Our Team
The Vondel Team
In order to offer you the best we have sought out the best.
Our associates are all people we trust with our reputation. We pay
them well so that they treat our clients as their own, taking pride in the services they provide and always going the extra mile.
This is a group of people we enjoy doing business with - we are confident you will too!
The Directors
PETER HOBBS BA (Hons), MCIPD, MAPM
Specialist Areas: Project Management, Change Management, Personal Effectiveness, Leadership and Team Building
Peter is an experienced consultant and facilitator who has worked with companies in a variety of sectors over the past 15 years particularly in relation to teamwork and communications around change projects. He has an outstanding knowledge of his field and is able to offer practical ‘jargon-free’ advice based on sound theory.
Background
After an initial career in the Army which included two specialist training roles,
Peter worked for six years as a consultant with the MaST Organisation. He then spent two years in a human resources and operations role in a large market research agency, Research International, where he had responsibility for resourcing, internal communications and staff development.
In 1999 Peter founded the Hobbs Partnership as a consultancy focusing on the needs of project managers and has worked with a variety of clients in the period since then including AIG, British Medical Journal, Channel Four, ITV, Knight Frank, M&G, Nokia, Penguin Books and Shell.
Peter read Classics at Southampton University. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD) and the Association of Project Managers (MAPM). He is a Gallup CliftonStrengths coach and qualified to use the DISC psychometric. He is an Agile Alliance Scrum Master and Product Owner and and a Prince 2 Practitioner. He is a twice published author on project management, his latest book being published in 2009 by Dorling Kindersley as part of their Essential Managers series.
SARAH HOBBS MA ( Cantab ), ACA
Specialist Areas: Financial and Commercial Awareness, Female Leadership, Conflict Resolution, Coaching
Sarah is a qualified Chartered Accountant who now specialises in financial and commercial awareness training, leadership and management skills, and executive coaching.
Through a rare combination of technical expertise and outstanding communication skills, Sarah makes finance comprehensible and enjoyable to non-specialists.
As well as financial skills courses, Sarah delivers leadership skills programmes across different levels of seniority in large and small organisations, including the public sector. She has a growing reputation for work on conflict resolution. She works with Boards to facilitate communication and teamwork and increase financial literacy. She is an experienced coach at this level.
Recent assignments include speaking engagements at conferences for the Ministry of Defence and Barclays Bank focusing on communication issues within large organisations.
Background
Sarah trained as an accountant with Price Waterhouse in London, where she gained a solid business background and exposure to many different types of industry. After qualifying she transferred to their Training Department where she designed and delivered training programmes to groups throughout the United Kingdom and one-to-one coaching at partner level.
In 2006 Sarah set up Sarah Barnes Coaching and Training, before merging in 2008 with the Hobbs Partnership to create Vondel.
Sarah read Modern Languages at Cambridge University. She has an ACA qualification and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. She is qualified to use Insights, MBTI and DISC profiling instruments. She is also an NLP Practitioner and a certified coach.
The Associates
SUE CODRINGTON
Specialist Areas: Writing Skills – Grammar, Letter Writing, Business Writing, Report Writing, Minute Taking
Sue Codrington’s particular expertise is in helping people to feel more confident about their business writing, at whatever level.
For those for whom the word grammar poses something of a threat (probably because they weren’t taught any), Sue transforms understanding and attitude in a friendly, lively way. She wrote the Effective English course for the Cabinet Office, a programme now adopted by several government departments and many leading commercial organisations. This course plugs any gaps in grammar, punctuation and spelling.
Sue also designs and delivers a range of writing courses for everyone from recent joiners to board members. The majority of her work is customised to the needs of different clients and live material is used wherever possible.
DAVID COTTON
Specialist Areas: Strategic leadership, Change management, Teamwork, Creativity and Hypnotherapy
David is a dynamic and vastly experienced learning and development consultant, who translates strategy into pragmatic learning which makes a real difference.
A training and development consultant since the 1980s, David Cotton specialises in leadership, management and change. He spent over 20 years with two of the ‘Big 4’ consulting firms, first at Arthur Andersen and then at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where for some years he led a team of 100 trainers in 26 countries.
After running his own highly successful training consultancy David became Training Director for the People Development Team, the UK’s top provider of accredited management and leadership training before re-establishing his own company, Wize-Up Learning and Development.
A rich vein of humour permeates David’s work as trainer, coach, consultant, designer and facilitator. He long ago shelved his methodology books, seeing them as generalised solutions to someone else’s problems, and he treats every client as unique, each with their own issues.
David is a graduate, an NLP practitioner and has a diploma in Training and Development. He is a Fellow of the British Institute for Learning and Development. Much of his work involves the use of accelerated learning techniques to help his clients to move towards full realisation of their potential. He has consulted and trained in every aspect of leadership, management, personal and organisational change.
David has worked in more than 20 countries and 4 continents - in North America, the Middle East, North Africa, the Far East and much of continental Europe.
His client portfolio encompasses multinational corporations, SMEs, local and national government departments in the UK and overseas. He has coached senior executives and senior Whitehall civil servants, worked on strategic development at board level and managed pan-European training programmes for up to 30,000 people.
A prolific author, David has won publishers’ best-seller awards for two of his books and two international awards for an e-learning package on electronic marketplaces. He has designed electronic performance support systems and e-learning programmes.
JEREMY COX
Specialist Areas: Cultural Change, Leadership Development, Team Building and Executive Coaching
Jeremy specializes in the development of people to achieve both their own and organisational goals. He predominantly works in Cultural Change, Leadership Development, Team Building and Executive Coaching. He designs and facilitates workshops, presents at conferences and coaches individuals and business teams.
Jeremy has worked extensively across a broad range of industries and at all levels in business from CEO/Main Board of Footsie 100/Blue Chip companies through to the shop floor.
Jeremy began his career as a professional pianist, having studied at the Royal College of Music. Seeking excitement and challenge, he was then commissioned into the Army, served with The Life Guards and the Paras and latterly taught leadership at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He subsequently worked for three years as a headhunter, recruiting senior level executives and in 1997 he moved into developing rather than recruiting people.
PETER POWER - Senior Associate
Specialist Areas: Leadership, Crisis Management, Operational Risk Management, Organisational Resilience,
Peter has an impressive reputation as an international speaker and author on each of his specialist subject areas. Commendations for leadership in a number of significant incidents and subsequent projects to resolve issues identified give him instant credibility. He has been part of government level reviews and contributed to policies that remain central to UK crisis response strategies. He has worked for many years with a variety of commercial and public sector organisations in the UK and internationally.
Peter is a thought-provoking and entertaining keynote speaker. His outstanding communications skills and natural authority make him an ideal facilitator of board level discussions about leadership and crisis management in particular. He is a great listener and is courageous in rooting out organisational blind spots and hidden barriers. His workshops offer rich, practical insights and opportunities to try out new skills to better approach live situations with greater confidence and clarity.
He has produced a number of advice guidebooks including the original UK Govt. (DTI) booklet 'Preventing Chaos in Crisis' and the British Bankers Association guide on Crisis Management within their BC advice booklet.
Personal clients include, UK Olympic Delivery Authority, BBC board of directors, Burberry, BP, Universal Music, Mercedes Benz, Aon, Bank of New York, Moulton Brown, KPMG, and the governments of the UK, Canada and Australia.
JUDY SALMON
Specialist Areas: Personal Effectiveness, Communication Skills, Executive Coaching, Negotiation Skills
Originally a training manager with a large firm of stockbrokers Judy is now an experienced consultant with an impressive client list both in London and around her base in Exeter.
Judy specialises in general communication skills with particular expertise in helping people become more confident and self aware. She is comfortable working at all levels within organisations whether this is 1:1 coaching for board members or training courses for new recruits.
Judy has excellent listening skills and an uncanny ability to ask well timed and incisive questions to unlock performance issues.
DENISE TAYLORSON
Specialist Areas: Personal Effectiveness, Communication Skills, The Business Application of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Train the Trainer
Denise is an accomplished coach and trainer with extensive experience in the design and delivery of traditional and innovative training solutions to increase individual effectiveness and organisational performance. During her career as a training consultant she has worked
in South Africa, Switzerland, the USA and Canada as well as in the UK.
Denise is a Certified NLP Practitioner and a Certified Life Coach. She is also qualified in a variety of psychometric instruments. She is currently working with Shell, the London Development Agency and Mastercard.
KATHY TOOGOOD
Specialist Areas: Communication Skills, Leadership Development, Personality Assessment, Coaching and Facilitation
Kathy is an experienced Personnel and Training Professional, with more than 13 years senior retail management experience for leading companies including Marks and Spencer plc, combined with over 10 years in a consulting, training and coaching role. As a consultant
and coach, she has worked for many large organisations spanning finance, manufacturing, retail, utilities, the public sector and service industries. Clients she has worked with include Barclays, Orange, Wrigley, SPAR, Mothercare, Local and Regional Government, Abbott
Laboratories and Pfizer. Her extensive experience spans the areas of Organisational Development, Talent Management, Performance Management, Change Management, Leadership Development and Recruitment and Selection.
Kathy gained an Honours degree in Business Studies from Sheffield University. She is also a Master Practitioner in NLP, is a practitioner for Myers Briggs (Step I & 2) and is trained to British Psychological Society level B in occupational testing. She qualified as a Professional
Life Coach with the Coaching Academy and The UK College of Coaching, where she also contributed to the Corporate Coach Training programme. She is currently embarking on a further post-graduate coaching qualification.
RHYDIAN VAUGHAN
Specialist Areas: Negotiating Skills, Sales & Business Development, Winning New Business, Beauty Parades, Key Client Management,
Influencing and Persuading others
Rhydian specialises in designing and running programmes that have a direct impact on his clients’ bottom line, providing the crucial business winning skills organisations need to survive in difficult markets.
He provides practical jargon-free advice/help to a wide and eclectic range of clients, from Savills to Amnesty International and encompassing City, Legal, Property and Retail Organisations. He works well at all levels, from board members to graduates.
Rhydian started his career being commissioned into the Welsh Guards and followed by 6 years in the Lloyds of London insurance market as a North American reinsurance broker. He spent 22 years with a firm of international management consultants before leaving to concentrate on giving a more personal service to his chosen clients.
