“Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you” – Russell Simmons
We met each other in June 2006 in France, delivering a core consulting skills programme. And that is where our story started. After working together for a number of years, we set up twyLa in 2012 to pursue our passion for learning.
I started my career as a strategy consultant working in Europe and Asia. While in China leading the Strategy & Transformation practice, I was asked to set up a Young Graduates Programme and this kindled my interest in learning. Upon my return to Europe, I joined a corporate university where I was responsible for designing, developing and maintaining the content of several curricula. I led the University facilitators programme and set up the Design Centre of Excellence to guide the development of next generation learning across a number of curricula. Currently, I facilitate leadership programmes and skills courses with various clients across industries. My colleagues know me for my strong interpersonal skills, my drive and passion, my ability to build authentic relationships and my robust problem-solving approach. I am passionate about bringing good design into learning and I am deeply interested in researching how neuroscientific insights will help to drive better learning. I love taking long walks with my dog, take a guilty pleasure in buying more books than I can ever read, and think the best way to explore a city is to get lost in its streets.
I started my career in product marketing and sales in Asia, moved on to work as a management consultant in Europe and then set up Twyla to focus on learning design, training and facilitation. I am affiliated to a corporate university as a faculty member. At the University and with other clients I help drive the design and development of curricula and learning programmes. I facilitates a number of core skill courses and leadership courses. I am passionate about business opportunities to accelerate learning and my focus is to make good design work for learners, and to do this with speed. My colleagues know me as a master facilitator and I enjoy complex facilitation gigs. I am persuasive, I build credibility quickly and I often am able to help drive a way forward. I love riding my bike, I have an emerging interest in everything to do with food and I spend most of his free time learning from my kids who for the moment happy to entertain that. And I continue with my attempts to reduce my golf handicap with not much to show yet!
OUR AFFILIATES
“We work with accomplished professionals from across disciplines who bring in their individual expertise and facilitate in line with the twyLa learning principles’
EMILY ASH Facilitator
EMILY ASH
Emily has spent over 20 years scoping, designing and implementing strategic transformation projects, particularly in the retail sector, both as a consultant and in organisational leadership roles. Her experience has taken her across the UK, Europe and Asia, leading programmes with a strong emphasis on collaborative business change. She is also enthusiastic about developing others and has designed and delivered numerous training sessions across strategic transformation, managing projects and core skills.She splits her work with her other passions which have always been travel and cooking. For the last 10 years, she and her husband have run one of London's top rated Cookery Schools, exciting people with food from Moroccan tagines to authentic green Thai curries.
MATTEO ANDREACCHIO Facilitator
MATTEO ANDREACCHIO
Matteo has been working for almost 20 years in consulting and has been exposed to different business models. His main expertise is in strategic marketing, operations management and organisation design. Matteo has lead and delivered complex turnaround and company-wide transformation programmes at a global level. He gives a lot of attention to the human dynamics aspects of every project, using large group collaboration facilitation techniques.His big passion is music. He’s been a semi-professional singer in a past life. These days, the stage has moved to the comforts of his own home where he sings with his wife who is a much better singer than he is! (his own words)
JAMES BAYLAY Graphic Facilitator and Illustrator
JAMES BAYLAY
James is a graphic facilitator and illustrator. He has worked with various organisation, listening to their conversations to deliver real time imagery that serves as a discussion guide and powerful reminder of what has been said. Graphic Facilitation brings together the skills of listening, interpreting, synthesis and image making. The objective in his work is to report back ideas truthfully and memorably.James and his family live in London where, when not working, he makes artworks for himself and his young son keeps his drawing skills sharp with endless picture requests!
MANDY CHAPMAN Facilitator
MANDY CHAPMAN
Mandy is an experienced change leader and has spent over 20 years designing and leading major transformation programmes across global organisations, both in consulting and line roles.After a career in down-stream operations with Esso Petroleum, she went into consulting where she specialised in strategy and transformation. Mandy is a mentor and has run consulting courses in all aspects of programme management, managing teams and stakeholder engagement. Mandy enjoys spending time with friends and family, walking on the South Downs and is working on her trust and collaboration skills by tandeming around Sussex with her husband.
Valerie McCabe Facilitator/Coach
Valerie McCabe
Valerie has been a Senior Executive Coach, Assessor and Trainer at a leading HR Consultancy. She supported C-suite and senior management teams in both global and GCC-based companies, through one-on-one coaching engagements as well as Assessment and Development Centres. Prior to her role in HR Consultancy, Valerie was Head of Human Capital6Development for a large luxury retailer and distributor. Earlier in her career, Val was a management consultant and she led numerous executive teams on strategic business engagements focused on new market entry, customer segmentation, M&A, balanced score-card, change management and leadership transformation. Valerie is home-based on the West Coast of Ireland. There, she spends a lot of time hiking and cycling in the Burren, as well as gardening in the 4 holiday cottages she owns with her husband. In these pursuits, she is typically accompanied by her sister͛s dogs (who need all the exercise they can get!).
Chrissie Wanless Facilitator/Coach
Chrissie Wanless
Chrissie is a learning experience creator, facilitator and coach. With 20 years’ experience in human centred development she has partnered with some of the world’s leading brands creating and delivering leadership and team development programmes. She helps those she works with make a measurable difference for themselves, their families, schools, teams, organisations and consumers. Her approach helps unlock the self-belief, confidence and creativity of all, helping them ‘Be Seen’. Chrissie has trained with Gestalt, the Coaches Training Institute, & Organisation Relationship Systems Coaching in facilitation and coaching practice and is a practitioner in many psychometric assessments (incl. the Leadership Versatility Index and Hogan). Aside from her passion for learning and development, she loves interior design and architecture, walking her miniature schnauzer Frankie, playing football and tennis. She coaches an under 10s girls football team too.
Lynn Woods-Strang Facilitator/Coach