Aesara Partners 

At Aesara Partners, our mission is simple: enable you to be the best version of yourself. We offer a range of focused services that unlock the potential of people, teams and cultures to maximise business performance. 

Collectively our Partners and Associates have decades of experience both in executive coaching and as board level leaders themselves working in multiple sectors across global markets.

Partner & Executive Coach

Doshisha University

Professor of Strategic Management, Global MBA Program

The CFO Coach K.K.

The CFO Coach K.K. is a boutique executive coaching firm specializing in developing High-Performance​ Financial Leaders and Teams.

Founder & Executive Coach

Kansai Gaidai University

•	Awarded President's Global Education Award (Teacher of the Year).

Professor of Leadership & Management

Benesse Holdings, Inc. (USD 4.5B; Tokyo Stock Exchange Code: 9783)

•	Member of the Board of Directors for Berlitz Corporation; Benesse Corporation; and Benesse Style Care.  Chairman of Audit Committee for Berlitz Corporation. Member of Benesse Holdings Pension Committee.
•	Global CFO covering all 40+ Benesse group companies
•	Championed and supported multiple cash generation initiatives including a CFO led "Save to Grow" initiative to improve Company Financial performance and to identify significant savings for business reinvestment
•	Enhanced Finance bench strength and hired a high potential team to start financial business consulting
•	Implemented several process and capability best practices to move group companies towards global standards

Global Chief Financial Officer & Corporate Senior Vice President

McCann Worldgroup Holdings

• Overall Responsibility for Operations (Finance, IT, Legal, and Administration - 10 legal entities) 
• Successfully turned around long term loss making lead agency by delivering double digit margin improvements within two years
• Delivered double digit margin improvements for all six MWG Group companies 
• Built a new Finance team and moved from Scorekeeping to Business Partnership and improved business performance
• Major projects within last two years include: 
  - Shared Service center creation/migration
  - New Financial System Migration
  - Acquisition & Divestiture
  - Business Turnaround
  - Retirement Plan consolidation/change
  - Office relocation/rent reductions

Group Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, and Member of The Board

Becton, Dickinson and Company

• Led Finance, Procurement, General Affairs, and Rebates teams (43 staff) to deliver multi-million dollar cash and profit performance improvement for first year and beyond. Exceeded all budget expectations.
• Engaged Japan Management Team and Global Finance Leadership Team on company objectives to deliver best outcome (Finance Transformation initiative, Sales effectiveness improvement, Key Account Management, Business Continuity plan, and strategy/selection of backup distribution center).  Led process for 2012-16 Business Plan development
• Developed and executed Finance department strategy and vision to move from scorekeeping to business partnership. Implemented job rotation program and hired several high potential employees to improve bench strength.
• Championed multiple Finance and Procurement initiatives including definition and implementation of new 401k Retirement Plan; divestiture of non-core business; change of primary banks (reduced bank fees by over 30%); vendor reduction process, and new travel expense management system 
• Taught New Manager Essentials program and selected as leadership trainer for PEPFAR program in South Africa to teach Leadership and Change Management to African Health Ministry officials

Finance and Administration Director

Avon Products Inc.

•	Implementation project leader for Avon Sales Leadership Framework (ASLF) – Highest priority project for the Company to adapt to a new Sales Model.  Completed project implementation in record timing.  Awarded regional award as part of ASLF Team. Only person in Asia recognized for both Top-line and Bottom-line contributions in the same year.
•	Defined and executed new vision and mission and led Sales Support department to complete over 40 initiatives (within a six-month period) as part of Team’s new journey towards field motivational excellence. Incorporated new processes to deliver high impact incentives, and to create Sales energy and momentum for sales turn-around.    
•	Achieved highest employee engagement scores with Sales Support Department significantly exceeding country results in over 95% of categories.  Previously had also led Finance department to highest employee engagement scores.
•	Global Project leader for a high potential, multi-functional, multi-national team to study and recommend actions to improve Global Sales Incentive management/spending process.
•	Oversaw execution of a variety of Company and Public/Media events ranging from Sales Conferences to Philanthropic events including Annual Awards to Women, and Pink Ribbon Campaign support.

Executive Director and Member of the Board

•	Responsible for Financial policy making/implementation and reporting for Avon Japan as a public company (including statutory/public, and Board Meetings). All year-end financial documents audited with no comments/exceptions.
•	Defined and executed new department Vision and Mission, and recruited, trained and developed a completely new Finance team (80% new hires within a six month period) to move from scorekeeping to business partnership. Finance team formed core of country high potential list.
•	Consistently over achieved profit performance commitment under adverse conditions of sales decline by aggressively managing strategic business needs with cost cutting; Delivered zero overhead growth during all years; Japan winner of regional awards for best cost management performance, and for boldest transformation strategy.
•	Provided leadership and support for critical decisions and strategy development as Japan Leadership Team Member.  Actively led change management process within company.
•	Consistently achieved best internal control results in Asia-Pacific/Avon over a period of eight audits.  Japan one of only two countries with highest audit rating. Outstanding performance generated support to remove Japan from list of High Coverage countries.
• Co-developed strategic/financial business case, and obtained approval for number of campaign reduction in 2006 making Avon Japan only country ever in Avon to undergo campaign reduction. 
• Independently analyzed and provided strategic direction for Plant study which challenged and reversed previous recommendation by outside consultants on plant closure.
• Provided leadership in several restructuring initiatives by providing an achievable plan to achieve 12% people related cost reduction.  Played lead role in this study representing Finance, Supply Chain and HR 
• Consistently achieved highest performance rating and nominations to several high potential programs
• Elected (and re-elected) to Board of Directors

Executive Director, CFO and Member of the Board of Directors

Delphi

• Prepared Asia-Pacific regional messages / presentations for Delphi Strategy Board, and for Delphi Board of Directors.
• Supported development and implementation of critical Asia-Pacific strategies.  Performed competitive intelligence and other special studies to identify risks / competitive threats and outlined regional / corporate response.
• Provided Miller Heiman strategic selling process training to Asia-Pacific personnel to improve value propositions and increase sales effectiveness.

Director Asia-Pacific Planning

• Management responsibilities for Finance, HR, General Affairs, and Six-Sigma.
• Active member of the Japan Strategy Board and Japan management team.  
• Six-Sigma Deployment Champion for Delphi Japan.

Delphi Japan – CFO & Administration Director

Country Responsibilities:
• Managed all finance functions including accounting, budgeting / forecasting and treasury.
• Lead development of cross-functional and cross-divisional Internal Control Review Board.
• Lead and supported strategic initiatives including venture development support, site enhancement, competitive analysis, transfer pricing, and cost reduction studies.
• Represented Japan in Asia-Pacific Financial Task Team.

Regional Responsibilities:
• Coached country CFO and staff to implement common financial reporting processes.
• Supervised and provided training for engineering / commercial / plant / site analysts.  Coordinated regional financial training programs for the sector in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Coordinated the regional budget, business plan, and capital management process.
• Supported development of common financial practices among ventures including:  Loan monitoring, F/X and cash management, compliance with accounting principles, report submission, etc. Provided regional oversight of venture risk exposure.

Asia-Pacific Senior Finance Mgr.

Executive Coach | MBA Professor | Ex-Global CFO

I help senior leaders master complexity, elevate strategic impact, and lead with authentic authority.

I bring over 25 years of C-level and boardroom experience as a former Global CFO for a $5B publicly traded company, combined with a deep commitment to human-centered leadership development.

Today, I coach global executives, CEOs, and leadership teams — specializing in executive transitions, strategic leadership, high-performance teams, and Asian leadership development.

I am also an MBA Professor of Leadership and Strategic Management, blending research-driven frameworks with boardroom-tested insights to develop transformational leaders.

Based in Kyoto, fluent in English, Urdu, and Japanese.

Connect with me: arif@thecfocoach.jp

Website: www.thecfocoach.jp (please sign up on my mailing list to receive future announcements and newsletters)

Arif Iqball

Alignment is the hidden reason most leaders fail. I help them fix it for good.

Most leaders I meet are insecure overachievers. They carry expectations that are heavier than they look.

When alignment breaks, even the most capable teams lose momentum.

I help product and engineering leaders fix what is really breaking their teams. Misalignment. Together we restore clarity, alignment and momentum so their teams perform at their best without burning out.

What I know about you:
→ You are a senior product or engineering leader with commercial responsibility
→ You are solving harder problems with more eyes on you than ever
→ You are juggling strategy, speed and stakeholder alignment
→ You want to lead with clarity and confidence while staying grounded

How I help tech leaders and their teams:
→ Build high performing, product led organisations
→ Develop leadership skills that grow their team and influence
→ Strengthen trust, alignment and effective ways of working
→ Navigate transitions such as reorgs, promotions or new leadership roles

Whether you are stepping into a new role or levelling up where you are, I help create the clarity and headspace you need to lead with intention.

Clients often say I help them pause and reflect, focus on what matters, and move forward with clarity and purpose.

I bring a mix of product leadership, coaching expertise and experience leading through high stakes transitions. I have helped teams grow through ambiguity, pressure and change.

A bit about my experience:
→ Helped more than 100 tech leaders navigate challenging transitions
→ Ranked #1 for Product Management and #3 for Management & Leadership on LinkedIn in the UK (Favikon)
→ Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), trained Positive Intelligence Coach, ICF Member
→ Ex Pivotal Labs leader who guided teams through an IPO and two major acquisitions, first into VMware and later into Broadcom
→ International speaker and facilitator across Australia, the UK, Europe and the USA

Curious if I am the right fit for you or your team? Send me a message.

Liam Darmody

Steve Jobs paused for 18 seconds before answering.

It followed this question:

What’s the most important thing that you personally learned at Apple that you’re doing at NeXT?

When he finally spoke, the answer wasn’t tactical.
It wasn’t about products.
It wasn’t about strategy.

It was about people.

Jobs said he learned to take a longer-term view on people.

When something wasn’t done right, his instinct used to be to step in and fix it himself.

Later, he realised that solved the short-term problem and created a long-term one.

If you fix it, the problem goes away.
If you teach it, the capability stays.

That’s the real shift.
From solving problems to building people.
From control to trust.
From this quarter to the next decade.

Most leaders never make that transition.

They’re rewarded early for being the fixer.
So they keep fixing.
And eventually become the bottleneck.

The uncomfortable truth:
Teams don’t scale on answers.
They scale on learning.

That means letting people struggle a little.
Letting performance dip before it improves.
Letting go of being the smartest person in the room.

If you’re leading others, this is worth asking yourself:

→ Where am I stepping in instead of stepping back?
→ Who am I optimising for speed instead of growth?
→ What problem keeps coming back because only I know how to fix it?

Great leaders don’t just deliver results.
They build people who can deliver without them.

♻ Repost to help someone rethink how they lead.
➕ Follow Liam Darmody for more.

If this was useful, I keep related tools in The Alignment Reserve: https://lnkd.in/efGJ34xQ

Most careers don’t stall because of skill.

They stall when no one takes ownership.

In this clip, Barack Obama names a pattern leaders see at every level.

Plenty of people can describe what’s wrong.
They’re articulate.
They’re thoughtful.
They’re often correct.

But the people organisations rely on behave differently.

They step in and own the work.

The work isn’t exciting.
It isn’t visible.
It still needs doing.

That behaviour builds momentum over time.

It builds trust.
It reduces friction.
It signals reliability under pressure.

And at senior levels, reliability is what creates leverage.

This is where experienced ICs and new leaders often get stuck.

They assume influence comes from:

→ Spotting issues
→ Offering critique
→ Waiting to be given the right assignment

But momentum grows faster when someone closes the loop.

Especially when:

→ The problem is messy
→ The work is unclaimed
→ The outcome actually matters

If you want more leverage in your role, ask yourself:

→ Where am I explaining problems instead of owning outcomes?
→ What’s one thing I could take off someone else’s plate this week?
→ How would my reputation change if I consistently followed things through?

Titles follow contribution.
Influence follows trust.
Careers move when ownership becomes a habit.

♻ Repost for the person who always takes ownership.
➕ Follow Liam Darmody for more.

If this was useful, I keep related tools in The Alignment Reserve: liamdarmody.com/reserve

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Arif Iqball

Liam Darmody

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The Battle

Arif Iqball

Liam Darmody

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Liam Darmody's LinkedIn Performance

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