John Leary-Joyce CEO and Founder

John is our CEO and founded the Academy of Executive Coaching in 1999 with one administrator and over the years recruited and collaborated with many talented directors, trainers & administrators to develop AoEC into the prestigious brand it is today.

With his tireless entrepreneurial spirit, AoEC has become a highly successful international coaching training organisation with professional accreditation from ICF, EMCC, & AC. Previously, he was MD of Gestalt Centre London growing the business fourfold in six years and gaining a Company Director diploma with the Institute of Directors.

John is a highly principled leader, drawing on and applying his experience from a long career as a Gestalt psychotherapist, executive and team coach, trainer and supervisor. He is past president of EMCC UK where his focus was on maintaining standards for coaching and mentoring and building collaboration between the different professional bodies.

In 2010, he founded with Peter Hawkins the Systemic Team Coaching programmes. He has an MA in Executive Coaching, is PCC with ICF, qualified supervisor, regular presenter at international conferences and author of Fertile Void, Gestalt Coaching at Work 2014 and co-author of Systemic Team Coaching - 2nd Edition, 2024. His other passion is dancing Tango which links with leadership, coaching and Gestalt.

David Kesby - Faculty

David believes everyone deserves to be led well. His purpose in life is to support leaders and organisations to create conditions for others to flourish and thrive - their people and their stakeholders.David has 30 years experience of leading and developing people and has been coaching individuals and groups since 1998. He has worked with leaders and teams in finance, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, defence, government, healthcare, manufacturing and global tech. David is an AoEC qualified Executive and Systemic Team Coach, credentialled as a PCC level coach with the ICF, and is an Ashridge accredited Coach and Organisational Supervisor. He joined the AoEC faculty in 2016 and has delivered the Practitioner Programme in Switzerland, UK and within global organisations. In his spare time, David leads a scout unit in Winchester where he lives, for young people between 16-25 years with special educational needs. His whole family is involved and he loves it!

Nick Kitchen Faculty

‘I am passionate about developing the craft and profession of coaching to support and help individuals and organisations more effectively respond and flourish in the face of increasing volatility and complexity – the world needs great coaches more than ever!’Previously new business director of international advertising agency TBWA, Nick is an experienced senior executive and team coach, trainer, facilitator, coach supervisor and engaging event speaker, with more than twenty five years’ experience in supporting the development and success of organisations and leaders throughout many parts of the world.His clients have ranged from SME entrepreneurial organisations to large multinationals across many sectors including automotive, financial services and banking, IT, media and creative, pharmaceutical, industrial, oil exploration, public sector and charities.He has been developing coaches for over twenty years, drawing particularly on his development of Somatic Cognitive coaching and facilitation which enables coaches and leaders to engage with their deeper embodied experience and thereby impact more effectively that of their groups and wider systems.He has been a member of faculty with the AoEC since 2009, principally on the Advanced Diploma in Executive Coaching and the Systemic Team Coaching Diploma.Nick’s professional qualifications include:· Developer of Somatic Cognitive Coaching and facilitation· Developer of IIMAC© sales process· AoEC Diploma in Advanced Executive Coaching (Distinction)· ICF Professional Certified Coach Accredited· Accredited NLP Trainer

Sharon Tan, Head of Global Partnership Asia, Faculty & Coach

Sharon has been a trusted, strategic thought partner, coach and mentor to many senior executives and leadership teams. Having personally worked in senior leadership positions in both Finance & Human Resources functions within global corporations, she understands first-hand how to strike the right balance between the competing demands of delivering results and developing leaders. She’s well-versed in facilitating systemic changes across multicultural, cross-functional organisations inclusively through shared leadership, co-creation, and fostering collaboration amongst stakeholders at various levels. She is PCC certified (ICF) and qualified in team coaching by ICF, and certified MCIPD. Sharon Tan (+65 9008 3982 SG / +44 7521 926645 UK) sharon.tan@aoec.com

Madeleine Dunford Head of AoEC East Africa

Madeleine is an ICF (International Coaching Federation) credentialed PCC coach and founding Managing Director of Career Connections. She comes from a background of assessing, developing and advising the largest companies in East and Central Africa. With her qualifications from the Academy of Executive Coaching (AoEC), UK, and ICF Accreditation, she has over ten years’ experience as an executive coach. Madeleine is an action oriented, solutions focused coach who believes deeply in the resourcefulness of her clients. As an experienced leader that consults at senior levels, Madeleine’s coaching clients include the region’s largest and multinational FMCG, governmental and financial services organisations. Madeleine earned her first degree at the University of York, UK and her MSc, with Distinction, from the University of Edinburgh, UK. She has multiple specialist qualifications from USA and UK in assessing and coaching leaders for development. In 2017 Madeleine completed a Certificate programme at Harvard University, USA, on the Art & Practice of Leadership Development.

Neil Atkinson Faculty

Neil worked in the business world as a digital communications and marketing expert for three decades before moving into coaching and leadership development. An ICF PCC-accredited Advanced Coach, he’s passionate about supporting people to develop themselves, their careers and their potential, as well as helping teams become more effective. Neil has studied positive psychology and mindfulness/meditation and created training programmes in wellbeing and resilience. He brings these interests to his coaching practice and his role as a facilitator on many coaching training programmes.

Suzanne Doyle Faculty

Suzanne is an accredited Systemic Team Coach who works with senior leaders, leadership teams, and scaled teams in the UK and internationally. She partners with organisations to build internal coaching capability, strengthen leadership effectiveness, and enable sustainable, enterprise-wide agility in complex environments.

With over 20 years’ experience in Financial Services, Suzanne has led and supported complex, large-scale business and IT transformations. Her work focuses on shifting culture and behaviour to deliver measurable improvements in collaboration, decision-making, alignment, and value delivery. She brings a strong systemic perspective, helping leaders and teams navigate complexity, clarify purpose, and improve flow and outcomes across scaled organisations.

Suzanne is an AoEC-qualified Systemic Team Coach and ORSC practitioner, a PCC-credentialed coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and an accredited Coaching Supervisor. She is also an Enterprise Agile Coach (CEC, CTC, ICE-AC, ICE-EC, ICE-AL), partnering with executive leaders and multiple teams to embed ways of working that endure well beyond the transformation lifecycle.