General management

Click on a name to read a biography

 

Caroline EstersonCaroline EstersonMost children stop asking 'why' when they hit their teenage years, this natural curiosity has never left Caroline. Her innate ability to question and notice the 'world' helps her collect information very quickly and then to make the complexities of that world very simple. Her philosophy of business is, by making things fun and simple anyone can achieve anything, and this has been proven many times with the results our clients achieve.

She has an insatiable appetite for learning, so when she isn't taking time out in the world to notice, her head can often be found in a book. Her two most common phrases are "we can do that!" and "ummmm that's interesting!" She is always on the look out for the next new thing and this is then brought to life in the release of our new products so make sure you keep a look out for them every quarter.

Caroline started her working life as a Christmas temp in a toy department, so soon learnt the survival skills of a panther, this was then embedded with fast track development to store management via a stint in the Training function. She then moved to financial services where she turned up on Day One in a pink suit, so was never likely to blend into the background, and whilst her taste in business clothing has become maybe a little more conservative, her views have not and she is most happy when in the thick of a difficult business situation, challenging preconceptions and helping others take those first steps to success.

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Alan McDanellAlan McDanellAlan is an experienced Managing Director and business developer. A strong believer in high quality products and excellent customer service, he is an advocate of dynamic learning and the real benefits it can bring to a business. He joins the Company to bring his many years of business management experience and success to enhance the continued growth and development of all aspects of Leaps & Bounds.

As Vice President Global Retail for the Swarovski Group and Head of International Retail for Wolford AG, he managed the development of over 500 retail stores and concessions worldwide. He was also CEO of Swarovski UK responsible for the successful development of both the wholesale and retail sectors over a period of 11 years.

Alan’s career has taken him all over the world and recently enjoyed a ‘round the world’ 10 week holiday with his wife before joining Leaps & Bounds. He is also a keen sportsman having played cricket, hockey and squash and is now a keen golfer.

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Dilesh DesaiDilesh DesaiDil's approach to life is to keep things simple and it's this way of thinking that gets us to challenge the way we do business, along with his cheeky approach that immediately puts people at ease. Some words from people that know him are measured, insightful, open, kind. His background has been retail with Marks and Spencer and financial services with JP Morgan – where in both areas he has been able to develop his management capability to support his love for coaching and has been particularly useful in mentoring young teenagers. His two greatest achievements so far are finding the love of his life and learning how to swim, all after 35 – as Dil would say "it's never too late!"

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Niall CluleyNiall Cluley Niall believes that developing people and business performance centres mainly on helping people focus clearly on what they are trying to achieve as well as on their confidence. In trying new ways of doing things and learning from the impact! For him, this principle consistently applies to the wide range of fantastic people he works with from contact centre based customer service agents through to managers and directors of large businesses. He believes that Leaps and Bounds start this process of open-minded improvement together with our clients through the fun, interactive and creative style of learning that we believe so passionately in using.

His performance coaching background originates in sports coaching (having also been a member of the British Sailing Team). He has also been involved in a variety of business challenges including running large sales and operations teams and held senior roles in companies in the communications, retail, logistics and leisure industries. Niall is also the Chairman of Leaps and Bounds highly successful sports incentives sister company Extremelives.

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