Meet the team
Each of us has over 15 years of business experience which allows us to be credible in front of seasoned, and occasionally cynical, professionals. Over the years, we have also been at the receiving end of both excellent and mind-numbingly bad training – so we have learnt the hard way what works and what doesn’t. And that’s why we design and deliver programmes that we would attend ourselves – distinctive, thought-provoking and fun. We constantly evolve our services to make sure you benefit from the latest thinking from business, technology and psychology.
You can reach the team by clicking the relevant LinkedIn icon above each biography or by contacting us on info@amberpd.com.
ARMOND MERTIKAN
Armond Mertikian has 20 years experience as a management consultant, venture capitalist and trainer. He has experience across many industries with a focus on corporate venturing, digital technology and growth.
He is the founder of Amber Professional Development which he started to bring a fresh perspective to the consulting and business world.
Armond draws on his experience as well as his network of colleagues to equip clients with practical ways to deal with complex business problems, improve their sales effectiveness and manage their career development.
He has lectured at a number of business schools and he holds a degree in Economics and German and an MBA from London Business School.
Kathleen Bell
Kathleen Bell is a consultant and trainer who facilitates strategy development programs and consulting skills programs across a variety of industries.
Her consultancy work began with health and water safety projects for the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Kathleen worked for several years at AIG and The Travelers, focused on risk management. At the Corporate Executive Board (now Gartner) she was Director of Research (Washington DC and London), advising heads of strategy and M&A on strategy process improvement and delivering strategy development programmes to major multinationals in North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia.
Kathleen holds a BA in Biology from Cornell University, a Masters in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.
IVOR STEVENSON
Ivor Stevenson has 17+ years of experience as a strategy and operations consultant. He has worked with blue-chip organisations across EMA and the US testing business strategies for investment, launching new ventures, transforming existing operating models and implementing new infrastructure. He has particular expertise in the telecoms sector as well as in FMCG, energy and emergency services.
He designs and leads a variety of senior programmes around consultative skills and behaviours.
Ivor has a degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the University of Edinburgh and an MBA (distinction) from the University of Strathclyde Business School.
CLARE JONES
Clare has 18+ years experience as a business development and marketing strategist, trainer and coach with deep experience within the global professional services sector.
She has run strategic business development projects; bids and client relationship and feedback programmes and is adept across the digital marketing sphere.
Clare runs programmes on personal reputation, social selling, presentation skills and story-telling.
She has a degree in Political Science from the University of Birmingham, is a Chartered Marketer (CIM) and is certified in a range of psychological frameworks including Counselling (CPCAB), Firo-B, Insights Discovery and NLP.
WHY AMBER?
'Amber' is a symbolic metaphor for Amber Professional Development.
When we approach a traffic light, it is common to speed up, when the signal turns from green to amber (as we call the orange light in England).
In the world of high stakes conversations, the right thing to do is to slow down.
Amber Professional Development provides tools and techniques to increase your levels of emotional awareness and intellectual agility to help you navigate forward and achieve the best outcome for you, your business and your client.
Why the ‘craft’ of consulting?
Definition: Craft | kra :ft/
Skill in planning, making, or executing with dexterity.
In a fast-paced world of immediate gratification, perhaps it is no surprise that the timeless value of crafting is trending across the world.
We believe the philosophy of crafting applies to client relationships and professional services where skills and trust are highly-valued. Our programmes are about making long-term, sustainable changes in mindset and behaviour.
"Learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change."
Peter Drucker
PRACTICED
Each one of us is a practitioner with over 15 years of professional experience in the business and advisory world.
PROVOCATIVE
We don't shy away from empathetically challenging established thinking and habits. Change requires taking risks and we are here to guide you through that.
PLAYFUL
We are serious about what we do, but we don't take ourselves too seriously. We believe true development stems from being rebellious, childlike and light-hearted.
