Mentor at Merryck & Co EMEA. Before that he was the Group Human Resources Director of Direct Line Insurance Group Plc. He was responsible for leading the Group’s HR function, Internal and External Communications and Public Affairs. He was also responsible for delivering the Group’s People and Corporate Responsibility strategies. Simon is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Simon has spent the majority of his career as a leader in customer-centric businesses. Before moving into HR, Simon held several commercial business roles in the fastmoving consumer goods and financial services sectors. Simon is a NED of Nottingham Building Society and is also a trustee of the KidsOut UK charity.

Karen has over 25 years experience of developing leaders and coaching clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She 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 wonderful world in which we live.

Passionate about women’s leadership and gender equality, she has worked on the Leadership Summit at The Pipeline for over 5 years and relishes the outcomes that can be seen from the participating women taking more control for their careers and gaining traction in their future roles.

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.

Margaret McDonagh is a dynamic business woman and member of the House of Lords. She read an article by Alice Thompson in 2012 that explained corporate UK had lost 40% senior female executives in the previous decade and thus co-founded The Pipeline. Its purpose is to increase the number of women at the most senior levels of large organisations.

Margaret passionately believes such organisations are more successful over the long term and therefore looks at this gap as an economic rather than an equality issue. The Pipeline achieves its aim by working with both organisations and individual female executives because if women could do this on their own it would already have happened.

Margaret herself has had a successful corporate career serving as a NED for both Standard Life and Spanish based infrastructure company Abertis – TBI (global airports). Margaret was also the founding Chairperson of Smart Energy GB. She actively supports several charities including serving as trustee of AFC Wimbledon Foundation and is the Chairperson of the Orthopaedic Research & Education Fund, which uses big data to improve outcomes for patients.

By profession, Margaret is a global expert in leading ‘big campaigns’. Margaret ran Labour’s 1997 and 2001 General Election campaigns, which produced the most successful results for any party in Britain’s history. Margaret was also the first female and youngest General Secretary of the Labour Party.

Michele is an Executive Leadership coach with an avid interest in health and well-being. With a reputation for building excellent working relationships across all sectors and tackling controversial projects, she served as an executive manager in local government during her 35+ year public sector career. She led a diverse range of services such as housing, transport, planning, economic development, regeneration and corporate policy including leading on the delivery of the £90m Metrolink town centre extension for Oldham.

A keen walker and believer in the power of exercise and 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 sessions.

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.

Dipali Patel is an Executive Assistant at The Pipeline with over 10 years of experience and knowledge in both the Public and private sector. Dipali is an excellent problem solver who is calm and friendly with meticulous attention to detail. She is welcoming and engaging with everyone she comes across and brings together the team with her warm and approachable manner.

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.

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.

Lisa has joined The Pipeline to look after all things finance. She holds a Business (Accounting) degree from Sydney, Australia and was a member of CPA Australia for 20 years. Lisa has worked in the public sector, for large corporates as well as SME’s, across a broad range of industries, has worked in Australia, New Zealand and now lives and works in London.

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.