If you're deciding whether I'm the right fit
IECL Accredited Organisational Coach
20+
Years in senior commercial leadership, UK and Australia
$450m
P&L run as Managing Director of ALDI Western Australia
ICF Australasia member
I coach leaders at organisations including
Woolworths, Coles, Jaycar, Pet Circle, Lounge Lovers and Diebold Nixdorf.
How I got here
I learned to lead before I was ready
At twenty-two, I was an Area Manager at ALDI in the UK, responsible for five stores and a team of managers who were older and more experienced than me. There was no manual, so I made mistakes, had conversations I wasn't ready for and came out the other side knowing I could handle more than I thought.
That experience of learning to lead before you feel ready is the foundation of much of what I do now.
Then the roles got bigger
Seven years in the UK took me from Area Manager to Trading Director to National Director of Buying, followed by a move to Australia where I took on national buying responsibility for more than a billion dollars of retail sales and led a commercial team of fifty.
What I learned was that the higher you go, the more leadership becomes about influence rather than authority. I had to bring people with me, suppliers, internal stakeholders and international teams, without the formal power to compel any of them, which meant learning how to build trust, navigate competing priorities and influence outcomes.
Managing Director, Western Australia
A $450 million business, fifty stores, a distribution centre, a transport fleet and around 850 people, operating in one of the most isolated retail environments in the world.
That role taught me more about leadership than anything else in my career, because at that scale you cannot do it yourself. You can only lead. I opened stores and hired hundreds of people while trying to keep the culture intact, and made the hard calls on performance, restructure and accountability in a business where every decision cascaded through hundreds of people and there was nowhere to hide
And the rooms beyond my own remit
I sat on the executive board of ALDI Australia, helping shape the direction of the national business across strategy, capital and structure. I also chaired the National Inclusion & Diversity Committee and sat on ALDI's International HR Committee, shaping people strategy across the global business.
Those experiences taught me a different kind of leadership. You have no authority over the people you need to influence, and every country, function and stakeholder has their own priorities and perspectives. If you want something to change, you have to build trust, make a compelling case and bring people with you.
It's an experience many of my clients are navigating too. Not the org chart above them, but the rooms alongside them, where the outcome depends on influence rather than the size of their remit
The more senior you get, the fewer people you can be honest with — and somehow we've all agreed to pretend that's normal. I don't think it's normal.
Why I left, and why I do this
I've had my own experience of imposter syndrome, burnout and trying to hold a demanding career and a family at the same time. I've also experienced coaching at several points in my career, and know what it can do when you finally have somewhere to step back, challenge your thinking and work things through.
What I eventually realised was that the part of leadership I cared most about wasn't the strategy, the P&L or the board meetings. It was watching a leader find their feet, having the conversation that unlocked something, or seeing a senior person stop white-knuckling their way through a role and start leading with real intention.
So I left corporate life deliberately to build a life and a business on my own terms. Now I coach and mentor senior commercial leaders who want to lead with the same level of intention.
How I coach
My style is direct, calm and grounded in real experience. I'll push back when it's useful, and I won't tell you what you want to hear.
Every coaching engagement is tailored to what matters most to you and the challenges you're navigating. Our conversations can move between coaching, where the questions help you find your own answer, and mentoring, where you'd rather hear how someone who's done it might approach the situation.
Sessions are unrecorded and entirely confidential. You make the decisions. Always.
What matters to me
Kindness. High standards held with composure. I believe you can be kind while still being clear about what good looks like and willing to have the difficult conversation when someone isn't meeting the standard. Avoiding that conversation rarely helps anyone.
Impact. I care about the difference you make to the organisation and the people around you. Senior leaders can become so used to being the person who gets things done that stepping back, creating capacity and enabling others to deliver can take real effort.
Progress. I want to see you and your people continuing to grow, whether that's in confidence, capability, performance or the way you work together. Six months from now, something should feel different because of the work we've done.
What leaders say
“Coaching with Caroline helped me delegate more effectively, empower my team and create a more sustainable way of achieving success. It has transformed how I lead and given me greater impact.”
National Showroom Operations Support Lead & Showroom Manager, Retail
“Caroline’s patient and supportive coaching helped me remove the roadblocks holding me back and gain clarity on my next career move. I cannot recommend her enough.”
Executive Manager, Retail
“Caroline is personable, positive and genuinely understanding. Her coaching felt supportive, practical and encouraging, even in just a few sessions.”
Head of Delivery & PMO
Let's have a conversation
We can spend thirty minutes talking about where you are, what you're navigating and whether working together feels like the right next step.
Better leadership starts with better thinking.
Gain instant insights into your leadership style with our complimentary Leadership Quiz.
