Meet the Team

Jo Phillips

Jo Phillips is the Founder and MD of The Woman Behind The Women – a movement created to help women achieve pay parity, get the promotion they deserve and enable organisations around the world to benefit from gender-balanced leadership.

After a highly successful career as a leader in recruitment, Jo moved into senior leadership toles in learning and development, designing and delivering landmark programmes across multiple formats. She witnessed - and experienced - the invisible barriers women face around pay, promotion and recognition – and made it her mission to help women re-establish their confidence and navigate the workplace with clarity and conviction.

Jo gained her Masters as a Qualified Executive Coach, is Systemic Team Coaching Certified and a Hogan Behaviour assessor. Since setting up The Woman Behind The Women, she has delivered over 23,000 hours of training and developed full-scale learning journeys for organisations across multiple industries and geographies that have a genuine desire to elevate women from within.

Today, Jo coaches senior women to overcome self-doubt, speak with presence and lead with power. She’s a trusted sounding board to multiple organisations, an honest mirror and a fierce advocate for women who are ready to rise.

Because when a woman finds her voice, she changes everything.

Anne Clarke

Anne Clarke brings over 20 years of leadership experience as a Managing Director in Financial Services, now channelled into her work as a dynamic freelance consultant, coach and facilitator. With a mission to make the corporate world more inclusive, fair and effective, she specialises in leadership development, organisational inclusion and unlocking individual and collective potential.

Known internationally for her powerful facilitation and insightful coaching, Anne has earned a strong global reputation across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, including highly impactful programmes in Mauritius. She has designed and led executive team-building sessions, allyship programmes and leadership development initiatives with lasting impact. Her approach combines strategic clarity with a deeply human touch.

Anne’s expertise spans confidence building, navigating complex workplace dynamics, managing imposter syndrome, career mapping and cultivating strong personal brands. She's particularly passionate about empowering under-represented talent, having crafted and delivered numerous successful programmes aimed at helping individuals rise and thrive.

Whether she's guiding senior leaders one-on-one or energising a room during large-scale events, Anne brings empathy, authenticity and bold vision.

Her work inspires growth and champions culture change that resonates.

Shalini Bunwaree-Nagdan

Shalini Bunwaree-Nagdan is the Founder of Unlock Synergies, a consultancy shaped by her passion for strategy, communication and people development. She is a seasoned Business and Strategy Consultant who partners with companies in Mauritius and beyond to unlock their potential through structured growth, brand clarity and operational effectiveness.

Shalini began her career in commercial sales, before moving into strategic roles in the retail and commercial oil and gas sector. She held leadership positions at Vivo Energy Mauritius and Shell East Africa, where she led business development, change management, and award-winning projects across Africa.

Shalini later joined the Executive Team of C-Care (Mauritius) as Head of Marketing and Communications, leading the brand’s launch and communication strategy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Today, she offers tailored consulting in strategy, business development and content; delivering corporate training in Sales, Marketing, Brand Management, Leadership and Change Management - empowering teams to grow with clarity and purpose.

An advocate of continuous learning and professional networking, Shalini was a founding member of the John Maxwell Speakers Club in Mauritius and currently serves as President of Business Network International (BNI), Mauritius Vacoas Central chapter.

She believes that unlocking synergies isn’t just about business - it’s about building stronger communities, one bold step at a time.

Donna Branson

Donna Branson is a highly experienced consultant specialising in executive coaching, leadership development and team transformation across a diverse range of industries.

Drawing on her senior background in Organisational Development and HR, she combines strategic acumen with real-world insight to help leaders steer through complexity, drive change and foster cultures rooted in accountability and engagement.

Grounded in the principle that lasting transformation begins with self-awareness, Donna integrates tools such as Insights Discovery, MBTI (Step I & II) and the SHL assessment suite to help individuals and teams understand behavioural dynamics, harness strengths, and cultivate inclusive, high-performing environments.

With a particular focus on supporting women transitioning into senior leadership roles, Donna has earned a strong reputation for delivering bespoke development programmes and impactful coaching that builds confidence, clarity, and influence.

She is CIPD qualified, an accredited coach with the Academy of Executive Coaching,and licensed in a broad suite of psychometric tools.

Whether leading experiential learning, facilitating team breakthroughs, or coaching C-suite leaders, Donna crafts spaces that balance challenge and support—nurturing authentic leadership and sustainable growth.

Cecilia Poullain

Cecilia Poullain is dedicated to helping women lawyers rise faster, thrive as partners and shape a more inclusive legal profession.

A former finance lawyer qualified in Australia, the UK and France, Cecilia worked for decades at the sharp end of international law before stepping into executive coaching. She saw first-hand the barriers women face in law firms and made it her mission to help women lawyers succeed—on their own terms.

Cecilia trained as a Certified Executive Coach and has since worked with dozens of women in her Pathway to Partnership group programme, 1:1 coaching and her Paris-based Firm Women community. She also runs workshops with major law firms and is currently writing a book, Firm Women: The Ultimate Guide to Success for Women Lawyers in Law Firms. Her podcast for women lawyers, Pathway to Partnership, is scheduled to launch in January 2026.

Her approach blends clarity, confidence and client development with deep listening, integrity and creativity. Clients describe her gift of putting people at ease and her calm and soothing presence—someone who helps them move from self-doubt to confidence, from overwork to sustainable success, and from second-guessing themselves to leadership.

Today, Cecilia is a recognised voice in the movement for gender equity in law, collaborating with global firms, delivering talks and creating spaces where women lawyers can build networks, share strategies, and step fully into their power.

Doriane Denise

Doriane Denise is a Life Coach who brings the depth of over 20 years’ extensive corporate experience to her coaching practice. Having built a successful and gratifying career in banking, strategic planning, business operations, relationship management and human resources – and worked across cultures in Seychelles, Madagascar, Kenya and Rwanda – she eventually discovered her true vocation: helping people grow into the best versions of themselves.

Doriane has held senior roles in major local industry players in Mauritius, culminating in her executive position as Group Head of Talent and Culture in a large Mauritian conglomerate. These experiences gave her invaluable insight into leadership, organisational culture, and the transformative power of engaged people.

Her coaching is rooted in both strategic insight and human understanding, drawing on her certifications as an Enneagram Certified Coach and NLP Practitioner. She partners with leaders, professionals and teams to uncover their potential, strengthen their self-belief, and navigate challenges with clarity and purpose.

Alongside her coaching work, Doriane serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director, bringing to the boardroom her unique blend of strategic thinking, operational expertise and people-focused leadership in corporate and NGO settings. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, and two MBAs, notably one with specialism in strategy. Her mission is simple: to help people lead with clarity, purpose and authenticity – because when people thrive, organisations prosper.