Testimonials

Please note, I offer my clients complete confidentiality and often sign Non-Disclosure Agreements. Some testimonials have been offered anonymously.

“It was an insightful event. The Peer Advisory Circle indeed brings the collective wisdom of a group of senior business people with relevant experience, who are objective, have a diversity of opinions, and no vested interests. It helps you accelerate the process of dealing with business obstacles by leveraging the expertise, ideas, creativity, advice and experience of a group of business owners and leaders. I highly recommend it to new business owners / CEOs.”
Liliana Reasor, CEO, Novus Ordo Capital

“Sylvana’s coaching insights and well-researched contribution to her Peer Advisory Boards are what makes her business stand apart.  The sessions are well organised and effectively delivered.  I highly recommend her Peer Advisory Board for those with a curious mind and desire to make a success of their own business or professional life.”
Adrian Collins, KuPP. Ltd

“Sylvana is a goldmine of knowledge about leadership, business, behavioural aspects, processes and practices for mental strength and self-awareness. She brings this together with her own professional experience and great ability to lead a group to grow and learn. The senior people in the group, the trust and confidentiality, provide business leaders with a diverse and safe forum to discuss and explore specific as well as common topics. I highly recommend the Advisory Board to ambitious business leaders and executives.”
Anna Gudmundson, Former CEO, Fitbug

“Wonderful morning Sylvana. Excellently executed, meaningful insights and good discussions in a relaxed, safe environment with likeminded guys. Spot on. Certainly time well spent.” 
Rikky Bedi, MD, MSB Consultancy

“I met Sylvana at a leadership event at a time when I was specifically looking for an executive coach with a background in my industry. Sylvana was the key presenter at the event and her words and delivery had an immediate impact on me; she exuded clarity, drive and focus and these qualities resonated through her words and the content of her presentation. 

As a recovering perfectionist and high achiever, Sylvana helped me to step back from the minutiae; see the bigger picture and become more self aware. This has provided me with the tools and mindset to transition from manager to leader and enabled me to discard recursively draining thought processes that no longer served me. 

Having worked with several coaches at various stages in my career, Sylvana stands out as an exceptionally talented coach. She is truly adept at helping you scratch below the surface bringing deeply personal benefits both in and outside of the office”
Jennifer Walker, Global Project Manager, Finance IT

“A constructive and very well managed session. The diversity of the members really enhanced the dynamics around the boardroom table.”
Adam Gazzoli, Director

“Time spent with Sylvana has turned into an excellent investment. I’ve realised that the higher we climb in the corporate world, the less likely we are to have the caring yet constructively critical guidance we had as young employees. Having someone several steps removed from the details of my professional life has been invaluable. Rather than working on the tactical and political problems I’d address with colleagues, time with Sylvana gets me to step back and look at the big, strategic picture. Sessions are career-affirming, stress-reducing, and always leave me with a list of practical steps I’m going to take to continue on my personal development path. Her services have been an excellent investment.”
Ellen Ferrara, Marketing Communications Consultant

“Sylvana has been a great support over recent months as an executive coach. She is insightful, non-judgmental and humorous. I have enjoyed our sessions, even though by nature much exec coaching is not painless. She has found a great balance between supportive and challenging. She doesn’t make me feel small but she does seem to know which levers to press. I am sure my ability to perform my work has been enhanced by her ability to shine a light in some of the darker corners! “
Timothy Morris, Former Director of Finance, tomorrow’s company

“I learnt a lot from my course of executive coaching sessions with Sylvana. She has experience of the pressurised trading environment in which I work so we could immediately relate to each other. Sylvana worked with me to determine productive strategies for progressing my career. I enjoyed every session and always came away with an alternative approach to the work situation that we had discussed, which I could put in to practice the very next day.”
Director, Quantitative Analysis, Capital Markets, International Bank

“Navigating my way through a new organisation, new region, new business and new team would have been an impossible task without the help of Sylvana. She helped to distil some of the more complex managerial issues into small enough bite size chunks so as we could attack the core issues whether that was managing up or down. My vision from the start was to institute a core set of cultural traits that would be necessary in building a highly successful investment business. With Sylvana’s help we defined these traits which we constantly referred to as a guide or mirror to stay the course in managing the business.”
Former Head of Asian Hedge Fund

“Your session was truly inspiring and hands down the best part of the event. I am practicing my learnings and honestly can see a difference already in how I used to interact with people, so thanks for that valuable insight!!”
Sana Khan, CFO, MENA BT

“Sylvana is a great executive coach with a true interest in the betterment of the leaders’ integral impact, especially in the financial services sector. As a former executive in that industry, she understands well the challenges, dilemmas and pressures affecting finance leaders and can provide coaching support, which is both impactful and illuminating. Her commitment and ability to support female leaders achieving full success is another of her distinctive traits. Both as a manager and a fellow coach, I fully appreciate working with Sylvana.”
Head of Learning and Development, European Bank

“Definitely enjoyed your workshop- Great content, clear delivery and of course a nice Aussie accent.”
John Hanna, Finance Director, QMDI

“Outstanding executive coaches are few and far between. The market is full of ex-business leaders who don’t quite get people, or coaches who don’t quite get business. The commercial acumen, mixed with the ability to listen and learn, together with the need for real empathy are extremely rare. Sylvana is able to use these skills to move individuals into the place where they are able to fulfil their potential. She is exceptional because of her noteworthy business experience and uncanny ability to get to the heart of a coachee’s challenges. Even better is that she does this with style, credibility and a sense of humour.”
Stephen Turner, Former Head of Investor Solutions UK, BNP Paribas Securities Services

“I would highly recommend Sylvana as a personal career/management coach. I worked with her over a period of 5 years to develop my personal skills.
 At the outset I had a strong technical reputation for delivering quality work, but found it challenging to work with a wide range of people in an effective way – my success was built on functional skills and not people skills. This was holding up my career and my manager engaged Sylvana as a personal coach to a number of people in a management team where we needed to improve our overall performance.
          I was initially very sceptical and even cynical about the coaching process, but my fears were unfounded and the whole coaching process very effective. My skills developed considerably in the working environment and I continue to develop personally through constant use of the tools and techniques I learned with Sylvana. I am now selected into roles because of my people skills and not in spite of them.
An extremely positive experience – I would even describe it as life-changing.”
Mark Vickers, BNP Paribas Financial Services – Product & Change Management

“The interactive nature of the workshop made for a great engagning experience and one that sticks. Giving your audience the opportunity to present made the discussions all the more memorable. I am glad I took that opportunity because presentation is one basic skill a great leader should excel at.”
Marie Christine Andela, Associate Accountant, State Street

“I met Sylvana when she led the Personal Excellence Programme for Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF). I had such admiration for the way she ran the programme for a not-for-profit on very limited funds that I replicated her model when I set up the development programme for the RBS Womens network. When Sylvana became president of WIBF she invited me to join the executive team. I found her leadership style to be inclusive and open. Sylvana was very committed to leading this team. She was organised and methodical in ensuring the team was well advised and connected. Everyone had a voice and was encouraged to participate. Sylvana is incredibly knowledgeable and well connected within the City. Her unassuming nature also makes her very easy to connect to on a personal level. She communicates well with all levels and backgrounds.
From a coaching perspective I have undertaken several sessions with Sylvana; she has really helped me to listen to the words I use when speaking internally and to understand the underlying messages within this self talk. This in turn has allowed me to make better decisions about my future and to give me greater understanding to my thoughts and feelings. Her style of questioning has greatly assisted me in reframing the way I look at things and has given me tools and techniques to take away and use going forward. All of this has encouraged me to maintain a positive outlook and to feel in control of my decisions. I will certainly use Sylvana again as a coach and would be would sincerely recommend her to others.”
Heather Mullins, Formerly Business Manager, RBS

“I worked with Sylvana for a short while on a personally funded coaching basis. I really wanted to explore new ways of improving both my performance within and my feelings about my professional life. Sylvana was excellent at putting me at ease and in coaxing ideas and solutions that I formed myself, as a result of her leading me through each session. I was particularly grateful that Sylvana was happy to tailor each session to my exact circumstances and would always ask me what I wanted to get out of them – and then work with me to achieve those results.”
Alethea Nugent, Compliance Consultant

“I experienced some stressful life and professional events over a period of a few short years with the failure of a business and the end of a relationship. It is sometimes very difficult to find harmony, balance and direction by yourself. The guidance and perspective Sylvana brings continues to help me be a better father, partner and entrepreneur; a better and more creative person. I can’t recommend Sylvana enough.”
Chief Operating Officer of SME and former Banker

“Sylvana provided me with coaching shortly after I was promoted to a strategic HR management role as I had no previous formal leadership experience and was lacking confidence and self-belief. She challenged the beliefs I held about myself and others which help me view situations and potential scenarios from a more positive and constructive perspective. I truly believe that without her support and guidance I would have had a nervous breakdown! This coaching not only helped me cope through a difficult period in my professional life, but also enhanced how I deal with personal situations outside of work. I would wholeheartedly recommend Sylvana for her direct but sensitive approach to leadership coaching.”
HR Effectiveness & Communication Lead, European Bank

“I have had the pleasure of co-facilitating with Sylvana and have also seen her facilitate a number of other business leaders and groups. I find her style extremely engaging as Sylvana has a unique blend of being professional whilst at the same time incorporating a sense of fun with the audience. Sylvana’s depth of knowledge around leadership is one of her key strengths and this is reflected in her 1:1 coaching practice and translates powerfully when she works with small or large groups. If you are looking for a person who can speak at your event who has great personal power and a high awareness of how to engage with a diverse group, I would highly recommend Sylvana.”
Jim Rees, Keynote Speaker, Facilitator and Executive Coach, Ripple Leadership Ltd.

“Sylvana provides her clients with powerful guidance into leadership and impact in the world based on her own leadership journey. Sylvana has bridged the worlds of refined analytical skills from finance to the power of human commitment and the value of effective coordination. She enables people to take their ideas, and even their frustrations, into productive action. Too often in our culture taking on big possibilities is an exercise of overexertion. Sylvana shows you how to make and fulfill bigger promises with more ease, meaning, and satisfaction. I highly recommend Sylvana to those who are ready to learn a new and more powerful approach to creating their future with others.”
Bob Dunham, Founder, The Institute of Generative Leadership

“I had the opportunity to work with Sylvana as a member of the Executive Board for Women in Banking & Finance UK during her tenure as President of the group. Sylvana is that rare combination of financial services expert – having operated in front office at the very top of her profession – and a leading facilitator/executive coach with outstanding inter-personal skills & EQ. Whether in business meetings, leading executive teams, public speaking to VIPs or facilitating panels; Sylvana has an incredible ability to communicate strategy & commercial value, connect individuals & themes to bring relevance, illustrate with best practice examples from her extensive network, and summarise with humour & gravitas. Sylvana is passionate about restoring the reputation to her industry, she is meticulous in the quality of her delivery, and I have always found her to be as fair & measured a person as she is a professional.”
Justine Cooper, Veduta Vision, HR Consultancy Services

“I have had the great pleasure working with Sylvana for the past 2 years and during this time I have genuinely valued her effectiveness as both a Coach and Mentor. In addition I have participated in a number of sessions where Sylvana has taken on the role of facilitator, she is someone with great listening skills, very composed and empathetic to her audience. Her wealth of knowledge, experience and communication skills all contribute to her positive leadership style. I truly believe that Sylvana is a valuable sounding board for senior leaders and I highly recommend her work.”
Nikki Hutchison, Chilli Pepper Global

“Sylvana’s experience in the financial services industry and her supportive and thoughtful style helped me break down a multitude of issues. Her support was invaluable and I would highly recommend her to any executive who is managing a team or business through difficult and challenging circumstances.”
Director, S&P 500 Global Financial Services Company

“As an MD I was looking for coaching to help me perform at a higher level – in a similar way an athlete or sportsman would. I found that after the series of sessions I had the tools to analyse issues in more creative ways and had alternative methods to use in order to tackle various business problems.”
Managing Director, Retail Food Chain

“I valued Sylvana’s extensive experience in global financial markets and found her style supportive yet sufficiently challenging to enable me to question and re-assess my beliefs about my strengths and abilities. She had a familiarity with the issues I faced and the parlance of investment markets and yet had enough distance to ask the simple and profound questions.”
Director, Funding Company

“Sylvana acted as a sounding board for my ideas and then helped me to come to the conclusions that best suited my needs. Her solid business background, and her fresh pair of eyes, helped me to better structure the services I deliver to my clients and the results I achieve for my business.”
Business Owner, Marketing and Communications Consultancy

“The relaxed and informal sessions enabled me to recognise my strengths and erase negative attitudes that had repressed me in the past. Sylvana is a very sensitive and positive woman with oceans of expertise in her field.”
Store Manager, International Charity

“I have found coaching to be an invaluable tool in helping me to isolate my strengths and motivations. Sylvana has an ability to help me look at my approach with a fresh perspective. Sylvana’s suggested exercises, while very simple, were extremely enlightening helping to break down issues and obstacles that at first seem insurmountable into more manageable pieces.”
Equity Desk, European Investment Bank