WHO WE ARE
Actif4 is a team of highly experienced business leaders, coaches and consultants who share a passion for bringing people through the transition into leadership. UK-based with extensive global experience, we specialise in leadership development and its accreditation.
We have a strong team of trusted advisers for clients to connect with, brought together through common values and complementary skills.
Ian Gourlay
Ian is an expert catalyst for raising leadership impact, strategy delivery and change. Working from the UK and engaged by clients across a dozen countries, Ian has a 20-year track record as a coach, facilitator and consultant in these fields. His engagements are characterised by lasting relationships and helping organisations and their people to succeed in what are often very challenging circumstances.
Prior to his consulting and coaching career, Ian spent 13-years with General Accident, now part of Aviva plc, where he gained rich experience in senior management and hands-on knowledge of change - leading it and dealing with its impact on others - through multiple mergers and acquisitions.
Ian is also Managing Director of specialist consultancy Initiate, which is focused on Leadership, Change and Collaboration. Initiate works across multiple sectors and has wide international experience of operating across continents and cultures.
Ian has an MBA, is a Chartered Insurer and found the spark for much that he has been doing in his career when completing his MA (Hons) in International Relations & History. That spark was in seeing potential in the distinctiveness of individuals and often-competing cultures to do great things when they commit to a shared endeavour.
Dr Jen Jenkins
Business Psychologist, Consultant and Executive Coach.
Jen specialises in empowering her clients to live a psychologically informed life that enables them to thrive. She supports organisations to be more human, futureproofing themselves in our increasingly uncertain and complex world.
Jen's work as a consultant has been built by combining her academic background in Psychology with over ten years' experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries culminating in roles as International Director in the areas of Commercial Operations and Learning & Development.
As a consultant for the last eleven years, Jen has worked with clients in over twenty-five countries and has specialised in sustainable leadership. Partnering with clients to help them strengthen their resilience, employ a growth mindset and create psychologically safe cultures where leaders have the bandwidth to lead and everyone is capable of making their best contribution.
Jen has worked with CEOs and senior leadership teams across a wide variety of sectors including, financial and professional services, pharmaceutical, biotech, oil & gas, food & drink, luxury brands, travel, business consultancies and higher education. Jen has exceptional interpersonal skills and is known for her ability to build strong relationships and bring warmth and humour to her work.
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James Crawford
With more than 30 years’ industry experience, James has spent the past 18 years in a variety of senior leadership, operations management and contracts management roles across Africa as well as in Europe, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Brunei and the Philippines.
James previously had a 20-year career with Wood where he served in several senior leadership roles including President of the Asset Solutions business unit for the Europe business and managing director for Wood Group PSN’s UK and Africa business.
James has been Kuro Consulting Services Managing Director since April 2019. Prior to this he spent time as an independent consultant for a year after leaving his role as Marathon Oil Regional Vice President in Equatorial Guinea.
James has an excellent track record in motivating and inspiring diverse senior leadership teams ensuring businesses strive for excellence with a constant focus on continuous improvement and that leaders are agile and reactive.
In addition, James is also Managing Director of global consultancy KURO, a GlobalScot and board member for The Scottish Africa Business Association (SABA).
Dr Andy Shephard
Andy is an accomplished and experienced leader, having led teams in start-up companies as well as large multinationals for both local and international roles across a wide range of industries. During his operational leadership career, he discovered a passion for developing others by removing barriers to their success so that they can step into leadership roles with confidence, presence, and influence.
He has experienced the pressures and challenges facing today’s leaders which drives his enthusiasm for leadership development by increasing leadership resilience, self-awareness, desire to effect change, and by working in partnership enable individuals, teams, and organisations to flourish. He understands the importance of innovative and results oriented development to assist today's leaders to achieve their goals and continue to deliver business outcome.
Andy has lived and worked in five different countries and regularly interacted with people from over forty nationalities, which has allowed him to excel in complex multicultural environments. If you catch Andy outside of work, you will find he is an adventurous traveller, thirty-four countries and counting, as well as being an avid fan of multi-stage, self-sufficiency ultra-marathons.
Andy is extremely enthusiastic about lifelong learning and holds a PhD, MSc, and B.Eng. (Hons) across a range of technology related areas as well as several programme/project management certifications.