Professional Profile:

Paula Sugawara is a bilingual executive coach and corporate facilitator with 20+ years in coaching and 10+ years in senior management, including managing a business at the country level. Currently splitting her time between Japan and UK, she brings strong insight into cross-cultural and organizational dynamics for C-suite leaders across foreign financial institutions and Japanese manufacturing companies, through her extensive business and professional experience. Paula delivers leadership and management workshops for multinational organizations worldwide.

Key Executive Coaching Expertise:

• Coaches senior executives through transitions to expanded roles, including CEO readiness, strengthening leadership effectiveness and confidence
• Supports leaders to maximize external client relationships while empowering and scaling growing teams
• Guides executives navigating East/West cultural divides to improve cross-cultural collaboration and lead major change and reorganization
• Partners with CEOs leading strategic shifts in business models to clarify strategy and execute change
• Facilitates leadership, cross-cultural communication, and DEI workshops for multinational organizations

Education and Credentials:

• Professional Certified Coach (PCC), International Coaching Federation (ICF)
• Graduate, International Coach Academy
• Certified Financial Analyst; Supervisory Analyst (NYSE)
• BA (Hons), French and Spanish, University of Nottingham
• Certifications: Hogan; DiSC; Harrison; MBTI; and other 360s

Coaching Approach:

Paula believes ‘failure is only failure if you fail to learn from it.’ She blends deep business experience with practical coaching to help leaders learn from experience, lead across cultures, and translate insight into sustained performance.