I work with business owners, senior leaders and individuals navigating transitions - holding the balance of empathy and gentle challenge that allows sustainable change to take root.
Helping people to get the most out of their lives is not a job, but a vocation for me. I am fascinated by how complex humans are and how we relate to each other. I support my clients in discovering what is right for them and shaping their relationships, both in their personal and professional contexts.
My clients often tell me that what helps most is the balance I bring between empathy and challenge. The combination of compassion and perceptiveness on the one hand, and persistence with inquiry and gentle challenge on the other, helps them feel safe in our conversations. From that sense of safety, they find the courage to experiment with new ways of leading and living - and often uncover fresh insights about themselves.
As one client put it: “Maria has a rare skill in helping people explore the unspoken doubts and challenges that most of us carry. Talking about what usually stays unsaid is often the first step to sustainable change.”
What We Might Explore
Through coaching, we might work on:
Navigating pivotal transitions - whether it’s stepping into senior roles, leaving corporate life, starting something new, adapting across cultures, preparing for retirement, or facing the personal changes that come with different stages of life.
Gaining clarity about who you are, what you want out of life, and the values that guide your choices.
Exploring your relationship with yourself and others, strengthening confidence, trust, and collaboration.
Recognising and shifting patterns that may hold you back, opening space for resilience, creativity, and growth.
Deepening your ability to respond to uncertainty and pressure while remaining grounded and effective.
Enhancing your leadership and influence - building presence, expanding your repertoire of styles, and fostering stronger relationships at work and beyond.
My coaching is holistic: we work with the whole person, not just the professional role. Real progress happens when we pay attention to both the external choices you face and the inner landscape that shapes how you show up, relate, and grow.
My background
I bring over 25 years of experience spanning finance, human resources, leadership development, and coaching. I began my career with PwC as an auditor and later moved into senior finance roles before following my passion for people development. At PwC I led Talent Management and Executive Development across Central & Eastern Europe, supporting partners and senior leaders through key career milestones.
I then served as Vice President of Human Capital on the executive board of Renaissance Insurance Group, before co-founding a boutique coaching and consulting practice. Since 2005 I’ve worked as a coach, and since 2015 also as a supervisor for coaches.
Today my practice is based in London and the Cotswolds, with clients across the UK and internationally.
Professional Qualifications:
MSc Organisational Change, Ashridge Executive Education, Hult International Business School
Post Graduate Certificate in Advanced Coaching and Organisation Development Supervision, Ashridge Executive Education, Hult International Business School
EMCC Global Individual Supervision Accreditation (ESIA)
EMCC Senior Practitioner (EIA)
Ashridge Accredited Executive Coach
Traumatic Stress Studies Certificate Program, Trauma Research Foundation
MA Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University
How We Work Together
We start with a free chemistry call to see whether we are the right fit for each other. Based on my experience, you’ll need to be willing to commit to a minimum of six coaching sessions in order to make real progress.
We can work face to face or virtually. I bring presence, experience, and the ability to both support and challenge you. You bring curiosity, motivation, and commitment. Together, our results will be amazing!
“Each session was different and unique on my path to discovery of a better version of myself. Maria very elegantly helped me to find the way to improve my performance and job satisfaction. Each session was very thought provoking and fruitful, and the final outcome was far beyond my expectations. She opened me up to an honest conversation with myself and guided me on the path of self-discovery. Maria is a genuine and compassionate person, which really helped me to feel comfortable discussing situations, which I would otherwise have not been able to openly talk about.”
— Katherine T – Director, Professional Services Firm
“I had a number of sessions with Maria on personal development. She was always incredibly understanding, friendly and supportive; she was somehow straight away able to identify the main issue, ask the right questions and suggest new attitudes and behaviours. Working with Maria helped me a lot with finding a happier balance and improving relationships both at work and in my private life. I am sincerely grateful for Maria’s patience, objective assessment of the problems that needed addressing and wise advice. I would highly recommend Maria as a coach to anyone!”
— Maria Richards – Regional Director, Alliance Healthcare
“In my experience with Maria as a coach, I found her style both supportive and challenging, which made our work together productive and insightful. Maria helped me to understand how my influencing style and behaviour are perceived by other people in the organisation. As a result I believe that I can now use a broader range of leadership styles and can be more effective both in interactions with my team and my colleagues in other departments.
Moreover, Maria has been supervising the work of our internal pool of coaches as a part of implementing coaching culture in our company. The whole team has the highest degree of trust and respect for her.”
— David M – Executive Board Member, Global Luxury Brand
“I found the coaching supervision process that I underwent with Maria very effective. She held the space for me to explore my issues with both my clients and my coaching strategies myself, and challenged and gave insightful and thought-provoking input in a very constructive and empathetic manner. Maria’s incisive contributions helped me to stay focused on my coaching supervision objectives and at the same time gave me the space to explore deeply and creativity. Additionally she brought in perspectives I did not surface myself, which were extremely useful. I appreciated the quality of her presence, which apart from anything else was both perceptive and non-intrusive. I really benefited from her firm, fair and friendly persistence with inquiry lines.”
— Bridgit Strong – Executive Coach
“Maria worked with me at Veon in 2017 as an external consultant. She mediated between the global shared services programme team and the Russian operating company with the aim of helping the two sides reach agreement on the expansion of the shared services operation. She played an invaluable role in enabling myself and the Group Operations Director for Global Operations to better understand the needs, concerns, motives and cultural sensitivities of the Russian players and find ways to address these. I was particularly impressed by the depth of Maria’s understanding of the political climate in the Russian operation, her empathy for both sides, and the trust she built with the Russian team as well as our own. She showed integrity in her interactions and discretion in what she revealed to either side. In addition, she developed a very clear plan of action for the programme team in terms of what needed to be addressed in order to move the project forward in Russia. I would have no hesitation in engaging Maria’s expertise again, across a broad spectrum of consulting challenges.”
— Tim Casserly – HR Director, Veon
“Maria is an amazing person and a wonderful coach. I ask Maria for help when I truly cannot cope myself with a business situation. During our 1st course of coaching she helped me to prepare for expatriation. Thanks to my work with Maria, my move to France went very smoothly; I successfully integrated into the new business. My second course of coaching with Maria focused on career planning. Maria helped me to holistically look at the situation; I managed to get away from the pressure of “now or never”. One year later I was promoted to the job of my dreams! ”
— Marina Nesterenko - European E-commerce Key Account Director, Royal Canin
