Selina Tyler reflects on the transformative effect of executive coaching which she says gave her ‘purpose and energy’ and was pivotal in her being in the job she’s now in. Selina was offered coaching to support her return to role at Federated Hermes after her first maternity leave. She had further executive coaching with Jessica as she stepped into a new role at Lombard Odier Investment Managers, from where she joined Jupiter Asset Management as Head of UK in 2025.

Jeremy Bradbury loves his job as a dubbing mixer on the ITV drama Emmerdale, and when ME/CFS took him away from ITV for a couple of months, he felt blindsided and guilt-ridden. Eager to get back to work, he engaged with coaching offered by ITV to support his return. So moved by his coaching experience and the support he received from ITV, Jeremy asked whether he could be a guest on our podcast, COMEBACK COACH. This is a snippet from the conversation you can listen to in full on episode 117. We thank you Jeremy.

Jessica is an ambitious Associate in the life sciences and chemistry group at Kilburn & Strode LLP. Jessica said yes to coaching when she came back from maternity leave and used her coaching time to explore how to get better at business development and networking; line management skill development and preparing her application for Partner. “We made headway very quickly and I just new after that first session this wasn’t fluffy or abstract: it was concrete, tailored to me and was going to be very useful. I can’t recommend coaching enough.”

Smeeta Mistry is a senior data analyst who had coaching to support her return to work at ITV after maternity leave. She reflects on how coaching was a space to think out loud and how the right probing questions led to her thinking differently and shifted her mindset. These small but significant shifts led to making a bigger contribution at work and a sustainable and guilt-free blend between work and home. “It’s crazy to think how much more relaxed I am work now.”

Kirsty and her team have been partnering with The Talent Keeper Specialists since 2017. What started as group experiences for colleagues returning from maternity leave and learning sessions for line managers has evolved into bespoke coaching engagements for colleagues at pivotal career moments. She says she values our nimbleness and ability to tailor solutions to commercial realities and needs of ITV. She’s a coach herself and has developed internal coaching capability within ITV.

Laura reflects on how executive coaching to support her return to role from maternity leave had wider benefits for her leadership capability. She highlights the ripple of effect of executive coaching on her direct reports and peers. She reflects on the wider value The Talent Keeper Specialists brought to her beyond the coaching sessions: our network, our podcast, our fortnightly coaching e-mails, our resources and our recommendations. “It was invaluable,” she says.

Karina Langan reflects on why TT International chooses our Comeback Community employee experience programme for their employees preparing for and returning from maternity and other periods of extended leave. TT International has been a client since 2018 and our engagements have ranged from helping a new senior hire hone her voice and confidently step up, through to comeback coaching and line manager upskill sessions and groups coaching for the HR team.

Meena Santhosh reflects on the power of coaching to support three returns to work from maternity leave. Meena had executive coaching via her employers, BlackRock (two maternity leaves) and latterly via Robeco. “I use the word ‘life-saver’ which sounds extreme, but coaching was. And after that first maternity leave, and the second, when it came to my third OI remember telling me employer ‘if you want me to some back and hit the ground running, this [coaching] is what I need. This is the minimum I need to get myself back in full form.”

Xaviera reflects on the transformative effect of executive coaching on two occasions. Xaviera was recommended to have coaching by her line manager at Coca-Cola, to support her in making some significant career choices. Xaviera’s line manager, Shanna, had had coaching with Jessica and knew first hand the clarity Xaviera was likely to get from executive coaching. In 2025 when Xaviera’s line manager at Momentum discussed executive coaching to support her at a pivotal career moment, she reached out again. The coaching this time was to help her upgrade her leadership capability when she was being asked to straddle working on the business’ top strategic priority (a bid project) as well as heading up the Communications team.

Vicki Barker shares her journey of returning to work after maternity leave and the transformative power of coaching at a time she felt lost and without clear purpose or direction. She discusses the challenges of finding her footing, the importance of having a thinking space, and how identifying her “golden thread” brought clarity and productivity to her professional life. She says “You just do, do, do as a working mother and actually do you need that time to reflect. I got to see things from a different perspective and it’s helped me be more discerning about what I do and don’t get involved in. I’m more considered now.”

Amandine Gueret was made up to Partner before she went on maternity leave. She wasn’t sure what the value of coaching would be as she was returning to what she thought was a very similar environment., but she says “I quickly realised having a safe space to reflect on what I wanted to achieve, how I wanted to achieve it and who I wanted to be as a manager and as a colleague was a real asset. It helped my grow more comfortable in my new role and how to balance things.” Amandine credits coaching with positively shifting her perspective on imposter feelings, confidence and making a difference to her day to day to day presence and the culture she has worked hard to create in her team. 

Katherine Cooke reflects on why Ocado chose chartered coaching psychologist, executive coach and author Jessica Chivers to support their people with neurodivergent children. An hour of storytelling, live Q&A and practical pointers followed by short 1:1’s with 6 members of staff (and their spouses in some cases) who needed an extra bit of practical TLC.

Laura reflects on the value of executive coaching at the point she returned to ITV from maternity leave. “There was a lot to get my head around and I felt simply by offered coaching there was an acknowledgement by the business that it’s challenging to come back.” Laura’s line manager, and her relationship with him, benefitted too – a key part of our Comeback Community employee experience programme is upskilling the returning team member’s manager with 1:1 conversation, a line manager guide, timely e-mails and content on our designated platform.