We are a team of changemakers with a deep understanding of how great communication can create purposeful connections. We help you, your teams or your entire business to:
Lead with authenticity, confidence and presence
Develop and sustain robust relationships with all stakeholders, whether they are external or internal, senior people, your peers or your direct reports
Build a culture of engagement and effective collaboration
Get and maintain a seat and a voice at the table
Communicate with impact, clarity and meaning
Successfully manage situations and interactions, no matter how complex or challenging.
Andrew Holland, Managing Director
With a career in Internal and Corporate Communications spanning 25 years, working for some of the world's most recognised brands including BAE Systems, Heathrow Airport and British Gas (Centrica).
Andrew has a deep understanding of the communication skills and competencies Corporate Communication professionals need to survive.
Andrew has also developed many impactful training programmes to support leaders and managers improve their communication skills.
Andrew regularly coaches communication professionals to help them progress in their careers. He is a CTI qualified Co-Active coach and has completed the NLP Core Skills programme.
Nicole Utzinger, Training Director
Nicole has been working as a communications professional and L&D expert for over 25 years, supporting an impressive range of global organisations, both in-house and as a consultant.
Nicole has focused her attention on corporate communications, employee engagement, leadership development and change management with special emphasis on enhancing effective communications by understanding the psychology and science behind human behaviour.
Nicole is a Certified Co-Active Coach and holds a coaching diploma from CTI – the Coaches Training Institute, accredited by ICF, the International Coaching Federation.
Sukhi Hayer, Director of Media Training
Sukhi is a BJTC qualified practicing journalist (currently a reporter with the BBC in The Midlands), which ensures he has a comprehensive understanding of the current media landscape and is therefore as authentic a media trainer as you can find.
Sukhi has worked across all formats; Print, Online, Press Agency and Broadcast. He’s covered major events both in News and Sport including the Cricket World Cup in India, South Asia Tsunami, Olympics, 7/7 London terror attacks and the General Election 2010.
Sukhi has a Diploma in Coaching from the University of Warwick.
Natasha Plowman, Strategy Consultant and ESG Specialist
Natasha is an associate trainer with The Academy, delivering workshops on Strategy, ESG and Corporate Purpose. Natasha has worked across communications, corporate and public affairs disciplines in wide-ranging businesses and sectors from Financial Services to FMCG. Her early career was built on a foundation of NGO and political campaigning.
A campaigner at heart, Natasha has developed and executed high-profile thought leadership and behavioural change campaigns with the likes of Diageo, HSBC and P&G’s fabric care and beauty brands.
Her approach is built on the role that reputation plays in driving business success, which is at the forefront of many of the key business critical issues we face today, from sustainability and ESG, through to the future of work and business resilience. She is passionate about the role of business in solving issues of people and planet - and with that comes greater scrutiny, need for transparency and a point of view that stakeholders trust.
Tony Stewart, Digital Strategist
Tony (Tones) has enjoyed an extensive inhouse career, working in both the public and private sector, supporting some exceptional organisations including Aviva Investors and NBC Universal. This experience helped Tony understand how to develop and deliver digital strategies that actually work.
He now shares this deep knowledge with some of the world’s highest profile companies in a consulting career, working with engagement agency Scarlett Abbott, as well as his own clients and as an Associate with The Academy, to build and deliver successful digital communications strategies that support business goals and employee engagement ambitions.
A self-proclaimed ‘IC Geek’, Tony delivers his strategy sessions with a personable, enthusiastic and friendly style.
Louise Bavestock, Leadership and Executive coach
Louise is a Leadership and Executive coach and Associate Trainer with The Academy. Louise delivers a range of training and workshops including the Business Partnering workshop for the IoIC. Louise enjoyed an extensive inhouse career as a senior communications professional before establishing her own business LBP Wellness in 2022. Prior to that Louise was Head of Group Community Investment and Group Head of Communication, Employee Engagement and Internal Communication for BAE Systems. She is a huge advocate of the importance a strategic business partnering role plays in helping senior leaders navigate the complexity of delivering impactful communications within large and multi matrix global businesses.
Charlotte Butler, DEI Trainer and Consultant
Charlotte Butler is an Associate Trainer with The Academy and our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion guru.
With over twenty years’ experience in employee engagement and HR, in 2015 Charlotte founded her own consultancy, AltogetherDifferent, specialising in building empathy for diversity, equity and inclusion in workplaces. Charlotte and her team work with large global clients and smaller UK organisations alike. Described as ‘revolutionary’ by clients, Charlotte’s immersive and innovative approach to diversity training provides an ‘active ingredient’ that creates meaningful change in workplaces, fast.
