OBN Coaching
Meet the OBN Coaching Team – Experienced Coaches for Life Sciences Leaders
OBN Coaching brings together a curated group of accredited coaches with deep experience in life sciences and innovation-led companies. Our coaches understand the realities of scaling scientific ventures – from first-time founders to C-suite leaders navigating growth, investors and complex organisations.
Angela is a certified coach and Non-Executive Director with over 1,000 hours of 1:1 coaching experience. She designed OBN’s Group Coaching Programmes following extensive research into founder and leadership needs, resulting in a core focus on supporting individuals at different stages of growth and scale. She has also facilitated more than 20 entrepreneur programmes across Oxford, Cambridge and online, celebrating the different challenges and paces of learning — from fast-moving hackathons to in-depth accelerator programmes.
Holding an MSc in Sustainable Business and currently completing an MSc in Coaching for Behavioural Change at Henley Business School, Angela’s work integrates the full spectrum of sustainability for people, planet, profit and purpose. A member of the EMCC, her research explores how entrepreneurs define success to build ventures that are feasible, viable, desirable and culturally sustainable. A founder herself, she brings deep experience across health, medical devices and innovation, with a strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Doug is an ICF-accredited Associate Certified Coach (ACC) and Senior Practitioner with the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). He has delivered more than 750 hours of coaching to mid and senior leaders, with a particular focus on supporting professionals withing life sciences, technology and professional services. His work draws on evidence-based approaches to mindset and behavioural change, enabling leaders to strengthen resilience and leadership in complex environments.
He has partnered with leaders from organisations including Morgan Stanley, Meta, Slack, Klarna, Crane Ventures, and Imperial College’s Undaunted accelerator programme, in addition to a range of early-stage and growth businesses. His clients value his ability to combine behavioural science with commercial insight to deliver lasting impact.
Holding an MSc in Coaching and Behavioural Change, Doug’s current research focuses on the conditions that enable leaders to thrive in the modern workplace and sustain high performance
A communications specialist, Susannah provides coaching for people who want to develop or flex their interpersonal and leadership skills. Her clients find new ways to communicate effectively, win hearts and minds, and grow their connections, boosting their energy and motivation as a result.
From establishing the right networks for a fledgling team, to maintaining meaningful contact with colleagues after rapid growth, Susannah will help you focus on what will count most in building influence and impact. Her support is particularly relevant if you’re establishing your credibility, overcoming silo-working internally or fostering trust at the commercial/academic interface or in healthcare.
She brings insights from former roles leading communications teams for the Wellcome Trust and a national NHS agency, and as an author of Health Foundation guides on influencing through networks and communicating improvement.
A graduate of Henley Business School’s Diploma in Coaching for Behavioural Change, Susannah is an EMCC senior practitioner.
Ollie has spent the last 35 years in various executive positions in the Life Sciences sector (Pharma/Medical devices/IVD). His achievements range from setting up stand-alone business’s, leading business development and alliance management, to managing portfolios at various stages of the product life cycle in both the prescription and consumer marketplaces (www.linkedin.com/in/olliemitchell).
Ollie has now started coaching as part of a portfolio career to help business’s, teams and individuals grow. He has a Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching from Henley Business School, used internally in his company to develop a mentoring and coaching programme across EMEA. He is also a mentor on the NHS Clinical Entrepreneurs Programme, supporting innovators within the NHS over the last 6 years.
Ollie has an MBA, is a trained innovation practitioner and has delivered marketing excellence programs internally and externally in the life science sector.
Why coaching matters in life sciences
Building and scaling life sciences companies requires more than exceptional science.
Founders, CEOs and senior executives are often navigating complex leadership challenges while operating in a fast-moving and highly regulated sector.
Coaching provides a confidential space to think clearly, strengthen leadership capability and navigate the pressures that come with leading innovative organisations.
Leaders often use coaching to support:
- Translating deep scientific expertise into effective leadership
- Navigating investor expectations and board dynamics
- Transitioning from technical expert to organisational leader
- Leading teams through uncertainty, growth and regulatory complexity
- Strengthening communication, influence and strategic decision-making
- Managing the personal pressure that comes with high-stakes leadership
Whether supporting founders building companies or senior leaders shaping their organisations, coaching helps leaders develop the clarity, confidence and capability required to succeed.
Discover what OBN Coaching could do for you.
Exploring coaching, is easy – we offer a complimentary 15-minute introductory conversation with our coaches.
Simply email us and let us know which coach or coaches you would like to speak with. We will connect you directly and they will arrange a time for your session.
Contact us to arrange a complimentary introductory session.
Group Coaching for Early-Stage Founders
In addition to one-to-one coaching, OBN also offers group coaching for early-stage founders.
Group coaching brings together a small cohort of founders who are navigating similar challenges as they build and scale their companies. It provides a supportive and confidential environment to share experiences, explore leadership challenges, and learn from peers as well as from the coach.
For many founders, this format can be particularly valuable in the early stages of building a company.
Benefits of group coaching include:
- A more accessible and lower-cost way to access high-quality coaching
- Peer-to-peer learning with other founders facing similar challenges
- Direct access to expert coaching and guidance
- Reducing the sense of isolation that many early-stage leaders experience
- Gaining new ideas and approaches to common leadership challenges
- Building a trusted peer network within the life sciences community
- Developing leadership confidence while navigating growth and uncertainty
Find out more
If you would like to learn more about how group coaching works or explore whether it could support you as a founder, please get in touch and we would be happy to share more information.
