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RDPI

Our core people

Dr Roger Prentis

Roger started his career in medical research at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London and went on to become a computer systems specialist. His background in mental health led him into consultancy and training where he specialises in the development of people's and organisations' potential. He is an NLP Master Practitioner and Master Hypnotherapist and he also uses these skills to help people overcome Post Traumatic Stress, volunteering with a charity.

Roger has lived and worked in a number of countries and worked with commercial, not-for-profit, NGO and governmental organisations. His strategic and analytical skills add to his 'soft skills' to bring a wide breadth and depth of knowledge, expertise and experience from many sectors, countries and backgrounds. He specialises in working at Board level, as well as senior management, and has particular interest in leadership development, communications and media training.

He was a Special Adviser and Chief of Staff in the House of Lords (Upper House of the UK Parliament) for 10 years where he also regularly chaired meetings and arranged events. He has worked with the UN, a variety of diplomatic and educational clients and has a particular interest in Asia, the Middle and Far East.

Roger edits Business Works, a magazine targeted at mid-sized organisations, and is Founder and Director of the Foundation for International Collaboration. He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators, Freeman of the City of London, Chartered Biologist, and Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

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Katie Day

Katie has almost 30 years experience working with major corporate organisations across the globe on their CSR, Diversity and Leadership agendas.

For many years, she worked at The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development where she led the Communications initiative, was head of the Diversity Task Force and ran Leadership Programmes for women from all the organisation's 51 countries. She has also worked with the leaders of many national and global organisations across the world.

She is a Guest Lecturer at Warwick Business School, lecturing their MBA students on a variety of topics from Business Etiquette, Effective Communication, Diversity, Creating the Perfect Pitch and Balanced Thinking.

She started and ran a joint UK and USA task force on CSR in 21st Century, working with organisations from both countries to create a global best practice model.Her book, The High-heeled Leader, was published in 2012 which led to book signing assignments on both the West and East Coast of the USA. She has appeared many times on radio in the USA, UK, Australia and Canada. She writes regularly for The Huffington Post, together with Executive Women and Capital Business magazines in Dubai. She has appeared on television in Canada and Dubai, speaking on women in the boardroom.

Katie is a sought-after global speaker on women in business and leadership which has led to her to being the keynote at conferences in the USA, UK and India, with requests from China, Kenya and Nigeria under discussion.

Katie is a Director of the Foundation for International Collaboration (FIC), on the Board of Trustees of the charity Women of Afrika and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

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Tracey Hoefnagels (South West Region)

Tracey emigrated from the UK to South Africa in 1984 after finishing school and studying at Tresham College in Kettering, Northamptonshire. She initially worked as a Conference and Events Coordinator and later as Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer of Achievement Awards where she became interested in the power of motivation and recognition. In 2002, she returned to the UK and after a settling-in period, joined Nationwide Building Society, where the passion for people really kicked in.

During her 16 year tenure at Nationwide, Tracey managed teams of some 30+ people in all areas of the business. Having a natural desire to understand the behaviour of individuals and the importance of mental health in the workplace, she naturally migrated to training and the wellbeing of people, in particular, the menopause. Tracey was instrumental in the campaign of highlighting the importance of talking about menopause and joined Nationwide’s Arthur Webb team to pursue the attainment and accreditation of a 'Menopause Friendly Workplace', working closely with RDPi in doing so.

Tracey is CPD qualified in Equality and Diversity, Unconscious Bias, Workplace Stress, Emotional Intelligence, Level 2 Mental Health in the Workplace (and currently studying for Level 3, with the aim of becoming a Mental Health First Aid Training Facilitator).
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Kimihito Okubo (Japan)

Kimy is an international expert in strategy, communications and branding. He was educated in Japan (Waseda University), the USA and studied global management at IMD in Switzerland.

His current work revolves around promoting Japan on the world stage and placing it as a global force. This involves projects with the Government of Japan, large commercial organisations, regional government, Universities and schools. He runs events for large Japanese multi-national companies around branding and communications and has an international network to support local and international projects in some 30 countries, including Europe, North America and Asia. He has over 25 years experience in human and business communications worldwide.

Kimy Chairs the One Young World Japan committee which he established (in 2011) to help empower the country's young leaders for a better future. It partners with government, industry and the academic sectors in the form of multi-stakeholder cooperation for the shared visions and goals. OYW is the world's biggest and most-impactful youth leadership summit, bringing together over 2000 next-generation leaders from 190 countries every year. This makes it the world's most significant event after the Olympic Games.

Kimy is a Chevalier in the Confraternity of Saint George and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA). He is past Convener of RSA Japan which he helped to found and establish.

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Claudio Chiste (South Africa)

Claudio is the co-founder of the Centre for Leadership and Coaching. The Centre was established to address a perceived lack of leadership in SA and to empower individuals to reach their full potential. Additionally, he currently serves as the Chairman of Coaches and Mentors of South Africa (Comensa), Western Cape, and is the Cape Chapter President of the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa.

Through his previous role as an international banker and Chairman of London’s award-winning maritime network forum, the SPNL, Claudio has built an international network.

Claudio’s passion for leadership and resilience has seen him focusing on strengthening not only effective leadership and mental toughness, but also organisational culture by building trust through Shared Ownership.

Claudio's interest in leadership started during his first career when he served as a Combat Officer in the South African Navy for a decade, after which he was a reservist for a further decade. He also a Freeman of the City of London

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Our Clinical Partners

Our clinical partners are Professor Isaac Manyonda and Professor Vikram Talaulikar from the Menopause Clinic in London's Harley Street and Esher in Surrey.

We work with them to spread the word about the menopause and offer information and resources to help people navigate this natural phase of life. As part of this, they ensure that the courses and information we provide is the best. We also work with them to provide free talks for both women and GPs. They also write a regular column in Midlife Matters, our free e-magazine plus Q&A.

We also work with the London General Practice, led by Dr Paul Ettlinger, collaborating to promote general health and male wellbeing.

LGP was founded by Dr Ettlinger, one of London's most respected and well-established private doctors. It is based on Harley Street and specialises in providing a comprehensive range of healthcare, including a focus on male health. The Practice also offers corporate support and provides 24/7 services. They are also regular contributors to our Midlife Matters newsletter.

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Graham Reynolds

Graham began his career in the police service where, as a detective and, later, senior operations manager, he became increasingly interested in effective communication in high risk and crisis situations.

His last 10 years of police service focused on his leading of complex change programmes at national level with multiple stakeholders, including Government departments, military, public, commercial and third sector organisations. On the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games, he held a lead role in the National Planning Team culminating in a Whitehall based operational role during the actual games.

Graham was awarded Chartered Manager in 2012 and became a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute for national leadership and business impact in the public sector. He is an experienced Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, specialising in leadership and performance and member of the Institute of Coaching at MacLean, Harvard Medical School which is dedicated to ensuring scientific integrity in the field of coaching.

Graham's lifetime philosophy has been that every stretch zone becomes a comfort zone with practice. He draws his own energy from seeking out time in the stretch zone - not to mention applying learning from his clients and colleagues to challenging his own boundaries and expectations. He is a keen sportsman - a lifetime endurance runner and competitive middle distance tri-athlete and an endurance coach.

Despite the high energy, Graham promotes the essential understanding that we all require creative (relaxation) time in order to function effectively. His hobby project at the moment is building his next home - undertaking much of the work himself from design to completion.

top of page


Hajra Khan

As a Global consultant, Hajra has experience in developing international business, organising conferences & events, diversity and inclusion. She has worked in communications, both in broadcast and written, and is an expert on multicultural issues, being from mixed heritage herself (Irish and South African).

Hajra's degree in English Literature inspired an interest in modern psychology and its practice. She is passionate about equality and diversity and how psychology affects people's views and practices from business relationships, through buying decisions, to social interactions.

Hajra's consultancy work has involved working in both the private and not-for-profit sectors, ranging from finance, to professional artists, to the fashion world. She has a particular interest in Islamic Global Economics and Finance and 'modest fashion'.

top of page


Dev Barot

Dev specialises in problem solving at a strategic level with a focus on IT, business development and visual media.

He has advised multinational clients across these sectors in a number of countries, with a strong focus on the UK and Europe, as well as India and the Middle East.

Dev's extensive training in engineering and computing have given him experience and knowledge across the IT sector, including business computing network development, the increasingly crucial area of IT security, technical infrastructure and team communication management.

With frequent travel to key developed and emerging markets, his experience in creating strong corporate foundations based on analysis and collation of informational content and data allows him to tailor solutions more directly to the needs of clients.

Through regular attendances at international business conferences, Dev has built up a solid network of high-level contacts, plus a list of significant clients for whom he has executed top projects across his areas of speciality. These connections have also allowed him to create links between key people across diverse skill sets in order to provide a holistic approach to problem-solving in the business sector.

Dev's ability to see through the complexities of a situation in order to create easily implemented and managed solutions have put him in high demand and make him a leading asset for the RDPI team.

top of page


Our core people

Dr Roger Prentis

Roger started his career in medical research at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London and went on to become a computer systems specialist. His background in mental health led him into consultancy and training where he specialises in the development of people's and organisations' potential. He is an NLP Master Practitioner and Master Hypnotherapist and he also uses these skills to help people overcome Post Traumatic Stress, volunteering with a charity.

Roger has lived and worked in a number of countries and worked with commercial, not-for-profit, NGO and governmental organisations. His strategic and analytical skills add to his 'soft skills' to bring a wide breadth and depth of knowledge, expertise and experience from many sectors, countries and backgrounds. He specialises in working at Board level, as well as senior management, and has particular interest in leadership development, communications and media training.

He was a Special Adviser and Chief of Staff in the House of Lords (Upper House of the UK Parliament) for 10 years where he also regularly chaired meetings and arranged events. He has worked with the UN, a variety of diplomatic and educational clients and has a particular interest in Asia, the Middle and Far East.

Roger edits Business Works, a magazine targeted at mid-sized organisations, and is Founder and Director of the Foundation for International Collaboration. He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators, Freeman of the City of London, Chartered Biologist, and Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

top of page


Katie Day

Katie has almost 30 years experience working with major corporate organisations across the globe on their CSR, Diversity and Leadership agendas.

For many years, she worked at The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development where she led the Communications initiative, was head of the Diversity Task Force and ran Leadership Programmes for women from all the organisation's 51 countries. She has also worked with the leaders of many national and global organisations across the world.

She is a Guest Lecturer at Warwick Business School, lecturing their MBA students on a variety of topics from Business Etiquette, Effective Communication, Diversity, Creating the Perfect Pitch and Balanced Thinking.

She started and ran a joint UK and USA task force on CSR in 21st Century, working with organisations from both countries to create a global best practice model.Her book, The High-heeled Leader, was published in 2012 which led to book signing assignments on both the West and East Coast of the USA. She has appeared many times on radio in the USA, UK, Australia and Canada. She writes regularly for The Huffington Post, together with Executive Women and Capital Business magazines in Dubai. She has appeared on television in Canada and Dubai, speaking on women in the boardroom.

Katie is a sought-after global speaker on women in business and leadership which has led to her to being the keynote at conferences in the USA, UK and India, with requests from China, Kenya and Nigeria under discussion.

Katie is a Director of the Foundation for International Collaboration (FIC), on the Board of Trustees of the charity Women of Afrika and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

top of page


Tracey Hoefnagels (South West Region)

Tracey emigrated from the UK to South Africa in 1984 after finishing school and studying at Tresham College in Kettering, Northamptonshire. She initially worked as a Conference and Events Coordinator and later as Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer of Achievement Awards where she became interested in the power of motivation and recognition. In 2002, she returned to the UK and after a settling-in period, joined Nationwide Building Society, where the passion for people really kicked in.

During her 16 year tenure at Nationwide, Tracey managed teams of some 30+ people in all areas of the business. Having a natural desire to understand the behaviour of individuals and the importance of mental health in the workplace, she naturally migrated to training and the wellbeing of people, in particular, the menopause. Tracey was instrumental in the campaign of highlighting the importance of talking about menopause and joined Nationwide’s Arthur Webb team to pursue the attainment and accreditation of a 'Menopause Friendly Workplace', working closely with RDPi in doing so.

Tracey is CPD qualified in Equality and Diversity, Unconscious Bias, Workplace Stress, Emotional Intelligence, Level 2 Mental Health in the Workplace (and currently studying for Level 3, with the aim of becoming a Mental Health First Aid Training Facilitator).
top of page


Kimihito Okubo (Japan)

Kimy is an international expert in strategy, communications and branding. He was educated in Japan (Waseda University), the USA and studied global management at IMD in Switzerland.

His current work revolves around promoting Japan on the world stage and placing it as a global force. This involves projects with the Government of Japan, large commercial organisations, regional government, Universities and schools. He runs events for large Japanese multi-national companies around branding and communications and has an international network to support local and international projects in some 30 countries, including Europe, North America and Asia. He has over 25 years experience in human and business communications worldwide.

Kimy Chairs the One Young World Japan committee which he established (in 2011) to help empower the country's young leaders for a better future. It partners with government, industry and the academic sectors in the form of multi-stakeholder cooperation for the shared visions and goals. OYW is the world's biggest and most-impactful youth leadership summit, bringing together over 2000 next-generation leaders from 190 countries every year. This makes it the world's most significant event after the Olympic Games.

Kimy is a Chevalier in the Confraternity of Saint George and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA). He is past Convener of RSA Japan which he helped to found and establish.

top of page


Claudio Chiste (South Africa)

Claudio is the co-founder of the Centre for Leadership and Coaching. The Centre was established to address a perceived lack of leadership in SA and to empower individuals to reach their full potential. Additionally, he currently serves as the Chairman of Coaches and Mentors of South Africa (Comensa), Western Cape, and is the Cape Chapter President of the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa.

Through his previous role as an international banker and Chairman of London’s award-winning maritime network forum, the SPNL, Claudio has built an international network.

Claudio’s passion for leadership and resilience has seen him focusing on strengthening not only effective leadership and mental toughness, but also organisational culture by building trust through Shared Ownership.

Claudio's interest in leadership started during his first career when he served as a Combat Officer in the South African Navy for a decade, after which he was a reservist for a further decade. He also a Freeman of the City of London

top of page


Our Clinical Partners

Our clinical partners are Professor Isaac Manyonda and Professor Vikram Talaulikar from the Menopause Clinic in London's Harley Street and Esher in Surrey.

We work with them to spread the word about the menopause and offer information and resources to help people navigate this natural phase of life. As part of this, they ensure that the courses and information we provide is the best. We also work with them to provide free talks for both women and GPs. They also write a regular column in Midlife Matters, our free e-magazine plus Q&A.

We also work with the London General Practice, led by Dr Paul Ettlinger, collaborating to promote general health and male wellbeing.

LGP was founded by Dr Ettlinger, one of London's most respected and well-established private doctors. It is based on Harley Street and specialises in providing a comprehensive range of healthcare, including a focus on male health. The Practice also offers corporate support and provides 24/7 services. They are also regular contributors to our Midlife Matters newsletter.

top of page


Graham Reynolds

Graham began his career in the police service where, as a detective and, later, senior operations manager, he became increasingly interested in effective communication in high risk and crisis situations.

His last 10 years of police service focused on his leading of complex change programmes at national level with multiple stakeholders, including Government departments, military, public, commercial and third sector organisations. On the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games, he held a lead role in the National Planning Team culminating in a Whitehall based operational role during the actual games.

Graham was awarded Chartered Manager in 2012 and became a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute for national leadership and business impact in the public sector. He is an experienced Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, specialising in leadership and performance and member of the Institute of Coaching at MacLean, Harvard Medical School which is dedicated to ensuring scientific integrity in the field of coaching.

Graham's lifetime philosophy has been that every stretch zone becomes a comfort zone with practice. He draws his own energy from seeking out time in the stretch zone - not to mention applying learning from his clients and colleagues to challenging his own boundaries and expectations. He is a keen sportsman - a lifetime endurance runner and competitive middle distance tri-athlete and an endurance coach.

Despite the high energy, Graham promotes the essential understanding that we all require creative (relaxation) time in order to function effectively. His hobby project at the moment is building his next home - undertaking much of the work himself from design to completion.

top of page


Hajra Khan

As a Global consultant, Hajra has experience in developing international business, organising conferences & events, diversity and inclusion. She has worked in communications, both in broadcast and written, and is an expert on multicultural issues, being from mixed heritage herself (Irish and South African).

Hajra's degree in English Literature inspired an interest in modern psychology and its practice. She is passionate about equality and diversity and how psychology affects people's views and practices from business relationships, through buying decisions, to social interactions.

Hajra's consultancy work has involved working in both the private and not-for-profit sectors, ranging from finance, to professional artists, to the fashion world. She has a particular interest in Islamic Global Economics and Finance and 'modest fashion'.

top of page


Dev Barot

Dev specialises in problem solving at a strategic level with a focus on IT, business development and visual media.

He has advised multinational clients across these sectors in a number of countries, with a strong focus on the UK and Europe, as well as India and the Middle East.

Dev's extensive training in engineering and computing have given him experience and knowledge across the IT sector, including business computing network development, the increasingly crucial area of IT security, technical infrastructure and team communication management.

With frequent travel to key developed and emerging markets, his experience in creating strong corporate foundations based on analysis and collation of informational content and data allows him to tailor solutions more directly to the needs of clients.

Through regular attendances at international business conferences, Dev has built up a solid network of high-level contacts, plus a list of significant clients for whom he has executed top projects across his areas of speciality. These connections have also allowed him to create links between key people across diverse skill sets in order to provide a holistic approach to problem-solving in the business sector.

Dev's ability to see through the complexities of a situation in order to create easily implemented and managed solutions have put him in high demand and make him a leading asset for the RDPI team.

top of page



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