Our Team
Jan Rakowicz
Jan has a passion for supporting individuals and organisations to perform at their best, which is the founding purpose of Matrix. He is an emotional well-being coach, a registered Ollie Coach, a management consultant, a jazz pianist and a keen tennis player.
With over 20 years of operational management and interdisciplinary consultancy expertise, Jan has consulted on business strategy to businesses, advised on fundraising strategy to the not-for-profit sector, and coached leadership teams to think together and engage their stakeholders. Jan has been a consultant for Brakeley UK Ltd and was Managing Director of the fundraising consultancy Mira Kelly (now Brakeley UK) Ltd for 4 years after working abroad for over 20 years in The Netherlands, Poland and France for the European Patent Office, Boston Consulting Group, Monitor Company and Société Générale Bank. He is tri-lingual in English, Polish and French, speaks German and basic Dutch.
Jan holds an MBA from Manchester Business School, BSc(Eng) in Mechanical Engineering from King’s College, London, HNC in Music Performance, Certificate in Practical Shiatsu, Certificate in Systemic Team Coaching®, a Certificate in Coaching, and is a registered Ollie Coach.
William Conner
William Conner has spent more than 40 years transforming the fundraising results of the organisations with whom he has worked in the UK, the US and across Europe. His expertise is in leading organisations through institutional strategic planning for large fundraising campaigns, strengthening alumni networks, building high value relationships leading to successful fundraising, and crafting institutional visions and associated narratives to support fundraising initiatives. Bill is a founding partner of Conner & Associates and a By-Fellow of Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge where he is the Director of Institutional Advancement.
His particular interests include new philanthropic ventures and encouraging robust donor and alumni engagement with philanthropy and social investment. He has held board roles with the European Association for Philanthropy and Giving (now Philanthropy Impact) and EUConsult. He is also an active trustee of a number of environmental and cultural institutions in the UK.
Bill began his consulting career in 1999 and in 2001 became a director of Brakeley Ltd in London where he served a wide range of clients in the UK, Continental Europe and the US. Before moving to Cambridge in 2019, he was for over a decade the Director of Development at Wolfson College, University of Oxford where he remains an Emeritus Fellow. He has also served as Director of Development at New College, University of Oxford and the Ashridge Business School. Prior experience includes senior management and fundraising roles with the London Business School (Associate Dean for Alumni Relations and Development), the San Francisco and Miami Operas, the Castle Hill Foundation and the Boston University School for the Arts.
www.connerandassociates.com
Michelle Hern
Hello! My name is Michelle Hern and I'm an emotional well-being transformative coach/Ollie and his Superpowers coach. I work with children, teens and adults to give them the tools they need to empower themselves in order to overcome difficulties such as anxiety, anger, low self-esteem, lack of motivation as well as support with bereavement.
I have found that Ollie model draws on the best of a range of therapeutic techniques including NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), Positive Psychology, evolutionary psychology, story and metaphor therapy, hypnotherapy, modern psychotherapy and brief therapy which has been a perfect fit for me when working with my clients.
My background is in nursing - firstly as a qualified nurse working with adults then for 27 years working part time in a special needs school as my husband and I raised our two boys, which I loved. I have also trained with Cruse Bereavement Support to be a Bereavement Volunteer, supporting adults then later children and young people which I still find very rewarding.
I'm the president of a local women's organisation and we are involved in supporting various volunteer organisations, including those who support refugees and asylum seekers. My interests include family history research and British Sign language.
It is a privilege for me to experience giving clients the tools to help themselves. This can be the difference, which makes all the difference in their lives.
Feel free to get in touch for a free initial consultation!
Email: michelle.hern@ollieandhissuperpowers
Mobile: 07580062329