OUR PEOPLE

"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much."
Helen Keller

OUr vision and mission

Our vision is a world where everyone, regardless of context, contributes their full potential, inspired by purpose, for the benefit of all.

Our mission is to change the way that early stage and established professionals make career choices, by enabling them to create and grow purpose-led careers they love and that stand the test of time no matter how much the world changes.

Meet the Founders

Carolyn Parry RCDP - Founder Director and Lead Coach

A languages graduate (London University), Carolyn has a passion for helping people identify and work towards achieving their potential with good reason. Her own very painful career crisis, following a successful, but ultimately unfulfilling business career working in property, software and publishing led to her identifying her true North and retraining as a career development specialist. She spent fourteen years at Aberystwyth University, becoming Deputy Director with responsibility for the university’s employer liaison strategy, and latterly Institute Director of Student Development and Employability. developing a career development programme.

She took Voluntary Severance in 2015 to set up Career Alchemy, a multi-award winning career coaching and training company, working with early-stage and established professionals to help them create purpose-led careers using her research proven INSPiRED Career and Life Coaching framework and toolkit.. Working with two other AGCAS national trainers, she developed the HE career coaching module for the AGCAS/Warwick CEIGHE (Careers Education, Information and Guidance in HE) qualification, and in 2017, received the Career Development Institute's prestigious UK Careers Adviser/Career Coach of the Year Award, She has also received two further business awards from Prince Charles. She now represents the CDI, the professional association for the sector, in Wales.

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, of the Higher Education Academy, and the International Enterprise Educators’ Programme, Carolyn is a TEDx Speaker, hosts The Reason podcast, and is President and Chair of the Board of the Career Development Institute and is frequently quoted in the media.

She also serves as a Trustee/Director on the Boards of Ceredigion Citizens Advice, part of the UK wide network of Citizens Advice charities, and Antur Cymru, a £4M social enterprise which helps Welsh business start and grow.

For more, please see Carolyn's profile on www.linkedIn.com

Rhys Parry - Founder Director

An electronic engineer by training, Rhys has more than 30 years' software development and project management experience in the software industry for companies such as Helwett Packard and Easams. In this context he recruited and managed teams in excess of 100 people.

A change of career led him to spending over a decade as a teaching fellow in a UK top 15 computer science department in a British University.

He now divides his time between the IT, Finance and QA elements of Career Alchemy, supporting Welsh rugby and writing non-fiction books. For more please see Rhys's profile on www.linkedin.com

INTRODUCING MEMBERS OF OUR ADVISORY PANEL

George Ashworth

An accomplished senior finance executive with over 25 years extensive experience operating at board level in a variety of senior fast growth management transformational leadership roles within national and multi-national organisations, George is currently Managing Director of Santander Asset Finance plc. Previous roles include Managing Director of ABM AMRO Leasing (UK) Ltd, Aldermore Bank Plc (Asset Finance) and senior management roles in operations and sales at Fortis Bank Group in Brussels and Lombard/Royal Bank of Scotland.

He currently serves as a member of the Board at Aberystwyth University from which he graduated with a BSc (Econ) in Law and Economics. He also chairs the University’s Investments and Audit, Risk & Assurance Committees and is a Trustee of the Aberystwyth University Investment Fund. He is a Board member of Leaseurope, and has held a number of previous voluntary roles including non-executive director of Quantum Care plc in the care home sector. He is a member of the management board of UK Finance & Leasing Association.

Emeritus Professor Kate Bullen

Kate originally trained as a therapeutic radiographer and worked in the NHS for over a decade before leaving due to an industrial injury. She gained counselling qualifications whilst studying for her undergraduate Psychology degree at Swansea University, and was later awarded a PhD from Swansea and an MEd from the OU in 2005.

Kate is a fellow of the HEA, a chartered psychologist and a fellow of the British Psychological Society. She was President of the British Psychological Society from 2018 -19, and was awarded an honorary DSci from the University of Buckingham in 2019 for her contributions to Psychology in higher education.

With a passionate belief in the power of education to change lives Kate has over 35 years of experience in working across the education spectrum from A-level to professional practice. Other areas of expertise include research ethics for the Higher Education sector and the NHS, and supporting the work of AdvanceHE as a panel chair for the Equality Challenge Unit Athena SWAN chartermark awards. Following her retirement as Dean of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Brighton, Kate was awarded Emeritus Professor status by the university. She now acts as a Charters Associate Consultant for AdvanceHE’s Athena SWAN chartership scheme.

Stephen Isherwood

Stephen Isherwood was appointed Chief Executive of the ISE in June 2013 following seven years as Head of Graduate Recruitment UK & Ireland at Ernst & Young, one of the largest recruiters of graduates in the UK.

Prior to EY, Stephen managed graduate recruitment and development programmes at PwC and Safeway as well as working in the public sector where he developed and managed a number of careers related programmes. Stephen has extensive experience in the recruitment and development of students, both graduates and school leavers. He has worked closely with Higher Education throughout his career and is focused on the career development and employment of students.

In addition to his current role, Stephen sits on several steering groups related to higher education and employment, he is on the board of HECSU and a trustee of Ashorne Hill Management College. Stephen works with the charity Speakers for Schools and has also recently teamed up with Roding Valley High School as an Enterprise Advisor through the Careers and Enterprise Company. He has presented to various committees in the Houses of Parliament and often appears in national and local media.

Meeta Thareja

Meeta Thareja is an entrepreneur with 19 years of international experience in Business Strategy Consulting, Technology, Outsourcing & Hospitality. She co-founded strategy consulting firm MetaValue in 2012 with the vision to be an antidote to austerity by helping more business grow and thrive., delivering projects across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. The company became a leading supplier to the UK Cabinet Office with their work being recognised as best practice in the sector. A well-established business mentor for start-ups and SMEs in the UK, she has worked with Universities, Business Accelerators, Local and Central Governments and the European Regional Development Fund to support over 300 start-up SMEs and innovation projects to bring bold ideas to life and amplify their impact.

Meeta is a certified facilitator of Human-Centred Design methodologies and has developed toolsets and guides for SMEs and start-ups that have been used widely by organisations she has worked with. Some of these have also been included by the UK Cabinet Office as learning assets for the wider sector.
Meeta serves on the Advisory Board of the award winning (Virgin invested) company Auticon that places technology consultants on the Autistic spectrum in roles with large Fortune 500 companies. She has supported the company since it was a pre-startup in the UK. Auticon was recently named by Sir Richard Branson as one of the top 5 companies he most admires. She also on the Board of Money A+E, an award-winning charity working to support BAME and hard-to-reach communities in London with money advice and education. She was also a Member of the Independent Advisory Panel for the British Army’s Defence College of Logistics, Policing & Administration between 2016-19.

One of six women in the UK named Asian Women of Achievement (Entrepreneur) in 2014, Meeta is part of Women of the Future Network - a national forum for high potential women in business. A believer in the unlimited potential for good in every human, for over 20 years, she has been an active local community volunteer with SGI – an international organisation committed to peace through dialogue, education and culture.

MEET OUR ASSOCIATES, Consultants & LEad VOLUNTEERS

Gary Argent – Early Careers Employability Specialist

Gary has worked in the early talent industry since May 2000. After eight years delivering graduate recruitment and development programmes at a large international IT company he spent three years at the Institute of Student Employers (formerly the Association of Graduate Recruiters) where he facilitated collaboration between employers, universities and suppliers.

Gary went on to run the careers service at City, University of London for four years, focusing on Widening Participation, early engagement with students, curriculum-led careers guidance and developing employer partnerships. More recently he spent six months supporting the Careers and Enterprise Company’s Passport for Life project. This experience has given Gary an unusual opportunity to view the industry from different standpoints as he has worked as a recruiter, for the industry’s professional body, and for a university. For more details please see his LinkedIn profile.

Sarah Finnegan Dehn – Executive and Career Coach

Following a varied and successful career of more than thirty years in the career guidance sector, Sarah now works as a freelance executive and career coach, mentor and consultant, directly supporting the development of both individuals and business. A skilled and and professionally qualified careers adviser and executive coach, she holds the Diploma in Careers Guidance and ILM Certificate in Executive Coaching and mentoring. She was Chief Executive of Careers Wales North West, becoming Director for Careers Wales North when the national unified organisation was formed. She led on strategic development and digital transformation. Her interests within the careers field including the future of work and how the labour market is changing. She believes that the role of the older worker is crucial going forward. A past president of the UK Institute of Career Guidance (ICG) and former director of the Career Development Institute (CDI) the professional body for career guidance in the UK, she is passionate about career development and supporting individuals to fulfil their dreams.

A fluent Welsh speaker, she is a director and trustee of Prime Cymru, the charity in Wales founded by HRH the Prince of Wales that supports mature individuals to find employment, self- employment, training and volunteering where she serves as a member of the Finance and Audit Committee. She is also currently one of two independent members on the Board of the Community Health Council for Wales (BCHCW).

Steve Keith – Early Careers Recruitment and Branding Specialist

Steve’s career began in 2006 when he joined the Teach First leadership development programme in London where he spent two years teaching Geography to 11-18 year olds before leaving the classroom in 2008 to start a new career in recruitment. Since then he has gained valuable experience working across schools and campus recruitment, leadership development and employer branding. During the 8 years he spent working at global professional services firm EY (formerly Ernst & Young), he lead the apprenticeship recruitment team towards over 20 industry awards, and launched the UK’s first parent-focused employer brand campaign, Parental Advice, part of which included working with career experts, to deliver the EY Parentaship – career development evenings attended by parents and their teenagers around the UK.

Steve is a passionate advocate of inclusion, diversity and belonging – regularly visiting schools in London to share his coming out story with the LGBT+ charity Diversity Role Models. He is also hosts his own podcast, My Career Story, and is part of the judging panel for the UK Business Awards. Find out more at thebrandingman.co.uk.

Chris Webb - HE Careers Specialist and Writer

A passionate advocate of the importance of high-quality careers education, information, advice and guidance for everyone in society, Chris currently balances his full-time role as an Employability Adviser at Sheffield Hallam University with a range of professional development activities for the Career Development Institute (CDI), in addition to his freelance careers writing on topics ranging from careers leadership, Gatsby Benchmarks, to digital employability skills and professional identity. Chris has experience supporting clients with their career planning and development in a range of contexts, including secondary school, further education, adult provision and now higher education, as well as collaborating with other careers professionals and educators to complete the Teach First Careers and Employability Leadership Programme, the Quality in Careers Standard and case studies for National Careers Week.

Chris has written articles and blogs for a number of careers-related publications, including Trotman and FE News, and is a regular contributor to the CDI's quarterly Career Matters magazine, in addition to producing and proofreading content for careers resources created by organisations like Success at School.

Olymbia Petrou - Diversity and HR Specialist

With a background in business, diversity and HR, Olymbia has worked for public sector organisations, SMEs, charities, as well as owned and run her own businesses.

A fully-qualified business and executive coach, Olymbia particularly enjoys working with diverse groups on the unique challenges they face. Her humanistic coaching approach can help with any challenges or self-limiting beliefs that may be getting in the way, and by eliciting and nurturing individual skills and strengths, can help unlock and focus individuals on achieving their full potential and goals.

Olymbia also delivers diversity, business and HR consultancy to support organisations, individuals and businesses with practical and supportive solutions through her company Electra Business Services Ltd.

Seb Waligorski – Digital Media and Technology Specialist

Seb is experienced and creative expert in digital media and technology who successfully combines his twin passions of business and computer science to create brands that stand out. A Business/Management and Computer Science Graduate, he has sound industry experience gained not least working agency side as Digital Manager for Ionize where he was responsible for web-based and marketing, social media and branding project management supporting a range of businesses in different sectors.

He now works as a successful laptop entrepreneur in the gig economy, running a team of IT and graphic design professionals to help start-up businesses including his own https://hiexplorers.com/ travel business develop into grown-up businesses. He leads on all aspects of IT and digital marketing at Career Alchemy, no matter which part of the world he may find himself in. For more, please see Seb’s profile on www.linkedIn.com

Interested in working with us?

If you are passionate about career coaching and are looking for a new freelance opportunity as a Career Alchemist helping people to create solid gold working lives, then why not contact us today to find out more.

Interested in working with us as a client?

We run a range of different programmes and services,
all designed to help you or your clients and students create inspiring and purposeful working lives.