Originally from New York, Tamara brings to MCE more than thirty years of international corporate experience in Coaching, Training, Banking, and Financial Services. Her career is characterized by stepping outside of her comfort zone to embrace new challenges and expertise – first-hand experiences she brings to her coaching and facilitation practices. Empowering individuals and teams to realize their potential, by broadening awareness and building on strengths, is what drives her commitment to the clients she engages with.
Professional background
A former international banker working in New York, Kiev, Amsterdam, and London, Tamara has been an independent facilitator and executive coach, in Belgium and Luxembourg, for the past 13 years. She designs and delivers “emerging leader” management training programs, including “on the job” coaching skills, team coaching, and a broad range of communication skills workshops for all levels of management. She has been an executive coach since 2010.
2010 – present: Managing Director, Sparx Factory SA (Luxembourg) Co-founded this training and coaching company, which specializes in tailor-made, integrated L&D and Executive Coaching programs covering “soft skills” for higher professional effectiveness: from secretaries up to Partners. The client portfolio spans financial advisory & law firms, pharmaceutical companies, and Big 4 Advisory firms.
2001 – present: Independent Facilitator & Executive Coach (Luxembourg and Belgium) Design and facilitate management and team training programs, and provide executive coaching, as a subcontractor to the European Institutions and Agencies. Accredited Trainer and Coach for the European School of Administration since 2009. Learning themes include Emotional Intelligence, Team & Individual Communication Skills, Resiliency and Change, Time Management, Priority Setting, & effective use of tools. Certified in a number of psychometric instruments such as MBTI, Insights Discovery, FIRO-B, TKI, etc.
1995 – 1999 Vice President, ING Bank, Specialized Commodities Finance (Amsterdam & London).
International commodity finance, specialized in negotiating and structuring high risk, limited recourse transactions in emerging market regions (CIS, Africa, Eastern Europe) for multinational commodity merchant trading companies. Off-balance sheet financing of Precious Metals, Copper, Oil and Gas, and Sugar (US$ 15mln – US$ 80mln). Conducted due diligence in remote locations, risk analysis and mitigation (performance, commercial, credit), legal documentation & negotiation, credit proposals.
1990 – 1995 Assistant Vice President, MeesPierson N.V, Commodity Finance Group (New York)
1993-1995 First Ukrainian International Bank, (Kiev, Ukraine)- 3 year secondment: Commercial Advisory & Airport Financing
1984 – 1990 Assistant Vice President, Bankers Trust Company (New York)
Career progression leading from in-house Executive Recruitment, Training, and Human Resources to Emerging Markets Commodities Merchant Banking.
Education and qualifications
Tamara holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian Studies (China) from Wheaton College (Massachusetts, USA), and has obtained several post-graduate qualifications related to finance, psychometric instruments, facilitation and executive coaching.
Personal
Tamara and her family have lived in Brussels since 2004. Her working language is English.