The Panelists

Associate Professor in Leadership and Innovation at York St John University 

Panelist

George Boak has worked on aspects of individual and organisational development for over 30 years, with managers and professionals from a wide range of public sector and large private sector companies in manufacturing, banking and energy, as well as with smaller companies. 

He has used work-based learning approaches on programmes leading to postgraduate qualifications, and also on short courses, has provided one-to-one coaching, and has facilitated action learning sets and workshops. He has supervised research and published papers on one-to-one coaching. 

He is currently an Associate Professor in Leadership and Innovation at York St John University in York, UK, and co-editor of the journal Action Learning: Research and Practice.

Director General of the International School of Geneva

Panelist

Conrad Hughes holds a PhD and EdD and is currently the Director General of the International School of Geneva. He has a background in education and English literature, having taught in various international schools in Switzerland, France, India, and the Netherlands. 

Dr. Hughes is also a Senior Fellow at UNESCO's International Bureau of Education and a member of the advisory board for the University of the People. He has published several books and articles on education, focusing on topics such as prejudice reduction and 21st-century learning. 

His most recent book is the open access Changing Assessment: How to Design Curriculum for Human Flourishing. 

A certified life coach, Dr. Hughes uses the principles of life coaching in his leadership philosophy and style.  

Managing Director at Novelia SA, International Leadership, Culture and Talent Expert

Panelist

Frode Hvaring is an international Leadership, Culture and Talent Expert. He held various regional and global roles as COO and CHRO in employer lobbying, Swiss banking, power industry, media organisations, technology scale-ups, e-mobility and higher education.

As Managing Director at Novelia SA, a bespoke provider of Assessment Centres and Talent Development in Switzerland, Frode helps companies to optimize their Human Capital solutions. He builds future-proof Governance & Leadership solutions establishing effective, durable linkages between Strategy, Culture and Talent.

Frode teaches Corporate Strategy, Global Leadership and Talent for EMBA and MBA students in renowned business schools and is active in some scale-up Boards.

He has a master’s in economics from Fribourg University, Switzerland, post-grads from IMD, Lausanne and Thunderbird, Phoenix, and a doctoral degree - focused on Cultural Ignorance - from Grenoble Management School and Sant’Anna Institute Pisa. A certified coach, Frode integrates a coaching approach in his day-to-day leadership. He created a coaching-based Onboarding Programmes for C-level leaders who move into new roles.

ICF Switzerland Lead for International Organizations and NGOs, ICF PCC, Executive Leadership Coach

Host/Moderator

Saba Imru-Mathieu is an Executive Leadership Coach with an ICF PCC credential and  currently the ICF Switzerland Lead for International Organizations and NGOs. She has been an ICF Member and credentialed coach for 20 years.

CEO & Co-founder of a coaching and consulting company based in Switzerland and focused on developing international leaders, fostering collaboration in multicultural workplaces, advancing coaching as a leadership style and embedding a coaching culture in organizations. 

She was a Senior Coach Trainer and Supervisor at the Institute of Coaching (IDC), Geneva; Lecturer on Self-Leadership at HEG, University of Applied Sciences, Geneva,  and Lecturer on International Careers at EMLyon and EDHEC, Nice.  She has lengthy organizational and leadership experience, including as Head of HR Management in the Standards Bureau of the UN agency for ICTs, where she introduced coaching skills training for leaders.

Interpretation and Translation, Scuola Interpreti, Rome,  MA  Leading Innovation and Change, York St John University, Master Coach in Leadership & Communication, IDC, Geneva along with several coaching certifications.

Deputy Director of the ITU Standardization Bureau (TSB) and Chief of the Study Groups and Policy Department (SPD)

Panelist

Dr Bilel Jamoussi, a distinguished engineer and diplomat, serves as the Deputy Director of the ITU Standardization Bureau (TSB) and Chief of the Study Groups and Policy Department (SPD) in Geneva. His mission includes establishing international standards to advance global connectivity and digital transformation. Previously, he was Chief of the Study Groups Department at ITU-TSB (2010-2023). Through this, he paved the way for the creation of digital payments guidelines and standards that aim to foster financial inclusion on a global scale. Key achievements under his tenure have been important new standards while effectively managing staff by recruiting new talent, improving gender balance, delivering new work methods, and staying within budget.

Before 2010, he held executive roles, including Director of Standards for Nortel, and contributed to over 90 international standards bodies. With a PhD in Computer Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, he's an IEEE Senior Member and has served on the IEEE-SA Board of Governors. A key voice in the global ICT arena, he's a regular keynote speaker at events like the Global Cybersecurity Forum and is frequently interviewed by top media outlets. Fluent in Arabic, French, and English, with knowledge in Spanish and German, Bilel's global perspective is shaped by his experiences in Tunisia, Canada, the USA, and Switzerland.

ICF Switzerland International Organizations and NGOs Team Member, ICF ACC, HR Director, IRU

Host/Moderator

Katie Klein is a Professional Certified Coach, with an ICF ACC credential and active member of member of the ICF Switzerland International Organizations and NGOs Team. 

Katie's career as Senior Executive bridges private sector and NGOs.  She is currently HR Director at the International Road Transport Union (IRU) where she successfully introduced a coaching culture with a comprehensive program of L&D strategy, leadership development, values alignment and coaching skills training. She has conducted similar coaching culture initiatives in previous roles as HR lead and is now one of our go-to experts on how to actually get it done. She generously shared her methodology in a webinar at our ICW 2024 event, which can be viewed on this website.

Thanks to her leadership IRU is recognized by ICF as champion of coaching and is hosting the on-site event at IRU for International Coaching Week for the second time, welcoming employees from all UN agencies and NGOs to pro-bono workshops on coaching culture, personal development and career.  

Certificate of Management, Open University, BA French Literature and History, University of Reading; Certified Professional Coach, IDC; Master Coach in Leadership and Communication and multiple other coaching certificates.