Expertise: Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, Change Management, Executive Coach & DEI Trainer, Keynote Speaker

Location: Suisse Romande, Switzerland

Delivery: Global

Languages: English

Background

Natalie, co-founder and co-CEO of Thriving Talent, is passionate about helping organisations to improve their female talent pipeline and build inclusive cultures where diversity can thrive.

She helps companies to create and drive talent and culture programmes that support employees who have caring responsibilities. By valuing the commercial benefits this brings, her clients are able to overcome diversity barriers, reduce attrition, become an employer of choice and drive their inclusion & culture agenda.

With her extensive HR background across the public and private sectors, you benefit from Natalie’s deep experience of organizational change management, leading and managing teams, and coaching and advising leaders and executive within multicultural environments.

Natalie lives in Switzerland, leading a careful balancing act of being a mother, wife, business owner and driving much-needed change in business and society. She values family time and takes the time to explore and play in Switzerland’s beautiful lakes and mountains with her young family.

Expertise: Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, Executive Coach & Trainer, Keynote Speaker

Location: Suisse Romande, Switzerland

Delivery: Global

Languages: English

Background

Deborah Croft, co-founder and co-CEO of Thriving Talent is passionate about supporting organisations to create a more inclusive, socially responsible culture; where parents and carers are empowered to choose career and caring, without the risk of career suicide, overwhelm and guilt.

Deborah spends a great deal of her time understanding the gender diversity challenges and visions of businesses within Switzerland, and sharing expertise and solutions on inclusive leadership and parenthood initiatives; so that organisations increase the retention and engagement of their workforce who are parents &/or carers.

Deborah has over 25 years of international industry experience and in her former years, worked on multiple change projects across Europe at IBM, in her role as a Project Manager. Prior to the launch of Thriving Talent in January 2015, Deborah had been successfully running a business focused on coaching and training leaders, back to work programmes, team building and effectively managing change, for 5 years in Switzerland.

Deborah lives near Geneva, with her husband and 2 daughters, so understands what it’s like to juggle the many demands of family life, be fulfilled in her career and make the most of the outdoor playground that Switzerland provides.

Background

With a background in business consulting as well as two master's degrees in psychology and business administration, Eleanor is well equipped and highly experienced in managing clients' needs, nurturing relationships and finding the best solutions for everyone involved.

She is energetic, engaged and prides herself in fast and practical solutions. Having written about diversity in work teams for her psychology degree, Eleanor still has a great interest in managing heterogeneity. And after taking time off to travel between every job change, Eleanor has a personal interest in non-linear career development and enabling people to fulfill their passions and personal values on the job.

Eleanor grew up in Basel and now lives in Zürich with her partner. Her life is always a balance between working passionately and filling every minute of her time off work with adventures - be it hiking up a mountain, swimming or diving in a lake, horseback riding, running, or catching up with friends over a cold beer or a nice meal.

Background

Simon Lunt has 20 years of senior global sales and marketing experience across industries as wide ranging as aviation, mass participation events, space exploration, cryogenics and personal safety, providing Thriving Talent with a broad and unique insight to help drive our client experience and growth ambitions.

Simon has led global sales teams in the sale of products and services which keep people safe on space rockets, enable paper to be written on with ink, alert deep sea divers to the dangers of hydrocarbons from the jurassic period and to keep paint wet in the tin. He is uber-enthusiastic about the development of people and is an advocate of a more compassionate workplace.

Simon lives with his wife in Teesside in the North East of England where they attempt to herd their son, daughter and two cats daily with varying degrees of success. Simon enjoys retro gaming, manga, playing the ancient Viking game of hnefatafl and realises this list makes him sound like the geek he really is. He has a significant passion for D&I, particularly in relation to working parents and disabled workers, both of which are topics close to his heart.

Background

Essi has over 10 years of experience in managing client relationships with major international corporations and sponsors of global sporting events as well as complex multi-stakeholder projects. She is a people-person and enjoys meeting people from different cultures and building long-lasting relationships. She is motivated by the challenge of getting to know the clients inside out and finding ways to help them exceed their goals. She is organised and effective in creating transparent procedures to ensure projects are completed within deadlines.

Born and raised in Finland, Essi has first hand experience on the impact of good work-life balance on families wellbeing, work performance and women’s career development. She moved to Switzerland in 2006 and now lives in Geneva with her Canadian husband and two multi-national (and multi-lingual) daughters. After taking a long parental break, Essi joined Thriving Talent in May 2022 and is extremely motivated to help make a positive change for families and the working population in general.

When not working, you will probably find her outside in the park with her children, doing sports, enjoying mountain adventures throughout the year, or cooking healthy meals.

Background

Simon Kernahan has an MBA and a post-graduate certificate in Account Management from St.Gallen University. With three decades of project delivery and account management experience for clients large and small, he is passionate about how organisations navigate change and how to provide the best working environment for teams and individuals.

Simon thrives when he can help clients solve their key issues and unlock the potential within their teams. Having worked internationally and with a flair for languages, he enjoys working across functions and borders with people from diverse backgrounds. He is an advocate of lifelong learning and also teaches part-time (e.g. Marketing for engineers or Applying for Swiss citizenship).

With UK roots, Simon has been based in Switzerland since his teens and is fortunate to be at home in 3 cultures, since he’s married to a lady from Mexico and has a daughter and a son, who are still both at home with the family. As an antidote to the digital world, he enjoys cycling and stand-up paddling and skiing. Other interests include cooking, travelling and, last but not least, a good book and a glass of wine or a cool beer.

Background

After 5 years as part of the Swiss fencing national team, taking part in European and World championships, I decided to focus on my studies. I obtained my bachelor at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), focusing on the field of Business Administration, and had the chance to do an exchange semester in Madrid. This time spent in my undergraduate studies opened my mind in several ways. On the one hand regarding languages. As a matter of fact, my studies enabled me to discover Chinese, Russian, and Spanish languages, with an invaluable introduction to their unique culture.

On the other hand, it is also during this time that I have been introduced to the topic of ED&I. Within the first sessions of the related class, I knew I wanted to make a career in this sector. Its implication on the well-being of both companies and employees is, in my opinion, underestimated. This is the reason why I chose to have a meaningful impact on businesses and society. I am extremely happy to pursue this goal through my internship within Thriving Talent, and hope then to pursue my studies with a master focusing on these problematics.

Background

Caroline has over 20 years of sales and client support experience, in a variety of sectors covering financial media, exhibitions and conferences, foods and charity, and qualified as a Sophrologist in 2019.

Caroline is an organised and dependable operations manager, ensuring the smooth running of the operations of the business. Her contribution is instrumental in enabling the execution of the delivery function of the Inclusion & Diversity programme support services that Thriving Talent provides to its clients.

As a qualified Sophrologist, she is able to help individuals find their way to a healthy, relaxed body and a calm, alert mind, through the use of easy-to-do physical and mental exercises that can be done anytime, anywhere. Her approach is engaging, open and compassionate. Her work allows clients to find calmness and appreciation of their lives.

Working with Thriving Talent allows Caroline to combine her business experience with a focus on supporting both the individuals within a company and the company as a whole - ultimately assisting each client to become an employer which respects, supports and values its people.

Sophrology is offered as one of the coaching options within our leadership development programmes as well as the working parent programmes, to help busy professionals juggling work / life balance.

Caroline lives in a village in Switzerland not far from the Jura mountains with her husband and two sons and their favourite pastime is to head off in their old campervan for adventures in the great outdoors.