Meet the Founder

Nicky Ingham

Nicky has over 30 years’ experience working across acute organisations in a variety of workforce roles. She has 15 years as an NHS Executive Director of Workforce and OD and has significant experience in leading organisational transformation, change programmes, developing organisational models, organisational turnaround, development of strategy and underpinning strategic engagement and communications strategies. 

Nicky is adept at providing constructive challenge and being a critical friend to support transition, both on an individual and team level.  

Alongside her board level experience, Nicky can quickly grasp the strategic, operational and organisational issues involved in an organisation. Through her leadership and implementation of cultural change programmes, Nicky provides a holistic approach to transformation, using her unique style and partnership approach, to best effect ensuring ownership at all levels.  

With her strong leadership skills and experience, Nicky is agile and passionate about supporting others to realise their full potential and inspire change in themselves and for themselves. She is an experienced coach and mentor to a broad range of stakeholders, from board level to grassroots staff, and her approach is refreshing, vibrant and forward thinking.  

Key skills & experience:

  • Mediation
  • Executive coaching / mentoring
  • Coach supervision
  • Staff engagement
  • Transformational culture change
  • Board / team development
  • Chief People Officer
  • Corporate Executive Director
  • Leadership development
  • Strategy development
  • Engagement and communication

Nicole Williams

Lead Associate

An experienced Chartered Occupational Psychologist and Chartered Coaching Psychologist with over 15 years in OD and organisational psychology. Her career has focused on driving culture change and enhancing organisational effectiveness across diverse sectors, notably within the NHS.

Nicole has collaborated extensively with NHS Trust services and departments, conducting comprehensive culture diagnostics and providing actionable recommendations that have led to measurable improvements. As a psychologist, she applies a rigorous, evidence-based approach to tailor interventions that address specific organisational needs and challenges.

In addition, Nicole’s portfolio includes designing impactful staff engagement and well-being programmes, facilitating leadership development initiatives, delivering cognitive behavioural coaching to support career progression and leadership effectiveness, and utilising personality profiling for assessment and development purposes.

She is known for her ability to navigate complex people dynamics, identify underlying cultural issues, and deliver ethical, evidence-based solutions that align with client objectives. Her experience extends from frontline teams to board-level executives, establishing trusted relationships with stakeholders at all levels. Nicole is recognised for her pragmatic approach and commitment to delivering impactful solutions rooted in psychological science and best practices.

Key skills:

  • Culture Diagnostics
  • Staff Engagement and Wellbeing
  • Cognitive Behavioural Coaching
  • Career/Leadership/Executive Coaching
  • Psychometric Testing for assessment and development
  • Team & Leadership Development

Helen Farrington

Lead Associate

For over 30 years, Helen has worked in a variety of organisations in primarily workforce, organisation and learning and development roles. She has 10 years’ Board level and senior leadership experience within the NHS and a proven record of strong collaboration and improving performance through developing and delivering people strategies and all aspects of organisational development (OD); including achieving transformation and culture change in complex settings with a diverse workforce.

Helen has led extensive organisation redesigns and OD programmes, pivotal in delivering better health and social care services. She led on the design and delivery of workforce, OD and culture plans for the successful merger of nine hospitals and community services in Manchester; a new organisation design and culture change programme to deliver mental health, learning disability, autism and community services across integrated care partnerships and organisation redesign and culture transformation programme to deliver SOF3 exit plans and the strategic sustainability of a London based Trust.

Helen has excellent capabilities in engaging and building relationships with individuals that instil trust and confidence. As a result, she has an impressive track record of effecting positive change often against a backdrop of complex and challenging organisational and culture change. Helen is passionate about supporting staff at every level to live the NHS and broader public sector values.

Helen spent the early part of her NHS career as an OD and L&D Practitioner and Manager and prior to joining the NHS she worked in advertising and marketing in the UK and in the USA and as the Development Manager for an Alcohol and Drug Service in Staffordshire.

Key skills & experience:

  • Transformational Culture Change
  • Organisation Development
  • Organisation design
  • People and OD strategy development and delivery
  • Leadership and Management Development
  • Team coaching and development
  • Coaching and Mentoring
  • Staff Engagement
  • Board/Team Development
  • Corporate Director

Vikki McManus

Senior Associate

Vikki is an accomplished HR professional with over 20 years of experience across retail and the NHS. Her career culminated in senior leadership roles within the NHS, serving as Deputy and Associate Director for more than a decade in acute and community settings, supporting workforces of over 7,000 employees. Vikki is recognised for leading and inspiring HR teams, providing strategic guidance, and promoting compassionate, person-centred approaches to conflict resolution. She is passionate about developing leaders to manage workplace challenges effectively while fostering positive organisational culture.

With a strong track record across the full HR spectrum, Vikki has delivered major projects, workplace mediations, and numerous complex disciplinary, grievance, and complaint investigations. She is highly experienced in HR policy, including specialist NHS frameworks such as MHPS, and regularly advises Board-level/C-suite leaders. Vikki focuses on timely, well-presented investigation reports to support resolution in case management. Having represented organisations at Employment Tribunals and participated in hearings, she brings deep expertise in managing risk and achieving robust outcomes.

Her experience spans leading complex employee relations matters, shaping organisational policy, and ensuring compliance. Vikki has guided HR professionals and leaders to adopt compassionate approaches to conflict resolution and team management. She has also driven organisational improvement through HR projects and cultural transformation. Skilled in building resilient teams and balancing strategic priorities with operational delivery, Vikki thrives in challenging environments.

Key skills:

  • Strategic HR Leadership & Team Development
  • Employee Relations & Conflict Resolution
  • Leadership/Workplace facilitation
  • Workplace Mediation & Investigations
  • HR Policy Expertise (including NHS MHPS)
  • Board-Level Advisory & Stakeholder Engagement
  • Employment Tribunal Support/Guidance
  • Analytical Thinking & Report Writing
  • Project Delivery & Organisational Change

 

 

Jane Adams

Senior Associate

Jane has over 20 years’ experience working within the NHS and with NHS organisations in a variety of workforce/OD roles.

Jane is a highly motivated and practical OD specialist, experienced business coach and qualified mediator.  She has well developed skills with a particular emphasis on leadership, change management, performance improvement and conflict resolution for individuals and teams. 

Jane has performed at a senior level within the NHS taking on Deputy and Associate Director roles within a range of complex NHS organisations working on a variety of specific interventions/roles, supporting organisational performance improvement alongside team and individual performance improvement.

Clients have included various Acute, Mental Health and Specialist Hospital NHS Trusts. Outside of the NHS, Jane has also worked with Healthcare organisations in the registered charity sector.

Key skills:

  • Specialist OD Experience at a senior level within a variety of healthcare settings
  • Executive Coaching/Mentoring
  • Mediation and conflict resolution
  • Assessment/Development centre design and facilitation.
  • Staff Engagement
  • Supporting the management of change in challenging times
  • Board/Team Development
  • 360 feedback with senior medical staff, Board Directors and Senior Managers

Ismail Hafeji

Senior Associate

A strategic and operational Director of Finance with over 14 years of Board level experience with an outstanding track record of implementing financial strategies, delivering statutory duties, and building organisational resilience.  Ismail has worked in all levels of NHS Finance in his 36-year career.  He has an excellent understanding of health systems having operated as a Commissioner, Provider and at regional level.  He is respected and recognised across the North West NHS finance community for leading change and setting strategic direction.

Ismail was Director of Finance and IM&T for Bolton PCT before joining Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust.  He played a major role in the Trust’s successful acquisition of Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust.  The financial strategy underpinning the bid was highly commended by the Regulators and Manchester Clinical Commissioning Group.  He also led the two-year programme to implement the electronic Patient Administration System.

Ismail has an engaging personal style with highly developed communication skills and the ability to rise to a challenge. Continually striving for quality improvement, he is confident and skilled in developing relationships with clinicians and managing stakeholders to build effective partnerships.  Ismail has a philosophy of developing and empowering teams. He is a strong supporter of staff development having been a NW Leadership Academy mentor and coach.  Ismail works as a lecturer with the Open University assisting students with their accountancy studies

Key skills:

  • Financial Strategy
  • Coaching/Mentoring
  • Organisational merger/acquisition
  • Facilitation

Emma Schofield

Senior Associate

Emma’s approach is values-driven, focusing on cultivating cultures that are not only productive and inclusive but also places where talent thrives, and team well-being is a priority.

As a Leadership Consultant and Coach, Emma champions authentic, people-centred leadership. She understands its transformative effect on organisational culture and decision-making, right from boardrooms to the overall company ethos.

She has over two decades of experience working in HR, Organisational Development (OD), and senior leadership roles across the private and public sectors.  She has spent at least 15 years working within and across the NHS.  Emma’s expertise is both broad and deep.

Emma’s achievements include design and leadership of companywide culture change programmes working with the executive team to leading HR and OD teams through transformative change.  These programmes have yielded substantial financial savings, reduced absenteeism, and heightened engagement across the company.

Emma also served as the Vice Chair of a UK College Group’s board for 4 years; a testament to her leadership skills, where she played a pivotal role in shaping the People Strategy and was proud to see the Ofsted inspection team deem the college group ‘Outstanding’.

A lifelong learner, Emma is an avid reader of all things business, psychology, and self-development.

Key skills:

  • Exceptional interpersonal skills
  • Cultivates a deep understanding of business challenges
  • Skilled at diagnosing underlying issues
  • Continuous improvement mindset
  • Natural coaching style
  • Facilitates positive change
  • Visualises the bigger picture
  • Leadership and team development
  • Engagement and well-being strategy
  • Business and financial acumen
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