About Us

Sami Bugay

Founder of The Integral Institute – Master Certified Coach – ICF, Assessor & Mentor – ICF Corporate Culture Assessor

Sami was in the technology sector before his introduction to the coaching and consulting profession. Having started as a technical expert at Nurbil Information Technology Co., Sami eventually took on sales and marketing responsibilities and became General Manager. Sami’s contributions brought Nurbil into the top 100 technology companies in Turkey.

In 2000, Sami was one of the three idea leaders behind the business model of baskuda.com, which became one of Turkey’s leading e-business companies. Sami led the merger of baskuda.com with another company. In 2004, he joined Enter Professional Informatics Services as founding General Manager.

Sami was initially exposed to coaching in 2002 as part of his personal and professional development. Having benefitted from this positive experience, Sami decided to pursue coaching as a profession. In 2005, Sami started building his leadership coaching and management consulting practice, taking on projects and clients individually and in partnership with international organizations.

Sami received his initial coach instruction as a member of one of Turkey’s first coach training cohorts. He is a Master Certified Coach MCC-ICF, Assessor–ICF, and – Certified Ontological Coach with over 7000 hours of coaching experience. Having continued his professional training and education over the years (see below for list), Sami also mentors and develops emerging coaches as an ICF-accredited Mentor Coach.

Bugay, the author of Better Leaders Better Teams, an Amazon Best Seller, and ITC – Integrated Team Coaching is a prelector of the School of Life founded by Alain de Botton. He was President of the ICF Turkey Chapter between 2016 and 2018, Endeavor Turkey’s mentor, and a Consultative Committee member. He is currently the director and head educator of the “I.C. Integral Coaching ™,” an ICF-accredited Level-2 program.

Özkan Kıvanç

ACC, Integral Coach, Danışman

Until June 2024, Özkan served as a partner in the Risk, Process, and Technology Services department at PwC Turkey.
Hhe has over 20 years of experience in IT management, IT organization, processes, digital transformation, business processes, Sarbanes-Oxley, enterprise risk management, and the evaluation of leading operating systems, databases, and applications.

He has provided IT transformation, IT governance, IT strategy, IT controls assessments, and consulting services to numerous organizations in the finance, insurance, healthcare, public, and technology sectors.

He has trained teams on IT and business process controls, determined methodologies and tools to be used in projects, and participated as a speaker and trainer in meetings and training sessions related to Information Systems risks and controls.

He has managed projects in the areas of IT processes, data management, and security controls. Other areas of expertise include providing CobiT compliance consulting services and establishing IT management frameworks.

Özkan holds certifications such as CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor), CRMA (Certified Risk Management Assurance), ISO 27001 Lead Auditor, and ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management Systems Lead Auditor. She has also successfully completed the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) program. Additionally, she is a member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) and the Institute of Internal Auditors of Turkey (TİDE).

In 2021, she took the first steps towards becoming a professional coach and graduated from The Integral Institute program. She currently works as an assistant instructor under The Integral Institute. Özkan continues her coaching work both individually and corporately, and she conducts training on leadership, management, and team topics within The Integral Institute.

Dr. Martin Egan

Cognitive Behavioral Coach Organizational and Executive Coach Corporate Culture Assessor, ACC

Martin specialises in leadership development including leading cultural and organisational change. His main focus is on helping leaders to master how they make sense of themselves, the impact they have on others and on Corporate Culture.  Martin’s primary skill is in supporting individuals and organisations to understand how their own development and the evolution of their organisation are related – and the planning required for future success. Martin is particularly successful at getting diverse groups with conflicting values and perspectives to work more effectively together.

He has a significant experience in designing and driving large-scale change initiatives. He has managed and supervised over 40 global Corporate Culture assessments including selection, training and supervision of consultants to investigate, assess and deliver tough messages to executive teams and boards about how the cultures they create impacts their business. He is known for a combination of supporting compassion and tough challenge based on analytical astuteness and interpersonal perception.

He has a personable, relational, evidence-based and scientifically robust style of coaching for development and performance. His insights for organisations and individuals are influenced by his training in Analytical Science as well as Psychoanalytic, Systemic, Group and Analytical Psychology.  Clients he has supported include: IKEA, Direct Line Group, FCA, AXA, HSBC, Ericsson, Astra Zeneca, Unilever, AIG, Danone, Novartis, Boston Consulting Group, Department of Work and Pensions, Houses of Parliament and the NHS.

Jasna Knez

Master Certified Coach – ICF, EIA Master Practitioner – EMCC, ITCA Certified Team Coach, ESIA Supervisor, PCC Assessor and EIA Assessor and Master Trainer

Jasna Knez is passionate about empowering individuals & teams to envision, develop and implement steps for their successful realization and to thrive. Co-create an environment of trust, openness and resilience where people can learn, grow, improve life’s quality and achieve desired personal and professional transformation. She works as a leadership & team coach, mentor, and coaching supervisor in diverse contexts, cultures, and with various clients. She enjoys working with complexity and what is emerging. Having a deep understanding of the dynamics of personal interaction, she works in coaching & leadership skills development, group dynamics, and coaching culture transformation.

She holds Master Certified Coach credentials (MCC – ICF) and EIA MASTER Practitioner Certified Coach & Mentor (EMCC Global) individual credentialing, ITCA Certified Team Coach Individual credentials and ESIA Coaching & Mentoring Supervision Individual credentialing.

Jasna loves creating an environment where people can learn and grow through dialogue, sharing frameworks, and experimentation leading to increased confidence for individuals and bench strength for organizations. She will help you achieve higher-level results in a shorter time, reduce levels of stress, experience greater satisfaction at work & life, and overcome internal & external obstacles to operate in new ways to thrive. Based on the systemic and integrative perspective her coaching style is pragmatic, co-creative, and people-centred. The principles and methods that she uses are innovative and agile, interactive, and challenging – addressing critical questions, offering in-depth knowledge of advanced learning, creating opportunities to explore & expand the complexity of your thinking, feeling and doing to identify and remove blocks to your success.

As a Faculty (trainer, mentor and supervisor) Jasna is part of several ICF & EMCC accredited programs to support learning of new generations of coaches and team coaches in developing a coaching mindset and expanding their coaching capacity and maturity.  (Povej na Glas – Embody your Coaching Wisdom, The Integral Coaching Institute – Integral Coaching,  Global Team Coaching Institute – Team Coaching  and Clutterbuck Coaching and Mentoring International – Senior Team Coaching)
Jasna coach & trains in Slovene, English, Croatian and Serbian.

Jasna is constantly developing a high level of professional expertise by actively collaborating with ICF & EMCC Global. As Co-founder and Vice President of the ICF Slovenia Charter Chapter(2020-2024), Jasna actively contributed for sustainable growth and Slovenia’s coaching profession. She is ICF PCC Assessor and EMCC EIA Assessor for all 4 levels (foundation, practitioner, senior and master).
She is involved in establishing an Adriatic group for coaching supervision – SAN Adriatic.
She was CEO Executive Coaching 2022 Award Winner.
In 2023 she was recognized as Honorary Ambasador of EMCC Slovenia.

Fuat Sezen

Integral Coach

Fuat Sezen, who graduated from Gazi University with a degree in Labor Economics and Industrial Relations, began his professional career at GlaxoSmithKline in 2002. Sezen held various positions at the company for 14 years, including managerial roles such as Product Specialist, Field Training and Development Manager, and Regional Sales Manager. He played roles in both domestic and international projects related to efficiency, business models, and performance management. Later, he also held managerial positions at İmuneksfarma and Allergan (Abbvie) as National Sales and Marketing Manager, Commercial Operations Manager, and Country Training Manager.

Since 2008, Sezen has been a professional coach, focusing on performance and development coaching, particularly for sales teams in the companies he worked with. With expertise in leadership, team management, sales leadership, and performance management, Sezen earned a coaching certification from The Integral Institute in 2021. He continues to work as an assistant instructor under The Integral Institute, providing training on leadership, management, and team dynamics. He also continues his coaching practice both individually and corporately.

In 2023, Sezen founded his own company and provides consultancy and distribution services in the healthcare sector under the DM Pharma brand.

Oktay Aktolun

Partner | Istanbul (TR), 
CRMA, CRISC, CGEIT

Digital & Risk, Process & Technology Services

Experience
He is currently responsible for Digital, & RAS
He managed and performed various Technology projects, Information Systems implementation projects in different industries. He is leading SAP,Salesforce,Workday and Microsoft related projects.
He has 22 years B4 and 14 years Banking Experience.

Qualifications
He has taken his undergraduate degree from Istanbul Technical University Electrical-Electronics Engineering Department.

Oktay is Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT), Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), Certified Risk Management Assurance (CRMA). He is the member of Institute of Internal Auditing-Turkey (TIDE), Corporate Governance Association (TKYD), Management Consultant Association (YDD), Turkey Finance Executives Foundation, and Association of Certified Fraud Examiner (USUID), Turkey Informatics Industry Association (TUBISAD) and ISACA.He completed ICF Accredited Coach Training Program.

Evaluation of internal system functions, documentation of business and IT processes, preparation of internal control framework, preparation or improvement of policies and procedures after implementation of main insurance/ERP systems: Aksigorta, Ergo, Ray Sigorta, Vakıf Emeklilik

Implementation of ISO27001 information security management system: Vakıf Emeklili
Information and system security assessment: Aksigorta
Providing project management support with system and vendor selection: Aksigorta, Cardi
Salesforce application: PwC Turkey
He helped various banks in Turkey obtain operating licenses from the BRSA.

Nena Veber

Professional Certified Coach – ICF NLP Master coach & Trainer IMT Intuitive Mental Trainer®

Before her dedication to coaching, supervision and training profession, Nena was active in education, retail and health-care sectors, thus following her youth career dreams. 


Having started her career as a teacher of English and German languages, she opened one of the first privately owned language schools in Slovenia back in the 1990’s. Her unconventional approach to teaching foreign languages in “alpha-brain-wave-state-of-mind” was way ahead in innovative approach at that time. From 1997-2000 she lived in Germany where she dedicated her time to the research of mental dynamics and invented her own training technique “IMT Intuitive Mental Training®” to support herself first and later on also her clients in personal and professional challenges and transformation.

In 2000 Nena switched careers and joined Mercator d.d., a Slovenian International Retailer chain, where she acted in various roles in Fruits & Vegetables department (Senior Purchasing Specialist, Head of Purchasing, Deputy Director, Director). She brought the international “5 a day” campaign to Slovenia and introduced it through Mercator sales-educational activities to final customers, still nowadays being one of the leading and most successful campaigns for creating healthy life-style and eating habits awareness. Author of the book “Zdravje in Jaz – Prijatelja” (about balanced, healthy life: from mental dynamics, physical exercises to healthy eating habits).

In 2008 Nena established Althea health care centre, with the vision to be the best clinic for treatment of injuries of top athletes. Althea is since 2017 appointed an official medical clinic with the Olympic committee of Slovenia (ORŠMC). Apart from being the owner and CEO, Nena started to be actively involved in IMT intuitive  mental trainings from 2008 on (2500+ hours & 250+ clients) and coachings from 2015 on (1600+ hours, 170+ clients). Top achievements: being a coach and mental trainer of Jure Robič, 5-times winner of RAAM (Race across America), coach of Olympic games attending athletes. 


Nena established in 2020 her own independent company IKIGAI, for coaching, mental dynamics, supervision and educational workshops and trainings. She sold Althea company in September 2021.
 She is now completely devoted and dedicated to coaching, supervision and trainings.
   
In 2021  she started to study  supervision for coaches and mentors with Lise Lewis, with the goal to be accredited with EMCC after the end of the studies (in 2022)  as member of the first cohort of  first 9 accredited supervisors for coaches and mentors in Adriatic region.

She is PCC professional certified coach with ICF, ICF accredited ACSTH Jungian coach with dr. Avi Goren Bar and Jasna Knez, and ICF accredited ACTP Integral & Leadership coach with Sami Bugay.

Utkan Kolat Dikmen

Professional Certified Coach – ICF Facilitator

Utkan Kolat Dikmen, had studied Environmental and Meteorological Engineering at Istanbul Technical University in Istanbul, and she continued her Masters of Science degree in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Department at University of Wisconsin-Madison in USA. After completing M.Sc. in USA, she had an offer including a 6-month scholarship from ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics) to work as a researcher at OGS (Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics) in Trieste, Italy.

She worked as an Occupational Health and Safety Engineer for 6 years in Istanbul, Turkey until Jan 2019. She had administered in different locations and sector such as; national banks, textile, facility services like cleaning, security and technical.

In 2016 she started trainings in professional coaching and completed by receiving her Associate Certified Coach (ACC) Credential in March 2020. By March 2022 she is planning to get PCC (Professional Certified Coach) credential. She has more than 400 hours in coaching experience, right now.

She also has completed Relationship Coaching, Coaching in Business Context, Student Coaching, NLP Master Practitioner and Izotomi Analyst trainings.

She is a yoga teacher, giving online lessons for two years, since pandemic started. She is a life-long student of Non-Violent Communication (NVC). She is practicing NVC with groups regularly, online and face-to-face.
She practices mindfulness, somatic experiences. She is interested in mythology, tails, yoga anatomy, meditation, Jungian psychology, Ayurveda and mind-body-soul science.

Fatih Kalkandelenli

Psychological Counselor, 
Jungian Coach, Accredited Cultural Transformation Practitioner

Fatih Kalkandelenli began his career with psychological support and educational work with children showing developmental disorders and their families after completing his psychological counseling program at Istanbul University.

In addition to conducting counseling and therapy sessions with couples who have children with disabilities, he also engaged in cognitive studies focused on creativity and individualization in learning processes.

In the later stages of his career, he worked in the psychological counseling teams of various private schools and served as a team coordinator for four years. During this period, he focused on supporting the institutional culture while conducting family seminars, consulting with educational and management teams, and providing consultancy in process development teams.

Throughout his career, he continued to pursue training in Jungian psychotherapy, Freudian psychotherapy, existential psychotherapy, projective psychoanalytic tests, cognitive assessment tests, and family constellation therapy.

After accumulating experience, Fatih Kalkandelenli specialized in individual sessions and group workshops in the field of psychology. He integrates his eclectic approach, which combines individual and systemic theories, into his coaching sessions.

Julie Nelson

Founder of JDN Consulting UK

Julie is the Founder of JDN Consulting UK which offers a range of services supporting clients to explore career options and to inspire personal growth. She is also the Founder of The BeYou Women’s Network which aims to inspire women in the community to rebuild their confidence, re-engage with learning and refocus on their career.  Julie is a credible coach with considerable experience of coaching clients for performance improvement, personal growth/change and career development.  Her coaching style is holistic, practical and supportive whilst maintaining a planned and structured framework where ownership for action and outcomes are maintained by the individual as they work toward positive change. Julie is a long-standing member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) and a member of EMCC UK and subscribes to EMCC’s Code of Ethics (see www.emccouncil.org/uk)
Previous Work

Julie has over 20 years of leadership experience and has worked in senior management roles in both the private and public sectors. Over the past five years, Julie has worked with individual clients and teams to improve personal impact, communication, and performance. As well as executive coaching, Julie designs and facilitates a range of personal and career development courses and programs.

Professional History, Qualifications & Credibility
•  CIPD Level 7 Learning & Talent Management
•  CIPD Level 7 Knowledge Management & Organizational Learning
•  CIPD Level 7 Design, Delivery and Evaluation or Learning and Development
•  ILM Level 7 Executive Coaching and Mentoring
•  Psychometric BPS Level A& B Qualified along with a range of assessment tools
•  Lumina Learning Practitioner – Spark (Personality), Emotions and Leader Psychometric Profiling
•  MBTI Practitioner
•  Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement
•  APMG Prince II Project Management Practitioner
•  APMG Change Management Practitioner
•  Accredited INLTPA NLP Master Practitioner, Coach and Trainer

What coaching means to me
Coaching pulls together a combination of activities to enable real sustainable change at an individual, team or/and organizational level. Coaching provides an opportunity to pause, think and give space to encourage conscious decision-making. An experienced coach facilitates this process with the ability to listen without judgement, ask high-quality timely questions, help clients clarify goals, explore options, and take accountability for the steps required to reach their chosen destination.

Ferhan Alesi

Intercultural Integral Coach

Ferhan has a diverse background in the business world, intercultural communication, and public relations, offering management development solutions, advocacy, team building, global leadership, diversity and inclusion, and intercultural management programs worldwide.

Professional Background:

Ferhan has extensive international experience in Corporate Training and Talent Management. For the past 25 years, she has been designing and facilitating programs and workshops for global and local companies in Europe, the USA, and the Middle East. She has lived, studied, and worked as an executive in 10 different countries across four continents over 20 years.

Experience:

Ferhan has coached and trained executives from companies like Coca-Cola, P&G, Vodafone, Novartis, Siemens, IKEA, Colgate-Palmolive, Sanofi Aventis, Novo Nordisk, Pepsi-Co, MAN, AstraZeneca, MSD, B/S/H, BOSCH, DaimlerChrysler, Mercedes, EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, UBS, QNB Finansbank, Lafarge, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Carrefour, BP, Shell, METRO GROUP, Avon, L’oreal, HSBC, Unilever, Ford, Alstom, TESCO, BAYER, and Microsoft on developing personal, intercultural, and global leadership skills.

• Ferhan works as a Business Executive Coach. To date, she has coached executives from 96 different cultures. She also conducts interactive workshops/seminars on communication, intercultural/transcultural management, global leadership, strategic communication, diversity and inclusion, personal development and growth, and intercultural team building.

• In 2005, she served as the only Turkish board member of the European Association for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research. She recently started serving as the Head of External Relations at SIETAR EUROPA. She has been recognized as a professional executive by the Intercultural Communication Institute in Portland, USA.

• In 2008, she organized and delivered Turkey’s first Diversity Training to HR Directors of international companies in Istanbul as part of a European Commission Project.

• In 2020 and 2022, she was awarded Best Consultant among 800 international consultants.

• Ferhan regularly speaks at local and international media and business conferences. She has been featured in interviews and media appearances in newspapers and magazines such as CNN Türk, Haber Türk, and TV Net.

• She is a columnist for a business magazine called “Z RAPORU,” where she writes monthly business tips for different cultures. She has appeared on the popular and well-regarded TV program “Beyaz Show,” where she demonstrated intercultural body language.

• She teaches intercultural communication as an adjunct lecturer to MBA exchange students at KOÇ and SABANCI Universities. She also gives talks for NGOs.

• She has written several online teaching tools on intercultural topics about Turkey.

• In June 2024, she gave a speech on interculturalism in Lille, France, sharing a real-life story about being a Turkish Intercultural Expert, focusing on war, migration, and racism.

• Languages: She is fluent in Turkish, English, Italian, and German. She has advanced knowledge of French and some knowledge of Arabic.

Alev Kasım

Alumni Manager, Integral Coach

Alev began her career in 2007 and took her first step into the professional business world as a Merchandiser Assistant at GAP & OLD NAVY. She then worked at Colin’s, first as a Middle East Regional Sales Specialist and later as a Marketing Communications Specialist. In 2013, she continued her career as a Marketing and Corporate Communications Specialist at Entes Elektronik, one of Turkey’s leading domestic companies.

Alev completed her undergraduate degree in Arabic Language and Literature. Due to her interest in digital and conventional marketing, she pursued a Certificate Program in Media and Communication Strategies at Galatasaray University, followed by a master’s degree in Marketing Communications at Bilgi University’s Brand School.

While working in the fields of Marketing and Corporate Communications, she was involved in various tasks such as organizing customer and employee training sessions and planning large-scale events with over 1,300 participants, contributing to the enhancement of brand image and awareness.

Since 2021, Alev has continued her career as an Integral Coach, having started a coaching program at The Integral Institute. She currently serves as a Faculty member at the same institute, where she teaches and organizes training sessions and meetings for graduate coaches as the Alumni Manager. In 2024, she completed the “Working with Dreams in Coaching” program and continues to offer coaching services both individually and corporately.