Carol is the Executive Director of the Diversity Practice, and founder of Different Women, Different Places.

She was born in Glasgow and spent most of her foundation years in Nigeria. Her mother is from Trinidad and her father was Nigerian.

Professionally, she has a strong background in Corporate Strategy, Executive Coaching, Strategic Marketing, Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership, and Organisational Development. She has established an international reputation for delivering transformational D&I change at an individual, leadership, and organisational level.

Carol’s ability to expand the leadership reach and capabilities of individuals has been recognised by a wide spectrum of organisations including Aviva, LinkedIn, Bloomberg, EY, Refinitiv, Babcock International, Northern Trust, and across the NHS and Higher Education, all of which have engaged Carol to deliver high-profile leadership development, executive coaching, diversity and inclusion interventions.

As one of the architects of Different Women, Different Places, Carol has spent the last decade exploring the impact of intersectionality and the relationship between ‘Different Women’ and their white female counterparts.

Carol’s bold ambition is to eliminate racism by driving fundamental character change within organisations from the inside out by working with them to think differently, disrupt the ‘norm’, and shift mindsets.

Carol has a BA in History (University of Ibadan) and MBA from Strathclyde University and is a qualified Executive Coach through the Coactive Training Institute (CTI) and Organisational and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC).

Paul is a Senior Consultant with the Diversity Practice. He has a long and successful track record in the design and implementation of individual, team, and organisation-wide programmes that deliver high-performing inclusive leaders, cultures, and systems. His varied career including roles in economic research, business development, and sales with leading financial institutions, as well as organizational development, executive coaching, and leadership development across the public and private sector.

His overriding passion is to serve, empower and transform his clients, against all odds, to grow and fulfil their potential, and maximise their authentic leadership, personal effectiveness, and business impact. He encourages leaders to shape their difference into valued-added distinctive assets and supports teams and organisations to develop cultures of inclusion.

Paul’s qualifications include a MA in International Business and a PhD in Economics from Reading University. He is also a qualified Executive Coach through the Co-Active Coach Training Institute, and a certified NTL (National Training Laboratories Institute) Organisational Development Practitioner.

Anne-Marie Archard

Anne-Marie is a strategic and transformational leadership development and organisation development practitioner with a wide experience of working in the public sector at national and regional level. She spent 8 years as the Director of the NHS Leadership Academy in London, before moving into running her own development practice. She has worked at board level, providing coaching and development support for senior leaders.

She has most recently focused on inclusive leadership development within the NHS in London with the Capital People Programme, Talent Management and launched the London Women’s Leadership Network which she grew to over 600 members. She chaired the NHS Leadership Academy’s National Inclusion Leads Network and developed the black men’s allies programme in London. She is currently facilitating the White Allies Programme being delivered within the NHS in London. She’s an active white ally in her ambassador role with the Different Women movement and is also a member of the national NHS Health and Care Women’s Leader’s Network Guiding Group.

In her early career, she led the design and development of the Next Generation Chief Executives Programme, a pioneering talent development programme from which 25 out of the 49 participants (50%) progressed into CEO, Interim CEO or Deputy CEO roles in the NHS. Working with business schools to deliver this programme and a subsequent aspiring Director programme. She was the programme lead for the first leadership qualities framework developed within the NHS and led the design of an associated 360 tool.

She is a qualified and experienced coach and facilitator, working with individuals and teams. She has a PGCert in Organisational Change Management.

Tom Emery

Tom is an organisational development and inclusive leadership specialist with over 20 years’ experience in human resources.

He began his HR career in fast-moving environments such as retail and call centres before experiencing the branch network, digital, technology, HR operations, and transformation areas of a multinational bank. As Chief People Officer of an ambitious, listed FS business, he learned what it’s like to be part of the c-suite with responsibility for shaping culture and delivering a complex people agenda. He also faced off to the board and led a challenging transformation of executive and regulated compensation structures.

Tom has a deep curiosity about what makes people tick and enjoys supporting others to achieve their full potential. His approach is flexible – he is high energy when needed but also creates a safe space in executive coaching sessions to help clients move forward with confidence. His varied experiences have made him agile and adaptable in how to get the best from every person and situation. He specialises in individual and team coaching, leadership development, high-performing cultures, and supporting organisations to be more inclusive.

He has made appearances on podcasts including the Chief Psychology Officer, and regularly publishes insights on leadership and inclusion. He was named in LGBT Great’s Top 100 executive allies list in three consecutive years. He is a qualified executive coach and also has expertise in systemic team coaching.