Dr Michalis Kourtidis PhD, BA (Hons), MA, Chartered MCIPD
Managing Director, ExecCoach & HR Consultant
Michalis holds a Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Applied Management & Strategy from Coventry University, UK (2023), a Masters degree in Organisational Analysis & Behaviour from Lancaster University, UK (1992) and a BA (hons) in Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology from the University of Ioannina, Greece (1991). His interest in counselling also led him to a postgraduate certificate in School Counselling Psychology. He is also a Chartered Member of CIPD.
Michalis is a Senior Teaching Fellow in HRM at Birmingham City University since 2017. His long involvement with Assessment Tools in Business brought him closer to the worldwide leader in psychometrics Profiles International Inc., Waco, TX. Michalis is now authorised partner of Profiles and very proficient in applying and interpreting results of their assessments for the benefit of business organisations and individuals. He has over 15 years of teaching in public and private HE Institutions in the UK and abroad. He has worked in services and sales in multinational organisations for six years and worked as a Management Consultant since 1998 focusing on Career Consultancy, Performance Management, Leadership Development, Management by Assessments, Recruitment & Selection and Human Resource Management. He has worked in challenging projects for the private and public sector.
The majority of clients come from the Hospitality Industry: small, medium and big hotel organisations of national and international reputation have been served by Michalis and his partners. Executive Coaching plays a significant role in his pallet of services. He is well known for his personal, thorough and philosophical approach and for his "smooth" way he challenges his executive clients. Michalis is a strong believer of human's good and positive nature and always aims to make others see their world through that prism. He enjoys the peace of a long lasting marriage with 2 grown-up wonderful children.
Professor Persephone Sextou Ph.D., MA in Arts, BA (hons), FHEA
Co-Director, Creative & Applied Arts Expert Advisor
Persephone is a Professor in Performing Arts (Applied Theatre for Health & Wellbeing) at Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom and, a Visiting Professor at the University of New South Wales UNSW Sydney in Australia.
She is a highly experienced academic and applied arts-based research project manager with an international repute. She is a leading expert in applied theatre for health and wellbeing, co-design with vulnerable populations, public engagement, knowledge-transfer between universities, healthcare and educational organisations and the industry in the U.K., Europe and Australia. Her resaerch has influenced policy and parliamentary debates about the role of the arts in the wellbeing of vulnerable hospitalised populations. She collaborates on research using immersive technologies with young people in health and palliative care across multiple universities and clinical sites. You may visit her website: https://www.persephonesextou.co.uk
Persephone offers consultancy to community artists and arts organisations especially those who work in challenging and stressful environments in the community (hospitals, hospices, special schools, refugee camps etc.) and who want to look after their wellbeing so they can continue supporting others. One can't pour from an empty cup! She aims to support them to re-imagine their purpose and develop a new vision and strategic plan that will navigate them with confidence to a sustainable future.
Her ethical, empathetic and compassionate model of practice and supervision informs her creative practice to support people's wellbeing. She creates refreshing opportunities for individuals and teams to gain insight into their practice, become strategic about the development of partnerships with their colleagues, customers and stakeholders, and live a balanced life. Persephone is based in Birmingham in the U.K. with affiliations as an External Examiner & Expert Advisor with universities in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
