Meet the people behind
We are a team of coaches, trainers, mentors, and supporters who share one thing in common β a genuine belief in the transformational power of coaching and a deep commitment to the people we serve.
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Every one of us has been shaped by this work. We practise what we preach, and we show up for our students, our clients, and each other with the same care and presence we bring to everything we teach.
Oh, and we also like to have a lot of fun along the way.
FOUNDERS
Mindful Talent was built on a shared vision β that coaching, done well, can change everything.
Alister Gray
Co-Founder & Lead Trainer
Alister is a founder, executive coach, meditation guide, and teacher who has trained 600+ coaches across 20+ countries and partnered with global brands including Google, Nike, and KPMG. His work blends neuroscience, human behaviour, and deep self-enquiry to help leaders rediscover purpose and confidence. Featured in Forbes, GQ, and Business Insider.
Alister Gray is a founder, teacher, executive coach, meditation guide, and yogi who has spent over two decades working at the intersection of human potential, conscious leadership, and transformational learning. He has partnered with some of the world's most recognised brands β including Google, Nike, Dropbox, and KPMG β and has trained 600+ coaches across more than 20 countries. His work blends meditation, human behaviour, and deep self-enquiry to help high-level leaders rediscover inspiration, purpose, and confidence. He is the founder of the We Are Love community and creator of the 8 Stages of Awakening Loveβ’ framework. His impact has been featured in Forbes, GQ, and Business Insider. Alister leads the Mindful Talent Coaching Academy alongside Ilaria, with the same heart-led philosophy they bring to everything they do.
Ilaria Nardini-Gray
Head of Student Experience & Mentoring
Ilaria is an AC-accredited coach with a holistic, intuitive approach that blends coaching, mindfulness, and spiritual awareness. Since joining Mindful Talent in 2019, she has led the student experience and mentoring programmes, ensuring every coach-in-training feels held, supported, and seen throughout their journey. She is the heartbeat of our community.
Ilaria Nardini-Gray is an AC-accredited coach, spiritual healer, and the Head of Student Experience and Mentoring at Mindful Talent Coaching Academy. Her coaching approach is holistic, intuitive, and deeply compassionate β blending professional coaching practice with mindfulness and spiritual awareness to create a uniquely transformational experience for her clients. Since joining Mindful Talent in 2019, Ilaria has led the student experience and mentoring programmes, building a learning environment where every student feels genuinely held and supported from week one through to graduation. She holds an Advanced Certificate in Coaching Practice, a Certificate in Counselling, and has trained as both a Spiritual Healer and Theta Healer. Ilaria has a particular passion for working with people who are ready to create real, lasting change β and her warmth, presence, and deep care for others is felt by every student who comes through the Mindful Talent doors.
Michele Armstrong
Advisor, Supervisor
Michele has over 25 years of coaching methodology development, a deep grounding in neuroscience and mindfulness, and a lifelong belief in the untapped potential within every human being. She set up her first coach training business in 2003 and co-founded Mindful Talent in 2016. Her vision and methodology are woven into everything we teach.
Michele Armstrong is the visionary behind the coaching methodology that sits at the heart of everything Mindful Talent teaches. A passionate, engaging, and deeply experienced coach, she has spent over 25 years developing a brain-based approach to coaching that weaves together neuroscience, mindfulness, and a profound belief in the self-determined potential of every human being. She served as Head of the Association for Coaching in Scotland from 2004 to 2006, championing coaching as a transformational tool for leaders, managers, and practitioners across Scotland and beyond.
Michele set up her first coach training business in 2003 and took a defining step forward when she co-founded Mindful Talent Coaching Academy with Alister Gray in 2016. Her work in Community Learning and Development, combined with her decades of coaching practice, gave Mindful Talent its philosophical foundation β one that continues to shape and inform every programme we deliver. Though Michele now serves as Advisor, her influence is present in every module, every conversation, and every coach who graduates from The Transformational Coach.
LEAD TRAINERS
Our lead trainers bring a wealth of coaching experience, warmth, and expertise to every cohort. You'll get to know them well over your 20 weeks together.
Raymy Boyle
Lead Trainer, Mentor
Raymy is a leadership and mindfulness coach with over 30 years of experience, a Postgraduate Diploma in Mindfulness, and ILM accreditation in coach supervision. His coaching is grounded in the belief that, with the right conditions, every person has the capacity to fulfil their own potential. He brings that conviction to every cohort.
Raymy Boyle is a leadership and mindfulness coach with over 30 years of experience in Children's Services, working across both statutory and voluntary sectors. Through leading and managing teams of social workers, community workers, and family support workers, Raymy developed a coaching approach that is deeply rooted in self-awareness, personal responsibility, and authentic leadership. He has held a wide range of strategic leadership roles, providing guidance on strategy, policy, and organisational change, and brings that hard-earned wisdom into every coaching partnership he forms.
Since 2016, Raymy has worked full-time with Acorn Principle Plus, developing and delivering coaching, leadership, and mindfulness programmes to individuals and organisations around the world. He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Studies in Mindfulness, is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Living Course teacher, and is an ILM-accredited coach supervisor. Raymy was part of the Mindful Talent Leadership Team from 2019 to 2023 and returns as a Lead Trainer with a firm belief in every person's innate potential and a deep commitment to supporting people to make the changes they want to see in their lives.
Ian Dunnett
Lead Trainer, Lead Mentor
Ian is an accredited executive coach, mediator, and coach trainer with over 42 years of experience across the Scottish Government, NHS, and Third Sector. Specialising in Functional Fluency and behavioural coaching, he helps leaders who feel stuck find fresh ways forward. Ian brings extraordinary depth, warmth, and wisdom to his role as Lead Trainer.
Ian Dunnett is an accredited executive coach, mediator, and coach trainer with over 42 years of experience across a wide range of management roles in public sector and Scottish Government settings. He has spent the last six years coaching senior leaders and managers in the Scottish Government, NHS, and Third Sector, supporting them to navigate complex workplace challenges, difficult conversations, and meaningful personal change.
A key part of Ian's approach is Functional Fluency, an interactive and evidence-based behavioural coaching model that helps clients understand their own patterns and those of the people around them. He is a nationally accredited workplace mediator, a licensed provider of the TIFF Behavioural Profile, and holds an Advanced Certificate in Coaching Practice. Ian has served as Lead Coach Trainer and Lead Coach Mentor with both Acorn Principle Plus and Mindful Talent Coaching Academy, working with an international client group, and he brings that extraordinary breadth of experience to his role as Lead Trainer and Lead Mentor.
Rona Doig
Lead Trainer, Mentor, Supervisor
Rona is an executive coach and accredited Strengths Profile practitioner with over 20 years of experience across financial services and higher education. Currently Head of Student Development at the University of Edinburgh Business School, she is passionate about helping people realise their potential and grow in confidence as they work towards their goals.
Rona Doig is an executive coach and Lead Trainer with a career spanning over 20 years in management and development roles across the financial services industry, higher education, and her own coaching practice. She has worked with clients up to Board level across private, public, and charitable sectors, and in 2014 joined the University of Edinburgh Business School as Head of Student Development β a role that, as an alumna, continues to be a daily source of energy and inspiration.
Rona has been coaching since 2005, when she completed her Certificate of Professional Development in Performance Coaching at Strathclyde University. She holds an Advanced Certificate in Coaching Practice accredited by the Association for Coaching, is an accredited Strengths Profile Practitioner and Coach, and is an NLP Practitioner. She completed the Trusted Leader Programme with Mindful Talent in 2020 and has been a proud member of the Mindful Talent community ever since. Rona has a particular passion for helping individuals identify and build on their inherent strengths, and brings that strength-focused, people-centred approach to everything she does as a Lead Trainer.
Our mentors are one of the things our graduates talk about most.
Every mentor in our team is a graduate ofΒ
The Transformational Coach.
They've sat where you're sitting. They know the journey from the inside. And they chose to come back β not because they had to, but because they wanted to give that experience to others. That says everything you need to know about them.
Ari Weinstein
Mentor
Ari is an accredited executive coach and author who has spent over four decades helping professionals navigate growth, transition, and self-discovery. A Mindful Talent graduate, his specialist focus is personal branding and business development β helping people who have profound insights to share communicate them with clarity and confidence. Based in New York's Hudson Valley.
Ari M. Weinstein is an accredited executive coach and author who has spent over four decades helping professionals navigate the challenges of growth, transition, and self-discovery. A graduate of Mindful Talent's Transformational Coach programme in 2019, Ari experienced firsthand how the integration of neuroscience, mindfulness, and deep self-work creates lasting change β an experience that continues to shape everything he does as a coach. His specialist focus is personal branding and business development, working with individuals who have profound insights to share but struggle to communicate them with clarity and confidence. Drawing on a career that took him from graphic designer to corporate executive, Ari brings a uniquely grounded perspective to his coaching practice. He is the author of Personal Branding at Work and has taught master classes on Emotional Intelligence for fellow career coaches. In 2025, he earned his Certified Empowerment and Motivational Professional credential, reflecting his ongoing commitment to excellence and development.
Hannah Siaw
Mentor
Hannah is a coach, facilitator, and speaker who specialises in helping leaders, young founders, and creatives navigate career transitions, new ventures, and team challenges. Her own journey spans classical music, economics, banking, and organisational development β giving her a rare sensitivity to the unseen nuances of human experience.
Hannah Siaw is a coach, facilitator, and speaker known for her clarity, composure, and the infectious energy she brings to every space she enters. She specialises in helping leaders, young founders, and creatives navigate the complex in-between moments of life β career transitions, new ventures, team challenges, and everything in between. Her work is grounded in a deep belief in the sacred capacity of every individual to achieve extraordinary things. Hannah's own journey spans classical music, economics, banking, and organisational development β a path that has given her a rare sensitivity to the unseen nuances of human experience. After completing Mindful Talent's Transformational Coach programme, she made the bold choice to move from finance into the world of human potential. Today she leads within a cutting-edge tech firm, managing high-performing teams and delivering over Β£3 million in revenue each quarter. She holds a Masters in Finance and an Advanced Certificate in Coaching Practice.
Gerard McGread
Mentor
Gerard is an experienced executive coach, lead trainer, and qualified coach supervisor who joined Mindful Talent in 2018. His coaching style is purposeful and challenging β he believes that setting clear intentions and holding clients accountable to them is where real transformation begins. He also runs his own coaching company, Everything Connected.
Gerard McGread is an experienced executive coach and mentor whose work is driven by a genuine love of seeing people grow, shift, and come into their own. He joined Mindful Talent in 2018 and holds an Advanced Certificate in Coaching Practice accredited by the Association for Coaching, of which he is an active member. His coaching style is purposeful and challenging β he believes that setting clear intentions and holding clients accountable to them is where real transformation begins. Beyond his coaching work, Gerard is a trained lead trainer with the Mindful Talent Coaching Academy and a qualified coach supervisor approved by the Institute of Leadership and Management. He is also an active mentor with MCR Pathways, supporting care-experienced young people in reconnecting with education and entering the world of work, and completed a two-year Leadership Through MCR Mentoring Programme at Strathclyde University. Gerard also runs his own coaching company, Everything Connected.
Melissa Maouris
Mentor
Melissa is a Reparenting Coach and host of the Reparenting Podcast, dedicated to helping people build emotional intelligence, self-leadership, and a fundamentally different relationship with themselves. Her work has reached far and wide β collaborating with UN Women, speaking for Stylist magazine, and featured in GQ. She brings exceptional depth and warmth to her mentoring.
Melissa Maouris is a Reparenting Coach and the host of the Reparenting Podcast, dedicated to helping people build emotional intelligence, self-leadership, and a fundamentally different relationship with themselves. Her work goes beyond mindset β it reaches into the deeper layers of how we feel about who we are, creating lasting inner change that ripples outwards into every area of life. Since becoming a full-time coach in 2017, Melissa has built a reputation as one of the most thoughtful and impactful voices in the coaching space. Her work has reached far and wide β she has collaborated with UN Women, spoken for Stylist magazine, and been featured in GQ. She brings the same depth, warmth, and rigour to her role as mentor at the Mindful Talent Coaching Academy, where she has guided dozens of coaches through their development journey. Melissa is committed to creating coaches who are not just skilled practitioners but truly transformed human beings.
Shaun Burke
Mentor
Shaun is a coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator who helps people create rapid, meaningful change by re-aligning his identity, beliefs, and behaviours from the inside out. His coaching blends cutting-edge neuroscience with practical habit design and emotional regulation tools. He has a particular passion for supporting fathers balancing ambition, wellbeing, and family life.
Shaun Burke is a coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator known for helping people create rapid, meaningful change by re-aligning their identity, beliefs, and behaviours from the inside out. His coaching blends cutting-edge neuroscience with practical habit design and emotional regulation tools, enabling clients to upgrade their mindset, break free from limiting patterns, and build long-term resilience. Shaun works with leaders, entrepreneurs, and career professionals navigating transitions, performance challenges, and identity-level transformation β and has a particular passion for supporting fathers who are striving to balance ambition, wellbeing, and family life. With over seven years of coaching experience and an Advanced Certificate in Coaching Practice from the Association for Coaching, Shaun brings both rigour and humanity to everything he does. As a speaker, he delivers engaging sessions on the neuroscience of performance, nervous system regulation, and the power of belief β and brings that same energy and insight to his role as a Mindful Talent mentor.
Karen Ramsay-Smith
Mentor, Supervisor
Karen is a Transformational Soul Coach, Energetics Practitioner, Coach Supervisor, and Firewalking Instructor with a decade of deep coaching experience and a 26-year background in Marketing and Communications. She supports individuals to release the past, move beyond limiting beliefs, and align with the life their soul came here to live.
Karen Ramsay-Smith is a Transformational Soul Coach, Energetics Practitioner, Coach Supervisor, and Firewalking Instructor β and the founder of Your Soul Radiance. With a decade of experience in deep coaching and a 26-year background in Marketing and Communications, Karen brings a rare blend of grounded professional expertise and profound spiritual insight to her work. She supports individuals to come home to themselves β releasing the past, moving beyond limiting beliefs and ancestral patterns, and aligning with the life their soul came here to live. Karen's approach weaves together nature's wisdom, spiritual insight, and energetic mastery. She holds an Advanced Certificate in Coaching Practice, an ILM Principle-Led Coach Supervisor qualification, and is an IPHM-accredited Firewalking Instructor and Breakthrough Coach. She is also a qualified Mindfulness Teacher and Soul Energetics Practitioner, specialising in Numerology, Human Design, and Atlantean Energy Codes.
Martin Covill
Mentor, Supervisor
Martin is an executive coach, mentor, coach supervisor, and mental health activist with over 30 years of commercial management experience working with some of the world's leading consumer brands. His distinctive adventure coaching model takes clients into forest, mountain, and coastal settings to unlock new levels of personal connection and creativity.
Martin Covill is an executive coach, mentor, coach supervisor, and mental health activist with over 30 years of commercial management experience working with some of the world's leading consumer brands. His background spans sales, marketing, leadership, and business strategy β and he brings all of that real-world depth into his coaching practice, helping individuals and groups connect with their values, confront self-limiting beliefs, and take meaningful action towards their goals. Martin is drawn naturally to both the inner landscape and the great outdoors, and his adventure coaching model takes clients into forest, mountain, and coastal settings to unlock new levels of personal connection and creativity. His coaching style is principle-led, intuitive, compassionate, and direct β blending deep intensive coaching techniques with mindfulness and neuroscience. He holds the Advanced Certificate in Coaching Practice, is a Certified Coach Supervisor, a qualified Mental Health First Aider, and brings over 1,500 hours of coaching experience to his role as a Mindful Talent mentor.
Behind every great programme is a great team making it all work.
The Mindful Talent experience doesn't begin and end in the coaching room. It's heldΒ together by a dedicated team of people working behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly β from the moment you first land on our website to the moment you graduate.
Geoff Craythorne
Finance Director
Geoff is a senior finance professional and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland, with extensive CFO-level experience across shipping, construction, property, and forestry sectors. His expertise spans investment and forensic accounting, audit, banking, treasury, and financial change management. Geoff has been part of the Mindful Talent team since April 2017.
Chris Moore
Marketing & Tech
Chris has spent 15+ years in the digital marketing trenches, helping coaches, course creators, and online entrepreneurs build systems that actually work, and fix the ones that don't.
He served as Head of Tech Support & Customer Experience at ClickFunnels during their early hypergrowth years (2014β2016), and later became one of just seven official Kajabi Ambassadors worldwide. Along the way, he's consulted for hundreds of 6- and 7-figure brands, with deep expertise in DNS configuration, email deliverability, marketing automation, Facebook Ads, and the technical infrastructure most overlook.
Today, Chris leads the Tech Relief Collective, a community and learning platform built for digital entrepreneurs who want clear, practical guidance without the overwhelm. He works at the intersection of marketing systems and AI, helping clients build infrastructure that scales.
Kim Mapua
Customer Support
Rona is an executive coach and accredited Strengths Profile practitioner with over 20 years of experience across financial services and higher education. Currently Head of Student Development at the University of Edinburgh Business School, she is passionate about helping people realise their potential and grow in confidence as they work towards their goals.
