Dr Victoria Stakelum

“ I couldn’t recommend Victoria highly enough after meeting with her. I have been lucky enough to work with Victoria before, so meeting with her, knowing her skill set, made perfect sense. Victoria is a skilled listener who was able to bring clarity to my own professional goals which has subsequently supported my own progression. I highly recommend anyone considering to work with Victoria to do so. I look forward to working together in the near future. ”

“I had a coaching session with Vicky and it was fantastic. I can't recommend her enough. she is very professional yet warm, and guided me through my ways of thinking, and supported more positive and adaptive patterns of thought. In just one session I was able to feel more confident in my role.”

“Recently, I heard that Victoria had become a coach and had been recommended multiple times for her excellent work. So, I asked for an appointment regarding my career, the session was just what I needed. Actually, I found her coaching to be very focused and her listening skills were incredible. Not once did I have repeat myself and I always had the feeling she was gently guiding me to speak about and unlock my potential. Victoria is creative, empathetic and friendly and certainly knows what she is doing and excels at it. I felt I was in a good place and took a lot of energy and ideas away with me. I can recommend Victoria as a coach, she will not disappoint.”

“I would thoroughly recommend working with Victoria as a coach. Our initial chat had me reframing a lot of internal barriers and preconceptions I’d been holding onto for a long time, freeing me up to move forwards with a fresh approach. ”

“Wow! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Highly recommended coaching with Victoria, she has a wonderful way of helping you establish clarity and focus on what you want to achieve. For anyone considering coaching, try one session with Victoria, I can guarantee you will want to go back for more!! Im excited to get working on my pathway…. Thank you so much #coaching #vision #clarity ”

“I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I signed up for a set of executive coaching sessions with Victoria but what a great experience! Joining a senior leadership team necessarily comes with challenges, but as the only female in an all-male, remote leadership team, I've had a few more to add to the mix. Victoria helped tease out underlying issues, provided guidance on how to tackle these and held the mirror up when I needed to take a good hard look at my own behaviour. We counted a number of successes along the way and I've been armed with tools and tactics for the future, as well as a more rounded belief in myself and the role I fulfill. I'd highly recommend Victoria to anyone looking for coaching, but particularly women in senior positions. ”

“I was given the opportunity to attend Vicky's online workshop (How to create career success WITHOUT sacrificing balance) and a 1:1 session afterwards. Vicky is a compelling speaker, and a fantastic listener. I learned a lot about my future aspirations from the time she gave me, as she picked out many key things in what I said and communicated these back to me. I'm very glad to have had the opportunity to work with her.”

“I had the pleasure of working with Vicky over many years at Arden University where she was instrumental in the launch of Arden and establishing it as a highly successful brand in a competitive market. I learned a huge amount from Vicky both in terms of marketing and leadership. Vicky is especially skilled in both coaching and mentoring as well as training and facilitation and Vicky’s sessions have proved valuable in each role I have undertaken, shaping me into a more effective leader. I’ve gained a massive amount of confidence as a result and would recommend Vicky to anyone who wants to achieve the same. Thanks for all your support over the years Vicky!”

“I worked for Vicky for over 2 years at Arden and appreciated her full support and really enjoyed working with her throughout an intense period of change and growth. Vicky effectively provided a compelling vision in which technology could be harnessed to enable strategic outcomes and always found the right balance between providing direction and allowing for autonomy when appropriate. She is results oriented and customer focused making her a great asset to any business.”

“Vicky was a great leader to report to. She is an impressive strategic thinker, whilst managing to stay abreast of the necessary detail. She empowers her teams to work with autonomy, working collaboratively to build clear objectives and then trusting her people to deliver on them. Vicky is hugely supportive and, for me, always managed to foster an incredible feeling of working together to reach strategic aims, rather than any sort of hierarchical relationship. Her approach is collaborative and effective, delivering results in a very supportive and team-oriented way. I hugely enjoyed working with and for Vicky and the next business she leads will be very fortunate to have her.”

“Vicky coached and mentored me over the past year. She is kind, generous with her time and it was an absolute privilege to have her in my corner - ultimately with the outcome that I gained a promotion at work. Vicky very quickly - and with empathy - grasped the complex situation I faced and offered me a completely fresh perspective. Her experience leading a multi million pound business meant she was able to lend an unparalleled practical insight and advice alongside useful theoretical models, where appropriate. Vicky’s support was particularly helpful to me during a transition period at work, which ultimately translated into a promotion for me - an incredible result during lockdown.”

“I worked with Vicky for 2 years during a highly challenging period of growth for Arden. Vicky is a commercially focused leader with a very strong strategic mindset. Vicky finds a balance between being a good listener and inspiring the team to achieve great results. Her role in overseeing the transformation of Arden University over the past 5 years is remarkable and she would undoubtedly be a major asset to any business.”

“I have worked with Victoria for a number of years now. We first met when she worked at the Post Office and our connection and collaboration has carried on to her current role. She has a rare ability to combine both the vision for organisation development with the practical reality of making this happen. Her vision for leadership and culture change at Arden was clear and compelling and it has been so impressive to see how she has brought this to life. She is an impressive role model for executive leadership and clearly gets the challenge that is both running and building the business. I also notice many personal touches that demonstrate kindness, compassion and genuine care for people. She has impressive listening and coaching skills combined with a sharp mind which has developed into a compelling leadership style that both inspires and challenges people. If I were to be able to choose my own leader for a project, I think I would put Victoria at the top of the list. ”

“Victoria is a proven leader of rapid transformation and results. Her ability to strategise is combined with the tenacity and personal commitment required to deliver what she has promised. She exhibits an open and honest inclusive leadership style that ensures the commitment of her staff as they willingly join her on a journey to success.”

“Victoria is solution driven and commercially astute. An intelligent thinker, she throws herself into understanding a market or project to ensure that a considered strategy is achieved with minimum fuss. Victoria's decisive and driven attitude sees the team led strongly and guided confidently from project inception through to completion – a true professional who delivers.”

“Victoria is an outstanding strategist with wide and impressive experience. She is highly intelligent, a lightening-fast thinker and great problem solver. Victoria leads her teams with fairness, positivity and a real drive towards collective success. A true asset to any company.”

“Vicky is a consummate professional who is organized, thorough, and an outstanding leader and strategic thinker. She has the ability to not only see the big picture but also the wherewithal to acknowledge and understand the details and get results. I could go on, but I will simply say that any company would be profoundly lucky and privileged to have Vicky in their employ.  I highly recommend her.”

“Victoria is a world class strategist who swiftly unravels complex issues and identifies the insight needed to deliver results. She seems to find that ideal balance of direct talking and generating enthusiasm....a pleasure to work with.”

“Vicky has a clear vision and drive, drawing on insights to affect business change. Working with her on research projects feeding straight into a global strategy has been a privilege and tremendously enjoyable. As a professional marketeer, Vicky never loses sight of the big strategic issues at the core of any research and challenges the insights to get to the real game-changing findings. Her collaborative style and strong communications skills ensure that her team are encouraged to extract as much learning from research as possible and to take action accordingly for the benefit of the business. Her ability to think "end to end" strategically and to drive actions that move the business in its intended direction without losing momentum is truly inspiring.”

“Vicky is an impressive global marketing director. Not only does she have the creativity and discipline required to respond to the complexity of the marketing landscape, she has a big talent for building and energising teams. She's a great communicator, prepared to have the tough conversations as well as the compassionate ones, and as a result builds influential relationships throughout the organisation. Setting high standards for herself and others, Vicky brings the momentum and dynamism to both set the marketing agenda and lead a team to deliver it.”

“Victoria is a passionate and strategic marketer. She understands the complexity of brand and actively leads in an assertive and engaging manner. She has the ability to identify and plan new opportunities, to create a vision and articulate the vision. As a result we have undergone a transformation Karndean Designflooring. Victoria leads Global Marketing from the front as a thorough professional, an excellent listener and always seeking the common ground. Within the company, she is a facilitator and a collaborative team player; she leads projects diligently and through example and is a business leader for change.”