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The Ivy House
Story

Elke Edwards, Founder and Creative Director of Ivy House, spent 20 years running one of the leading executive development businesses in Europe. Whilst delivering programmes to over 40% of the FTSE 100, and winning 43 awards for their work in leadership and performance change, she learnt three things that changed her life and the lives of the people she worked with:

Elke Edwards
Founder of Ivy House,
speaker, writer, performance coach

  1. There is a certain set of skills and knowledge that, once mastered, has a profound impact on the kind of leader you become, and the kind of life you create.
  2. These skills and knowledge can be learnt.
  3. The sooner you learn them, the more powerful the effect.

But one thing really bothered her.

Why was this learning given only to senior execs? Why weren’t we giving it to people earlier on, at a time when it really could make all the difference not only to the leaders they become, but to all aspects of their lives?

So, she decided to do something about it.

Welcome to Ivy House.

Meet the team

A Team on a Mission

Our team comprises a select group of top leadership coaches, mentors and speakers with a breadth of experience across different organisations and industries. We all bring different specialisms, but we are united in our belief that, given the right kind of development at the right time, people can create huge positive change in their lives, careers and the world.

Ways to work with us

Want to get
involved?

If our mission and values resonate with you (brilliant!), here are some key ways you can get involved:

Sponsor The Ivy House Award

Many of our corporate partners are already working with local schools and are keen to make The Ivy House Award available to them. The Award is designed specifically for sixth-formers to develop life-changing personal and professional development at a time when it can make all the difference. If you’re interested sponsoring The Award for a school or group of schools you are working with, then please get in touch.

Want to spread the change?

Get In Touch

Become an Ivy House Mentor

Our mentors make a world of difference to our delegates, giving them access to practical advice based on hands-on experience. We also find that our delegates make a world of difference to our mentors, bringing fresh energy and disruptive perspectives to their work. We actively seek mentors from a wide range of industries and disciplines. The time commitment depends on how much you have to give, and you also get to meet our delegates, other mentors and corporate partners at our networking events.

Want to make a big difference?

Get In Touch

Want to
find out more?

Contact Us
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Elke Edwards

Founder of Ivy House, speaker, writer, performance coach

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Kate Lander

Chief Executive Officer

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Vicky Gerrish

Head of Schools Partnerships

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Clare Mitchell

Product Director

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Laura Jelly

Marketing Director

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Lindsay Terris

Client Director

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Deandra Murphy

Head of Client Experience

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Elke Edwards

Founder of Ivy House, speaker, writer, performance coach

Elke is the Founder and Creative Director of Ivy House, and is ultimately responsible for our thought leadership, as well as the creative and learning direction of the business. Prior to Ivy House, Elke founded and ran the multi-award-winning executive development company, Blue Sky. She has worked with leaders of industry at the highest levels, for clients including Virgin, Centrica, BBC, Barclays, Wateraid, BskyB, Linklaters and RBS. Her skills as a coach, educator, speaker and writer are highly sought after in the corporate and educational world.

Kate Lander

Chief Executive Officer

As Chief Executive Officer, Kate is responsible for the strategic direction of Ivy House and the development of our digital offering, as well as our strategic partnerships. Kate has more than 25 years’ experience in the finance and education sectors, including overseeing the development of digital solutions for many global banks. Kate is a qualified accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst and is also a Non-Executive Director of OfS (the government regulator for universities).

Vicky Gerrish

Head of Schools Partnerships

Vicky is responsible for the implementation, engagement and successful delivery of The Award in our sixth form schools. She has 25 years of experience in learning and development and her passion for coaching, personal and professional development and nurturing relationships saw her work with organisations like BMW group, Virgin Group, Centrica, Barclays Bank and many other FTSE 100 businesses.

Clare Mitchell

Product Director

Clare heads up programme design for Ivy House, having spent the last 11 years developing a series of award-winning development programmes for Blue Sky. She has worked as a performance coach, facilitator and consultant to some of Europe’s leading organisations, such as Royal Mail, TUI, British Gas, Virgin Media, npower, KPMG, EE and BT, and now drives the development of all Ivy House programmes.

Laura Jelly

Marketing Director

Laura heads up the marketing for Ivy House. She has over 15 years’ experience working in education as a TA, teacher and coach. She has worked in hundreds of schools across the UK, supporting students in finding their confidence and achieving their potential.

Lindsay Terris

Client Director

Our Client Director Lindsay works directly with each Ivy House client, from on-boarding and contracting through to year-end review. Over the past 15 years, she has worked with senior leaders of organisations such as Barclays, Direct Line Group, Virgin Active, More Than and Virgin Atlantic, to drive award-winning behavioural change programmes. Lindsay is obsessed with client experience and is a passionate coach and presenter, who combines experience and storytelling with an unmistakeable Scottish accent to make a real impact.

Deandra Murphy

Head of Client Experience

Deandra is responsible for providing an extraordinary end-to-end experience for our corporate clients and Ivy House Programme delegates. Upon completing her BSc in Psychology, Deandra applied her passion for people and performance first in sport and later in business; helping individuals, teams and organisations achieve a sustainable competitive advantage through coaching, facilitation and development.