About me
Hi, I’m Jane Barrett
I specialise in putting the right team together to help for-purpose organisations and leaders reach their potential.
I’m also a coach, speaker, author and creator of the online course Career Maximiser, used by over 20,000 students and alumni from top business schools.
For more than 20 years, I’ve successfully developed the careers of high-calibre executives at the UK and Europe’s top business schools, including INSEAD, HEC, WHU Kellogg, London Business School, Saïd (Oxford) and Judge (Cambridge).
I’ve now combined my background in headhunting to select the right coaches, facilitators and trainers from my unique network to help for-purpose organisations scale their impact through their people.
Our partnership with the boutique consultancy Straight Forward is an exciting development. With wide industry experience and specialising in social housing we are working with them to develop the services we offer. This feels like I have gone full circle from my early career as a Chartered Surveyor. I believe that affordable and decent housing is a crucial building block for our society and we are delighted to develop Straight Forward’s work in this sector.
A bit about my journey
I was the first in my family to go to University where I studied Land Management leading to qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor before moving to a career in recruitment for PwC and a leading search firm.
Growing frustrated at the number of great applicants who were missing out on opportunities simply because they couldn’t “sell themselves” with clarity and confidence, I retrained as a careers coach.
I spent the next 20+ years coaching top talent at business schools to career success and working with organisations to help them develop their executives.
I published my book Taking Charge of Your Career in 2017, and created an online course, Career Maximiser, which has been used by over 20,000 students so far and is trusted by business schools including INSEAD, HEC and Judge (Cambridge).
rrAround this time, I started to think about how I could use my experience for social good as I am interested in social mobility and the green economy.
A company is only as good as it’s people and I now want to use my knowledge of career development our partnership with the boutique consulting firm Straight Forward to focus on talent and organisational development for companies who make a difference.
Meet the team
Executive team
I’ve worked with the individuals in my executive team for many years. They have strong track records and are core in helping design the solution and putting the right team together.
Charlotte Cook
Consulting Lead
Charlotte leads our consulting activity by drawing on her extensive knowledge organisational development from her time as a Senior Manager at PwC, a boutique consultancy and her time as Founder of Straight Forward. With broad experience across many sectors Charlotte has an in depth knowledge of the social housing sector and has been a trusted advisor and coach to CEO’s with experience of M&A and culture change. A trusted advisor and partner to many of our clients, Charlotte brings a wealth of experience, knowledge of the social housing sector combined with a sense of humour and straight talking.
Juliet McCarthy
Client Delivery Lead
Juliet is a qualified HR & Organisational Development professional with a career spanning over 25 years working within a large multinational company and consultancy environments. She has worked with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, supporting its business transformations from ICI to Zeneca and then to AstraZeneca as a HR Business Partner. Juliet is very experienced in designing and delivering Leadership Development programmes as well as in the provision of executive coaching support across our broad range of clients. Juliet has an ability to read complex interpersonal relationships which makes her coaching with board level teams and senior leaders particularly effective.
Executive coaching team
I work with a team of coaches (too many to list here!) that I trust 100%. They’ve held leadership positions at SMEs and FTSE 100 companies and coached alumni from top business schools, including CEOs, board members and senior managers. They’re stellar!
Alison Edmonds
Executive and Career Coaching Lead
Alison is a ICF accredited coach for director- and board-level senior executives and those wishing to pursue consultancy, non-executive director and portfolio careers. She worked for Alliance Manchester Business School for over 15 years, leading career management for MBA students and delivering the leadership experience for the Global Executive MBA. Alison has a deep interest in sustainability, an infectious enthusiasm and is a highly rated workshop leader drawing on her training as a teacher following her Natural Sciences degree at Cambridge University.
Core values
Sustainability
Integrity
Clarity
On a more personal note
I’m based in Harrogate, Yorkshire, but I work with organisations across the UK and Europe.
When I’m not working, I enjoy playing padel tennis, paddle boarding, kayaking, walking my cocker spaniel Milo, and exploring the UK and Europe with my husband in our campervan.
I set up and helped fund a job club in Harrogate helping Ukrainian refugees find employment.