Promoting an active lifestyle and healthy work-life balance in a workplace [SDG Series]

Nick is Founder and CEO of Complex Adaptive Leadership Ltd (UK) and MD of Agile+ Consultants (China). He belongs to the faculty of CEDEP in France (INSEAD Fontainebleau campus) as a professor of leadership. He links complexity science, blended with ancient Chinese wisdom, for leaders to navigate VUCA times in a practical way. His approach was awarded the EFMD Gold Award for Executive Development beating many leading blue-chip business schools around the world. This approach has been employed by a variety of international MNCs (e.g. Rolls-Royce, Dow Chemical, GE, UBS, IBM, Société Générale, Rio Tinto, Nokia, Ali Baba) as well as public sector organisations (e.g. in UK, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia). He has wide ranging leadership experience including:

• Practitioner: British Army Major (youngest at the time) in his late twenties trained in Armour, Intelligence, Special Forces and military Joint Service Mountain Expedition Leader; Development Director/COS of FTSE 100 firm (line responsibility for 12,000 staff, change responsibility for 45,000 staff); CEO of green energy technology start-ups.
• Consultant: Executive Strategy Consultant of Ernst & Young; Managing Partner of The Vth Dimension.
• Academic: Professor of Leadership Nyenrode (MBA professor of the year twice); visiting leadership professor: LBS, INSEAD, EHL, Duke CE and Thunderbird.
• Author: “Complex Adaptive Leadership – Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty” (Gower best seller translated in China as “Future Leadership” 未来领导力), “Leading Complex Projects” (ICCPM); “More for less – How to lead an agile self-organising organisation” (Taylor Francis). and “Practical Business Re-engineering – Tools and Techniques for Achieving Effective Change” (Kogan Page).

Nick holds an MBA from IMD (where he graduated as Valedictorian) and is a qualified Chartered Management Consultant. His other past achievements include Master Scuba Diver, twin engine instrument rated private pilot, Emergency First Responder (paramedic) and qualified mountain guide/expedition leader.

More at: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/nickobolensky

Ans is a Life Coach / Stress Counsellor / Job Coach from The Netherlands. She has a private practice in Shanghai since 2011, where she helps clients to cope with all sorts of life problems, changes, relationship problems, goal setting and stress management.

Before becoming a coach she had about 20+ years’ experience in HR, recruitment and career counselling. She has been in Shanghai for more than 10 years, and in South Africa for two years.

Besides her own practice, Ans is a Consultant for NetExpat, the worldwide leader in Career & Life Transition programs for relocating families.

Ans is also a long term volunteer with Lifeline.

Elise is an Organizational Psychologist. In recent years, she has been passionate about spreading applied and practical neuroscience knowledge in the area of management and leadership. She’s the founder of Center for NeuroEdge Leadership, which aims at empowering clients with competitive edge through neuroscience, by “rewiring” their brain to optimize brainpower and maximize performance. Therefore, she is considered the first “Brain Coach” in China. She is a frequent keynote speaker on the topic, presenting at various summits, conferences, and TEDx stage.

Her “Neuroscience and Leadership” Series workshops look at leadership from a whole new perspective, and empower organizations and individuals with scientific yet practical ways to improve leadership from personal, interpersonal, and organizational perspectives. She is able to make a seemingly academic and elusive subject surprisingly fun and practical, therefore her workshops have been highly sought after by companies, organizations and individuals. She was also invited to publish her online course “Rewire Your Super Brain” on China’s biggest female working professionals platform She Power, and has been critically acclaimed for the course. And the book under the same name has been published in Oct. 2020.

Apart from being a neuroscience enthusiast, Elise is also a seasoned Executive Coach and Talent Assessor. She has over a decade of extensive experience in working with corporate leaders, facilitating them in successfully navigating the challenges and opportunities in their professional life, as well as helping numerous multinational and domestic companies across China and the APAC region assessing and developing talents in order to build and enhance companies’ overall bench strength to support business in a competitive marketplace.