About Zona
What helps people find their way when knowing alone is not enough?
For more than 25 years, I have explored that question through my work in education, leadership and organisational development, business psychology, behavioural science, and somatic and embodied approaches.
The journey to this work
Much of my career was spent working as an internal consultant alongside leaders and business departments. I helped them understand the challenges they were facing, identify what development was needed, and design interventions that supported meaningful change.
My work has spanned education and the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Across these different settings, I became skilled at looking beyond the visible problem, recognising the wider system in which it existed, and identifying the patterns and conditions shaping what was possible.
I created The Entrepreneur's Way by bringing that experience into entrepreneurship, alongside navigating the terrain myself.
I know the tension between having expertise and knowing how to build a viable business around it. I have questioned my offers, wrestled with visibility, overthought decisions, and discovered that more information is not always what helps us move forward.
I work as a strategic thinking partner to entrepreneurs, helping them step back from the immediate problem, understand the wider system, and think more clearly about what their business requires of them now.
What it is like to work with me
My work is considered, curious, and compassionate.
I listen carefully, notice patterns beneath the immediate problem, and ask questions that help people see themselves and their situation differently. I create space for honest reflection while remaining willing to question the assumptions and familiar stories that may be limiting what someone can see.
I draw on different ways of knowing. This includes analytical and strategic thinking, but also attention to the body, emotion, lived experience, and the signals that are easily overlooked when we rely on thought alone.
I am not interested in imposing a formula or positioning myself as the person with all the answers. As a strategic thinking partner, I help people understand their own terrain, strengthen their judgement, and become more able to find their way through it.
A little more about me
I grew up in South Africa and now live in the Netherlands with my husband, Michael. We have three adult children, and I am learning the quieter, sometimes surprising rhythms of an empty nest.
Away from my work, I read widely, meditate, practise yoga, strength train, and cycle through the Dutch countryside. I am naturally reflective, deeply curious about people, and happiest in conversations that move beneath the surface.
I care about building a life and business that belong together. Not a business that consumes the life it was intended to support.
Inclusion matters in this work
Growing up as a person of colour in apartheid South Africa shaped how I understand identity, power, belonging, and access.
These are not peripheral concerns in my work. They influence how I listen, what I question, and how I think about the cultural and systemic conditions affecting people's experiences and opportunities.
I am committed to creating a space in which different identities, histories, perspectives, and ways of being are recognised and respected.
Research and writing
My master's research explored the experiences of BIPOC coaches using artificial intelligence in their coaching practice:
AI in Coaching: Advancing Equity or Reinforcing Disparities for BIPOC Coaches?
A journal article developed from this research is currently being revised for resubmission to Human Resource Development International.
I also write The Entrepreneur's Way, a publication for purpose-led entrepreneurs building profitable businesses around their expertise. It covers the practical and personal work of entrepreneurship: business decisions, identity, money, visibility, self-trust, and what happens when the old map no longer fits.
Read The Entrepreneur's Way on Substack (opens in a new tab)
Professional grounding
Academic qualifications
- Master of Science in Business & Organisational Psychology, University of Liverpool
- Bachelor of Commerce (Honours), University of South Africa
- Bachelor of Social Science, University of Cape Town
- Certificate in Business & Financial Management, University of South Africa
- Certificate in Programme & Project Management, Nelson Mandela University
Professional credentials
- Associate Certified Coach, International Coaching Federation
- Executive Global Coach Certification, Inner Life Skills
- Member, British Psychological Society
- Certified Enneagram Practitioner, International Enneagram Association
- Certified Befriend Your Fear™ Practitioner, Applied Depths Institute
- PQ Coach™ Essentials Certification, Positive Intelligence™
- Registered Assessor and Moderator, Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA)
Sector experience
- Government
- Non-profits
- Education
- Agriculture
- Mining
- Pharmaceuticals
- Logistics
- Retail
- Consulting
Explore working together
If something in your business needs to change, but you are not yet clear about what needs attention or how to move forward, we can begin with a conversation about where you are.