Isabelle Bester
Founder & CEO — International Leadership Consultant & Facilitator, Executive Coach
Interesting fact about Isabelle
Growing up surrounded by deafness and hearing impairment, Isabelle learned early that true leadership starts with listening with empathy and speaking with clarity. She now channels that passion for communication to power up leaders and teams to connect and collaborate more effectively.
Over the past 15 years, Isabelle Bester has partnered with thousands of leaders across industries and cultural contexts worldwide. Her approach integrates communication excellence, advanced leadership diagnostics and behavioral change methodologies to expand leaders’ impact from the inside out.
She has designed, facilitated, and personally coached leaders within leadership programs across sectors, including:
- FMCG & Luxury: Tetra Pak, Estée Lauder, Nespresso, Nestlé, Amazon, Richemont, La Prairie, L’Occitane, Wella
- Tech/Entreprise Softare: ORACLE
- Sports Federations: The International Olympic Committee, UEFA, FIBA
- Financial Services: UBS, BNP Paribas, BMO (Bank of Montreal), Saudi Exim
- Medical Technology & Pharma: Medtronic, Stryker, Smith & Nephew, Bristol Myers Squibb
- Business Schools: HEC Paris Executive Education, Headspring Executive Education (Financial times London x IE Business School Madrid), Thunderbird School of Global Management (Arizona State University)
- International Organizations & NGOs: The United Nations, ICRC, IUCN
- Swiss Scale-up: Swibeco, Eversys, H55
Before transitioning into leadership development, Isabelle built a successful corporate career in brand management within the MedTech sector for a Fortune 500 company. She received the International Marketing Excellence Award in Singapore for outstanding business growth. In 2008, she made a deliberate career shift from product development to talent and leadership development, a move aligned with her passion to unleash human potential.
Isabelle holds multiple qualifications in business, communication, coaching, emotional intelligence and energy management reflecting her holistic and interdisciplinary approach to leadership.
Her clients describe her work as “transformational,” “insightful,” and “practical,” and often highlight her warmth, clarity, and ability to challenge leaders in ways that stretch their mindset and elevate their impact.
She has recently relocated from Switzerland to Boston, USA, where she is expanding her work with U.S based organizations and academic institutions. She is horse lover, mountain biker and world traveler.
Accreditations
- Diploma of Professional Coaching, Danielle Brault International (ICF recognized)
- Certified Team Coach (Part of the Swiss Federal Diploma in Coaching)
- BSc in Business & Administration – University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland
- Corporate Communication Certificate – Duke University, USA
- Certified by HorseDream – Corporate Leadership & Team Development with Horses
- Certified by the Brinkerhoff Institute – High Performance Learning Journeys®
- Certified Mental Health First Aid (Switzerland)
- Certified Health Creation Consultant – University of Bath, UK
- Diploma in Stress Management (Sophrology), ASCA recognized
Assessment Tools Used
- NOVA Global® (communication, motivation, behavioral preferences)
- Reiss Motivation Profile®
- Hogan® Assessments
- EQ-i 2.0® Emotional Intelligence (including 360° leadership profiles)
- CliftonStrengths®
- Belbin Team Roles®