Activating Leaders

Our People

Our trainers and advisors are unapologetically practical, equipping you with tangible toolkits, techniques and materials you can deploy instantly to start shifting perceptions & enthusing people.

  • Paul Hoskins

    A former business journalist and conservatoire-trained actor, Paul has been training leaders for a decade and has a long-term advisory relationship with many of his clients. He is a founding partner of Activating Leaders.

  • Katharina Gebsattel

    Katharina is a trusted advisor to leading business figures and financiers in Germany. A former business journalist, she has provided strategic communications advice to some of the world’s biggest private equity firms and investment banks.

  • Tara Joseph

    Tara’s career has spanned journalism (on three continents); PR (on Capitol Hill); and her own high-profile leadership role as President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. She heads up our North American business.

  • Richard Laing

    Richard's world revolves around voice. A professional actor and voiceover artist, he works with clients to reactivate their own authentic voices so that they too can command and captivate the room.

  • Lothar Lambertz

    A former head of media relations at one of Germany’s largest companies, Lothar has trained and acted as a crisis communications advisor to 100s of business leaders. Lothar also oversees our German language training and advisory.

  • Juliet Errington Mann

    Juliet is an innovative and persuasive communicator who has trained leaders at some of the world's biggest companies and worked in newsrooms spanning the globe, including CNN, CNBC, CGTN, Sky News, the BBC and Reuters.

  • Douwe Miedema

    A former Reuters Chief Correspondent, newspaper editor, speechwriter and aide to senior policymakers, Douwe is a highly experienced communicator, advisor and content troubleshooter.

  • Charlotte Otter

    A former head of executive communications and expert in Change Leadership, Charlotte helps clients position themselves reputationally. Her new book We Need New Leaders will be published in 2025.

  • Mike Sergeant

    Mike trains and advises leaders around the globe. A former BBC journalist and public relations executive, he has a degree in economics from the University of Cambridge and is the author of PR for Humans.

  • David Holdsworth, COO

    David is charged with putting Activating Leaders on a sustainable growth footing that will ensure we can grow without compromising quality. He is a founding partner of Activating Leaders.

In a fragmented leadership training market, we want to make ALP a globally recognised stamp of quality. Between us, we have supported hundreds of board members, politicians, central bankers, celebrities and world-class sportspeople, meaning we are comfortable training and advising at the highest level.

Even after we’ve taught a client everything we know, they often keep coming back because they value our practical insights, our honesty, and our unique energy. There are Fortune 500 CEOs and senior policymakers in-post today who we prepared for their job interviews and who continue to lean on us as trusted sounding-boards.