Hi, I'm Jenna!
About Me
Jennifer Liston-Smith, MA(Oxon), MSc, FRSA, CPBP.
Leadership Coaching. Coach Supervision. Coaching for meaning and purpose.
It’s been my privilege to play a part in several waves of change and development in the business world so far:
Some examples:
BLENDED COACHING SOLUTIONS
Originator, architect and lead author of My Family Care/Bright Horizons Parental Leave Toolkit and Parental Leave Toolkit for Managers online. Mapped and created interactive user journeys of coaching content and tips creating an innovative just-in-time Software as a Service approach. The App version won Best New Mobile App award 2019.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
From 2013 to 2025, designed and led MFC/Bright Horizons’ annual programme of Thought Leadership events by webinar and Think Tanks hosted by clients including: Norton Rose Fulbright, Bank of America, Hogan Lovells, IBM, HSBC, Simmons & Simmons, Centrica, Deloitte, Bank of New York and others.
Played a key role in corporate affairs at Bright Horizons, including creating white papers to define best practice and liaising with Government and external bodies.
As a speaker, contributed papers / workshops for wider conferences: Coaching at Work, the Association for Coaching, International Society for Coaching Psychology, REBA Wellbeing Congress and Future Forum, The Inclusive Workplace, The Law Society, Health & Wellbeing at Work, Symposium Events Conference on Diversity & Inclusion and Comeback to Hospitality, Travel & Leisure, among many others.
PARENT TRANSITION COACHING / COACH DEVELOPMENT
Innovator in this field for 20+ years.
I co-founded pioneering consultancy Managing Maternity in 2005. We made the business case for parent transition coaching and won business with Citi, Clifford Chance, Credit Suisse, Dunnhumby, The Financial Ombudsman Service, Hays Specialist Recruitment, Howrey LLP, Imperial College London, JPMorgan, Kimberly-Clark, KPMG, The NEC Group, Pitney Bowes, Slaughter and May, Thoughtworks and others; some of these through our strategic partnership with AXA ICAS. We designed and delivered award-winning programmes (such as Maternity Matters recognised by Opportunity Now when Citi won the 2009 award for Innovation). Shaped and evaluated programmes, selected and developed specialist team of Leadership & Transition Coaches, working with original tools and knowledge, designing a coach development programme recognised by the ILM.
OPERATIONAL & STRATEGIC GROWTH
Head-hunted by My Family Care in 2010 to set up, lead and grow a Coaching & Consultancy side to the business which later become Bright Horizons Coaching & Consultancy provision. This shifted the MFC brand from care and benefits provider to being a partner in talent and wellbeing. As one of the directors of MFC, played a key role in developing the market and winning business with global legal, financial and professional services firms and others, until successful acquisition by Bright Horizons in 2019.
LEADERSHIP AND PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT
In the wider development field, coached senior managers and developed internal coaches and mentors in multinationals such as ThyssenKrupp AG, Groupe Danone and the Ford Motor Company. As senior consultant to larger consultancies and through People in Progress, established in 1996, designed and delivered board level to shop floor people skills training and management programmes for organisations such as Accenture, BP, Centrica, The Lord Chancellor’s Department, Penguin Group (UK) and many others.
QUALIFICATIONS INCLUDE:
• MA(Oxon.) in Jurisprudence (Law), Brasenose College, University of Oxford
• MSc in Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex
• Post-graduate Certificate in Supervision for Coaching and Mentoring, Oxford Brookes University Business School: with Distinction
• Performance Coaching Certificate, Centre for Coaching (attended taught element as a trainer for the Centre for Coaching)
• Scholarship with The Coaching Academy undertaken as a CPD and networking initiative
• Co-Active Coaching with Coaches Training Institute, California. Completion of first CTI Co-Active Coaching Course in the UK (July 1999)
• Diploma in Stress Management, Centre for Stress Management, London.
• Primary Certificates in Rational-Emotive Behavioural Therapy and Multimodal Therapy and Counselling Centre for REBT & Multimodal Therapy, London.
• Also proud to be a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts and a Certified Principal Business Psychologist recognised by the Association for Business Psychology.
