Iain is Managing Director of The Holst Group, the exclusive distributor of the leading Psychometric instrument The McQuaig System in Europe.  The Holst Group is also the European Strategic partner of Dr Edward de Bono, the worlds leading international authority on Creativity and Thinking skills.

Iains background is in marketing and graphic design working within large and small organisations on brand, design and identity.  Having lived and worked in Europe, North America & Asia Pacific, Iain brings experience and cultural understanding to The Holst Groups domestic and international client base.

Initially joining as Client Relationship Manager in 2001, Iain became Business Development Director in 2003 and took responsibility for The Holst Group as Managing Director in 2006.

Iain provides a testimonial for Imre, The Holst Group’s web specialists:

Iain Chalmers gives a testimonial for Imre, web site specialists:

Cormac McGrane is the managing director of THG Ireland Limited, the Irish distributor of The McQuaig System and a number of other HR diagnostic and developmental tools.  THG Ireland is the Irish representative of the UK based Holst Group and the Toronto, Canada based, McQuaig Institute of Executive Development.

This international network also extends to the USA, Australia and a growing number of non English speaking countries.  These connections provide a great source of up-to-date learning on new developments within the field.

For the past 20 years he has worked with a large number of Irish businesses and organisations across the private, public and voluntary sectors.  He is one of the countrys leading authorities on the application of Psychometric and Structured Assessment techniques in the workplace.  Cormacs primary area of expertise is in the recruitment and selection process, from the strategic to the practical.

In recent years he has begun to advise clients on a new approach to people selection and development, by developing methods of integrating the selection process into the staff development and performance management processes.  This approach streamlines a number of core HR strategies and creates a more effective and focused management methodology.

Stress has always been a factor in management; however it has rarely been tackled as a management performance issue.  Cormacs experience in this area allows him to advise clients on effective stress and pressure management strategies.  With stress and its often serious impact on workers at all levels becoming a financial and legal burden for organisations, the management of stress is finally being taken seriously by HR managers and senior executives.

Dave Stent has a real passion for learning and development. This passion started whilst an operational line manager and developed when he moved into the Training and Development Division of BT.

There he became a fully qualified Master Trainer, coach and facilitator, taking the lead on several BT Management Development and Change Programmes.

His key focus is Performance Development. This includes the design, development and delivery of Learning and Development activities, Performance Management and Cultural Change Programmes.

Since leaving BT he has worked for several clients redesigning the company performance management processes and introducing competencies into the organisations. During this time he has designed and delivered Management Development Programmes for various companies including Protocol, Sharp and RebusHR.  He is a chartered member of the CIPD. He is also a licensed practitioner with McQuaig, Meyers Briggs, and Predictive Index psychometric tools.

A fully trained coach, facilitator and career counsellor, he is effective with 1:1 coaching support as well as groups and teams of people

After a spell at Harvard Business School in Boston Mike worked as the Managing Director over a period of 20 years for 4 UK companies 3 of which were owned by US Multi Nationals.

These companies were all manufacturing companies and included production of Aluminium Window and Curtain Wall Systems, Water Treatment Systems and Electronic Process Control. The final organisation was a UK listed company manufacturing Snooker and Pool tables and running over 80 licenced snooker clubs and a number of health clubs. All of these companies had overseas subsidiaries under Mike’s management control in France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain.

Mike first worked with The Holst Group in 1989 when he became the Associate for the Midlands region. In addition to the clients in this region he has also had the responsibility for hotel groups and a number of overseas clients.

Mike’s work includes the Training of McQuaig Interpreters, Presentations, Consulting and general advice on The McQuaig System.

Stuart Scott is one of only 15 trainers internationally who have been appointed Master Trainer status in Dr Edward de Bonos Six Thinking Hats®, Lateral Thinking and Direct Attention Thinking Tools. The Holst Group is proud to be the only de Bono Partner in the world with a full-time Master Trainer working within the organisation.  Stuart was awarded his De Bono certification in Training during the year 2000 and was instrumental in teaching Dr de Bonos work to unemployed people in the UK as part of the Governments New Deal and Gateway to Work programmes. This work has now been extended into similar training for all marginal groups and disadvantaged people. Further accreditations followed in 2004 when he was also accredited as the first official Facilitator of Dr de Bonos work globally.

 In December 2002 he was awarded the coveted De Bono Master Trainer in recognition of the outstanding work he has done in the field of training and development of Dr Edward de Bonos Thinking Skills and Techniques. To become a Master trainer you have to be appointed by The De Bono Thinking Systems who are the World Distributors of Dr De Bonos work. To represent Dr de Bono, a high level of experience and successful feedback from all courses is mandatory. Master trainers are the only authorised trainers who may conduct the trainer Certification courses.  Stuart has worked extensively with all three sectors throughout

Europe and the rest of the world including British Telecom, the NHS, Microsoft, Unison, the UK Medical And Drugs Advisory Board, Wrigley, The Civil Service, Major Banks and several leading charity and other commercial organizations. This training, combined with his presentation of other Thinking Skills courses, has given Stuart a very broad base of experience for the successful training of delegates at all levels.

 Before joining The Holst group, Stuart spent over 25 years with Hallmark Cards Inc based at their European Head Office in The UK. As Sales Training and HR Specialist he developed and implemented many of the courses and techniques still being used today. Stuart was responsible for the design and implementation of a five-year training programme for all Hallmark

UK employees on their business processing system.  He has also carried out consultancy work for Sky Television and Powergen before joining The Holst Group as their Senior Trainer in April 1999.

 

 Click here to read what delegates have said about Rebecca

Rebecca Stewart is an experienced corporate trainer and facilitator who brings a new dynamic to thinking, creativity and communications skills in the workplace. Rebecca has taught at all levels of organisations from front line staff to managing directors across Europe and Australia. Her extensive experience extends to the private, public and not for profit sectors.  

Rebecca has been living and training in the UK for 6 years.  

Her philosophy: Individuals and groups need support as they drive personal and strategic business goals. When the two align the result is effective impact with often surprising results for both the individual and the business.  Whether training or facilitating the goal is the same; care for the individual and then their circle of influence will increase. 

Australian born Rebecca draws on her experience as a Problem Resolution Manager in financial services company, ING.  During this time at ING Rebecca also headed up the Creativity and Innovation programme for Funds Management.  

Rebecca brings a unique combination of people management (12 years experience) and client relationship principles to the classroom, involving delegates in an innovative and exciting way. Using her management experience from both the finance and hospitality industries she brings the learning alive for delegates by combining a deep knowledge of theory and principles with the practical application of the tools and techniques to make a real difference in the workplace.   

Rebecca is licensed to deliver Think On Your Feet®, Writing Dynamics, a variety of Creativity Workshops, RapidConsensus, Dr Edward De Bonos Six Thinking Hats® and PassionWorks!. She is also an experienced facilitator using tools such as Open Space Technology, Rapid Consensus and Dr de Bonos Focus on Facilitation which incorporates Six Thinking Hats® and Lateral Thinking.

 

Chris Webbley is an experienced coach, facilitator and trainer in a wide range of business skills for leaders and teams.  He designs and delivers successful courses, workshops, seminars and creative learning sessions for large companies, SMEs, national and local government and health sector organisations in the UK and mainland Europe.  These events are always based on understanding the clients broad aims and specific objectives and selecting the best methods to achieve them.

In a career with BT, Chris led HR and operations teams and several major change programmes.  He managed a £1m Advanced Leadership programme for 150 senior UK executives over 18 months, coaching to MD and Director level.  He has direct experience of strategic change, managing and assessing transitions, facilitating team development, and helping people generate and exploit creative ideas.

One focus area for Chris is helping people improve their communications skills.  He is accredited to deliver the Writing Dynamics programme and consistently receives highly appreciative feedback for his encouraging style, his professional delivery and the way he works to relate the learning to each participants needs.  Typical comments: I liked Chris friendly and relaxed tone,  Probably one of the best courses I have ever attended,  Excellent tutor in all respects. Flexible, authoritative, responsive.

Serious and professional, Chris also believes that people learn best and retain their learning longest when the training event has engaged their interest, personal work experience and sense of enjoyment.