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

Most execs don’t notice the decline until it starts to cost them.

Energy crashes in meetings. Brain fog during deals. Bloating, back pain, or just not liking what they see in the mirror.

It starts small: skipped workouts, poor sleep, more caffeine. But over time, it turns into a real liability. 

Professionally. Personally. Physically.

That’s where we come in.

We work with high-level founders, execs, and board-level leaders to transform their health and body, without disrupting their schedule, social life, or performance.

Our system combines biometric data, wearable integration, targeted strength training, and a tailored performance framework to rebuild energy, drop 10–20kg, and restore clarity, confidence, and control.

This isn’t a PT app, a generic plan, or a “health kick.”

It’s a high-accountability transformation, built for operators who can’t afford to lose their edge.

If your body is becoming a liability instead of an asset, it’s time to take it seriously.

📩 Message me to learn about our private programme 

Tom Waite

Goals are cheap. Winners protect their time.

Each ball represents your time.

It drops whether you are intentional or not.

It is meant to land in the bucket.

But most of it never gets there.

🔺 Social media

You are not researching. You are delaying.

You call it inspiration.

But you already have a library of saved posts, videos, podcasts you never acted on.

Information is not your bottleneck.

Execution is.

🔺Procrastination

You do not procrastinate because you are busy.

You procrastinate because you do not value your time.

If you truly believed your time was scarce and irreplaceable, you would not trade it for low-return tasks.

Procrastination is misaligned priorities in disguise.

🔺Fear

It isn’t always fear of failure.

It is fear of exposure.

Fear of standing out.

Fear of real success.

Fear of becoming someone who cannot go back to the old story.

Sometimes the gap is not distraction.

It is self protection.

You do not need more hours.

You need tighter systems.

Close one hole.

Protect one hour.

Let one more ball reach the bucket.

That is how momentum starts.

Follow Tom Waite for posts that help you live and lead longer.

Performance health coaching for executives and founders | Build a body that matches your ambition.

Stress doesn't just exhaust you.

It packs fat tightly around your organs.

Not the fat you can pinch.

The deep abdominal fat that builds around your liver and pancreas.

That is visceral fat.
And it behaves differently.

It is strongly linked to insulin resistance.
It makes blood sugar harder to control.
It increases systemic inflammation.

It accelerates metabolic decline.

You do not need to be obese for this to happen.

You can still look “fine.”
Still train twice a week.
Still sit in a normal BMI range.

But your waist slowly increases.
Your energy feels less stable.
Your labs begin to drift.

Executives are uniquely exposed.

Chronic cognitive load.
Sustained responsibility.

Travel disruption.
Sleep fragmentation.
Extended sedentary time.

Sustained stress shifts fat storage centrally.

And once visceral fat builds, it reinforces the problem.

It worsens insulin sensitivity.
Higher insulin suppresses fat mobilisation.

Stress remains elevated.
Storage continues.

The longer this environment persists, the more entrenched the physiology becomes.

The solution? Deliberate environmental redesign.

1️⃣ Reduce friction that keeps stress chronically high

Reduce daily decision fatigue.
Automate meals or use a meal prep service.
Create protected deep work blocks with no notifications.

You are not trying to avoid stress.

You are trying to avoid constant low grade activation.


2️⃣ Stabilise sleep structure

Visceral fat accumulation correlates strongly with chronic sleep restriction and fragmentation.

Keep sleep and wake times within a consistent window.
Protect 7 to 8 hours in bed as standard.
Limit late night work and screen exposure.
Avoid alcohol as a sleep solution.

3️⃣ Increase skeletal muscle mass

Muscle is your primary blood sugar disposal site.

Lift 3 to 4 times per week.
Focus on compound movements that train large muscle groups.
Track progressive overload across months.
Maintain protein intake at 1.6 to 1.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight.

More muscle reduces the insulin demand of each meal and improves metabolic resilience.

4️⃣ Build aerobic capacity

Resistance training alone is not enough for many executives.

Add 2 to 3 aerobic sessions weekly.
Zone 2 improves mitochondrial density and fat oxidation.
Conditioning improves metabolic flexibility and reduces resting insulin over time.

This is about improving fuel handling capacity, not burning calories.

5️⃣ Track body fat distribution, not just scale weight

Bodyweight alone is insufficient.

Measure waist circumference relative to height monthly.

Monitor trends in triglycerides, HDL, fasting glucose, and blood pressure.
Consider a DEXA scan if accessible.

Follow Tom Waite for posts that help you live and lead longer.

High performance is easy at 30.

It gets exposed at 44.

Aging is not random.
It accelerates.

Muscle peaks between 25 and 40. After that, you’re defending it.

Cardiovascular decline picks up in your 40s.

Sleep inconsistency compounds.
Purpose narrows to income and title.
Isolation creeps in.

Most people respond with more caffeine, more stress, and less recovery.

That is not a longevity strategy.

If you want to stay sharp, capable, and independent into your 50s and 60s, you have to build reserve before decline.

1) Strength training 2–4x per week

This is your anti frailty policy. Use full body patterns, squat, hinge, push, pull, carry. 

Keep most sets 1–3 reps in reserve so you can train year round without constantly needing deloads or injuries. 

If you only do one thing, protect lower body strength and trunk stability, that is what keeps people independent.

2) Zone 2 and VO₂ work without frying recovery

Zone 2 is your base, 2–4 sessions per week, 25–45 minutes at a pace where you can speak in sentences. 

Add one interval day when sleep and recovery are stable. 

Use 4x4, 4 minutes hard, 4 minutes easy, repeat 4 rounds. Hard means you can only get out 1–3 words.

3) 7–9 hours of consistent sleep

Quantity matters, but timing and consistency decide whether you recover. 

Keep wake time fixed, then build bedtime around it. 

Protect the hour before sleep, dim lights, reduce stimulation, stop trying to do “one last thing” in bed. 

If you are regularly under 7, you do not need more intensity, you need fewer inputs and tighter routines.

4) Protein-forward nutrition

Aim for 0.7–1.0g protein per lb of bodyweight, every day, not just on training days. 

Build meals around protein first, then add plants and carbs based on output. 

Keep fiber 25–40g daily and default to minimally processed foods most of the time. 

The biggest mistake is aggressive dieting with low protein and no lifting, that trades short term scale wins for long term decline.

5) Protected relationships

Do not outsource connection to work. 

Protect 1–2 relationships that are not transactional. Put them in the calendar like you would a board meeting, weekly, in person if possible. 

The goal is frequency, not novelty. 

High performers often end up with lots of contacts and very few people who actually know them.

6) Purpose that survives retirement

If your only purpose is performance at work, aging feels like a threat because it removes the thing that gives you value. 

Build a second pillar now, mentoring, craft, family leadership, community contribution, faith, building something that outlives your title. 

Purpose keeps people engaged, consistent, and resilient when the external game changes.

High performance without healthspan has an expiry date.

Which of the six are you currently underinvesting in?

Follow Tom Waite for posts that help you live and lead longer.

Putting yourself first isn’t selfish. 

It’s selfless.

Because when your health breaks down, everything else follows.

Your mood.
Your energy.
Your patience.
Your presence with the people you love.

Neglecting your health always comes at a cost.

And eventually, the people around you pay it too.

So if you’re struggling to justify putting yourself first, ask yourself:

✅ Who suffers when I’m running on empty?
 → When your tank is dry, you give less to everyone who needs you most.

✅ What kind of example am I setting?
 → Your actions tell others (and your kids) how to treat their own wellbeing.

✅ What would I do if I truly valued myself?
 → Most people know what to do. The hardest part is believing you're worth the effort.

When health becomes a non-negotiable, everything else rises with it.

 Follow Tom Waite  for posts that help you live and lead longer.

Scrolling makes you reactive.

Strolling makes you reflective.

Most people think burnout comes from overwork.

But often, it’s from overstimulation.

Every scroll, ping, and swipe spikes dopamine.

You feel busy, but not fulfilled. 

Stimulated, but not stable.

Your brain gets stuck in survival mode:

• Constant mental noise
• Shorter attention spans
• Less empathy and patience

When you walk, disconnect, or move slowly, the chemistry flips.

Serotonin and oxytocin rise.

Prefrontal activity (the logic and leadership center) comes back online.

You start to think clearly again.

That’s not just relaxation, it’s regulation.

And regulation is what separates reactivity from leadership.

High performers aren’t the ones doing the most.

They’re the ones thinking the clearest.

3 ways to expand your mind:

 1️⃣ Redesign your digital space.

Remove social apps from your home screen and turn off “suggested” feeds. Increase scrolling friction, regain focus.

2️⃣ Notice the world again.

Your brain filters out what you stop paying attention to. Sit quietly. Observe nature. Look for patterns, light, and sound.

3️⃣ Make a new connection.

Speak to your barista. Compliment a stranger. Connection activates neurochemicals that scrolling can’t replicate.

Reactivity shrinks your world.

Reflection expands it.

Follow Tom Waite   for posts that help you live and lead longer.

Everyone has someone they quietly admire.

The person who always seems switched on.
 
Consistent.
Clear headed.
Calm under pressure.

You look at them and wonder how they have the energy.

How they keep showing up.
How they seem to perform without burning out.

And all you ever see is the surface.

You don’t see the choices.

You don’t see the early nights they protect.
The training sessions they don’t negotiate with.
The boundaries they hold when no one would notice.

What looks like effortlessness in public is usually discipline in private.

Not extreme.
Not obsessive.

Just consistent.

They are not more motivated than you.

They just stopped outsourcing decisions to how they feel on the day.

Energy isn’t something you just have. 

It’s something you invest in what matters most.

Follow Tom Waite  for posts that help you live and lead longer.

You don’t eliminate stress in a high performance life.

You design around it.

Pressure is part of ambition.

Deadlines
Decisions
Visibility. 

That doesn’t go away.

What changes is whether your structure supports your nervous system or silently works against it.

Most stress advice focuses on surface-level tools. Meditation, breathing.. 

Structural stress management looks deeper.

1. Calendar Design & Deep Work

Constant task switching keeps you in low-grade activation all day. 

Reactive calendars fragment attention and elevate stress load. 

Protect deep work blocks. Reduce context switching. Design cognitive intensity, don’t scatter it.

2. Boundaries, People Pleasing & Immune Load

Chronic relational vigilance is physiological stress. 

Difficulty saying no sustains HPA activation and increases systemic burden. 

Practice saying no in small stakes situations first. Boundary capacity is built, not declared.

3. Creative Art Therapies (CATs)

Music, journaling, creative visualization and non-output creativity shift you out of threat monitoring. 

High performers live in execution mode. 

Creative recovery restores cognitive bandwidth and nervous system flexibility.

4. Nature Exposure

Even 10 minutes in nature can reduce cortisol and perceived stress. 

The deeper the immersion, the stronger the effect. 

Trees and wilderness regulate physiology better than concrete and traffic.

5. Morning Cortisol Control

How you wake up sets the hormonal tone. 

Aggressive alarms and immediate phone exposure create an unnecessary spike during natural cortisol rise. 

Use light, temperature, sunlight. Delay screens. Protect the first 20 minutes.

6. Magnesium & Micronutrient Repletion

Chronic stress increases magnesium demand and loss. 

Low magnesium amplifies sympathetic tone and impairs recovery. 

Strategic repletion supports regulation, especially under sustained pressure.

7. Energy Management

Perpetual dieting and excessive training stack stress on top of stress. 

Periodize intake. Align training load with total life demand. Energy availability is resilience.

Stress is unavoidable in a high performance life.

Burnout is not.

Which part of your structure needs attention right now?

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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death.

High performers are uniquely exposed.

Sleep debt
Chronic stress 
Limited recovery
Sustained cognitive load..

They all create the exact physiological conditions that drive cardiovascular risk, often while performance appears completely intact on the outside. 

Beyond LDL, these are the six tests that actually capture it:

Blood Pressure
Fasting Insulin
Triglycerides
ApoB
Lp(a)
hs-CRP

The risk is real. 

But many of the factors driving these markers are within your control.

1. Improve your VO2 max 

A VO2 max of 50 mL/kg/min is associated with a 290% reduction in cardiovascular mortality compared to the lowest fitness levels. 

The most effective protocol: four minutes at maximum sustainable intensity, four minutes of active recovery, repeated four to six times, two to three times per week.

2. Build muscle 

Resistance training improves insulin sensitivity, lowers ApoB, reduces hs-CRP, and improves blood pressure regulation.

It is the single intervention that touches the most markers on this list simultaneously.

3. Protect sleep 

Sleeping five to six hours per night is associated with a 66% higher risk of cardiovascular mortality compared to seven to eight hours. 

Compressed or fragmented sleep raises fasting insulin, elevates blood pressure, and drives triglycerides up. 

No other intervention works properly without this foundation in place.

4. Eat for your markers 

Fatty fish and soluble fibre move triglycerides and ApoB. Polyphenol-rich foods reduce hs-CRP. Potassium and magnesium-rich foods support blood pressure. 

Food is the most direct lever most people are not using precisely enough.

5. Reduce chronic stress at the source 

Chronic stress elevates every marker on this list through cortisol, sympathetic activation, and insulin resistance.

 Audit your calendar, protect deep work blocks, reduce decision fatigue, get outside, and delay screens in the morning. Managing the load structurally, not reactively, is what changes the labs.

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Brain fog isn’t random.
And pouring caffeine on top may make it worse.

Working memory, attention, and processing speed are fuel sensitive.

When sleep fragments, working memory drops.

When stress states persist, cognitive flexibility narrows.

When thyroid function slows, processing speed follows.

When insulin resistance develops, cognitive consistency declines.

These are systemic disruptions.

Caffeine blocks fatigue signals.

It does not repair recovery.
It does not restore metabolic stability.
It does not correct hormonal imbalance.

If the underlying systems are strained, stimulation amplifies instability.

You can feel switched on, while your real bandwidth shrinks.

Mental sharpness is infrastructure.

If you want to improve it, start here:

1) Stabilise blood sugar.

Prioritise 30 to 40 grams of protein in your first meal and avoid large glucose swings.

2) Build muscle.

Resistance training improves insulin sensitivity and increases metabolic stability.

3) Protect sleep aggressively.

Consistent timing, dark environment, and reduced late stimulation improve next day cognitive efficiency.

4) Correct basic electrolyte balance.

Adequate sodium and hydration support neural signaling and sustained focus.

5) Increase aerobic capacity.

Zone 2 work improves oxygen delivery and cognitive endurance.

6) Reduce chronic stress load at the source.

Chronic activation narrows working memory and impairs executive control. 

Audit recurring stressors, reduce unnecessary friction, create protected deep work blocks, and stop living in a constant reactive state.

Follow Tom Waite for posts that help you live and lead longer.

taplio

The Battle

Arif Iqball

Tom Waite

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The Battle

Arif Iqball

Tom Waite

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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);}Tom Waite's LinkedIn Performance

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