Prior to joining Aesara, Alison was a partner at Freshfields, a leading international law firm. During her 18 years as a corporate lawyer, Alison led global teams working on some of the most complex and high-profile M&A transactions, including advising AB InBev on its £78bn acquisition of SABMiller, and Comcast on its £30bn takeover of Sky. Alison also advised listed company boards on governance, culture and disclosure issues.
Alison’s extensive legal career brings with it in-depth experience and understanding of the challenges senior executives face in, among other things, leading teams in demanding business environments, transitioning between roles and managing a healthy work/life balance. It was Alison’s interest in these challenges that led her to leave the legal industry to train as an Executive Coach and to undertake a master’s degree in Psychology at the University of Exeter.
Many years as a team leader and mentor in the legal industry, juggled with being a parent, developed the foundations upon which Alison’s practical, action-oriented coaching style is built. Alison is a warm and energetic coach who uses a range of tools, together with appropriate challenge and reflection, to support clients in fulfilling their potential.
‘When I became a partner at Freshfields, I experienced first-hand the transformative benefits of Aesara’s coaching’, says Alison. ‘It opened my eyes to just how profoundly impactful coaching can be for individuals and organisations. I am honoured to be joining such a talented and inspiring team and to be able to use my experience to support our clients.’
Nell Montgomery, one of Aesara’s founding partners adds, ‘We are delighted to welcome Alison to our team. The corporate experience that she brings having worked at the heart of some of the biggest and most challenging transitions in M&A history will be invaluable to support our clients. Alison’s long blue-chip legal career and her empathetic and warm coaching approach are very much welcomed and valued by Aesara Partners and by our clients both in the UK and around the world.’
Alison has a particular focus on female leadership, stakeholder and team management, career progression, authentic leadership, diversity, self-confidence, resilience and work/life balance.
Aesara Partners is headquartered in the UK (London, Edinburgh) with offices in France. (Paris, Lyon), Ireland (Dublin), Asia Pacific (Singapore, Hong Kong, Brisbane, Melbourne), and the Americas (Boston, New York, Buenos Aires).
-ENDS-
ALISON SMITH – BIOGRAPHY alison.smith@aesarapartners.com m. +44 7970 261797
Prior to joining Aesara, Alison was a Partner at Freshfields, a leading international law firm. During her 18 years as a corporate lawyer, Alison led global teams working on some of the most complex, high-profile M&A transactions, including advising AB InBev on its £78bn acquisition of SABMiller, and Comcast on its £30bn takeover of Sky. Alison also advised listed company boards on governance, culture and disclosure issues.
Alison’s extensive legal career brings with it in-depth experience and understanding of the challenges senior executives face in, among other things, leading teams in demanding business environments, transitioning between roles and managing work/life balance. It was Alison’s interest in these challenges that led her to leave the legal industry to train as an Executive Coach and to undertake a Master's degree in Psychology at the University of Exeter. Alison is currently also completing a postgraduate certificate in Business Coaching with the University of Chester.
Alison’s many years as a team leader, coach and mentor in the legal industry, juggled with being a parent to two children, have provided the foundations for her practical, action-orientated, commercial coaching style. Alison is a warm and energetic coach who uses a range of tools, together with appropriate challenge and reflection, to support clients in fulfilling their potential. Clients value Alison’s ability to relate to their experiences as a result of her business background.
Alison has a particular focus on female leadership, stakeholder and team management, career progression, authentic leadership, diversity, self-confidence, resilience and work/life balance.
ABOUT AESARA PARTNERS
Realise human potential. Maximise business performance.
Aesara Partners is a global executive coaching and transformation practice.
We enable individuals, teams and cultures to realise potential. We harness clarity of thought and positive behavioural shifts through world class executive coaching. We deliver performance through transformation, with customised solutions that embed sustainable, self-learning, new habits, competencies and core confidence.
Together, we’re different. Because of the eclectic mix of talented and experienced Executive Coaches and Consultants from across the globe, who choose to think, create and coach as a cooperative, it means that together, we’re different. By living our purpose, we support each other to be our best self, in order that we can support our clients to be the best they can be and maximise human and business potential. We are passionate about encouraging this perspective in everything we do.