Aesara Partners 

At Aesara Partners, our mission is simple: enable you to be the best version of yourself. We offer a range of focused services that unlock the potential of people, teams and cultures to maximise business performance. 

Collectively our Partners and Associates have decades of experience both in executive coaching and as board level leaders themselves working in multiple sectors across global markets.

Partner & Executive Coach

Doshisha University

Professor of Strategic Management, Global MBA Program

The CFO Coach K.K.

The CFO Coach K.K. is a boutique executive coaching firm specializing in developing High-Performance​ Financial Leaders and Teams.

Founder & Executive Coach

Kansai Gaidai University

•	Awarded President's Global Education Award (Teacher of the Year).

Professor of Leadership & Management

Benesse Holdings, Inc. (USD 4.5B; Tokyo Stock Exchange Code: 9783)

•	Member of the Board of Directors for Berlitz Corporation; Benesse Corporation; and Benesse Style Care.  Chairman of Audit Committee for Berlitz Corporation. Member of Benesse Holdings Pension Committee.
•	Global CFO covering all 40+ Benesse group companies
•	Championed and supported multiple cash generation initiatives including a CFO led "Save to Grow" initiative to improve Company Financial performance and to identify significant savings for business reinvestment
•	Enhanced Finance bench strength and hired a high potential team to start financial business consulting
•	Implemented several process and capability best practices to move group companies towards global standards

Global Chief Financial Officer & Corporate Senior Vice President

McCann Worldgroup Holdings

• Overall Responsibility for Operations (Finance, IT, Legal, and Administration - 10 legal entities) 
• Successfully turned around long term loss making lead agency by delivering double digit margin improvements within two years
• Delivered double digit margin improvements for all six MWG Group companies 
• Built a new Finance team and moved from Scorekeeping to Business Partnership and improved business performance
• Major projects within last two years include: 
  - Shared Service center creation/migration
  - New Financial System Migration
  - Acquisition & Divestiture
  - Business Turnaround
  - Retirement Plan consolidation/change
  - Office relocation/rent reductions

Group Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, and Member of The Board

Becton, Dickinson and Company

• Led Finance, Procurement, General Affairs, and Rebates teams (43 staff) to deliver multi-million dollar cash and profit performance improvement for first year and beyond. Exceeded all budget expectations.
• Engaged Japan Management Team and Global Finance Leadership Team on company objectives to deliver best outcome (Finance Transformation initiative, Sales effectiveness improvement, Key Account Management, Business Continuity plan, and strategy/selection of backup distribution center).  Led process for 2012-16 Business Plan development
• Developed and executed Finance department strategy and vision to move from scorekeeping to business partnership. Implemented job rotation program and hired several high potential employees to improve bench strength.
• Championed multiple Finance and Procurement initiatives including definition and implementation of new 401k Retirement Plan; divestiture of non-core business; change of primary banks (reduced bank fees by over 30%); vendor reduction process, and new travel expense management system 
• Taught New Manager Essentials program and selected as leadership trainer for PEPFAR program in South Africa to teach Leadership and Change Management to African Health Ministry officials

Finance and Administration Director

Avon Products Inc.

•	Implementation project leader for Avon Sales Leadership Framework (ASLF) – Highest priority project for the Company to adapt to a new Sales Model.  Completed project implementation in record timing.  Awarded regional award as part of ASLF Team. Only person in Asia recognized for both Top-line and Bottom-line contributions in the same year.
•	Defined and executed new vision and mission and led Sales Support department to complete over 40 initiatives (within a six-month period) as part of Team’s new journey towards field motivational excellence. Incorporated new processes to deliver high impact incentives, and to create Sales energy and momentum for sales turn-around.    
•	Achieved highest employee engagement scores with Sales Support Department significantly exceeding country results in over 95% of categories.  Previously had also led Finance department to highest employee engagement scores.
•	Global Project leader for a high potential, multi-functional, multi-national team to study and recommend actions to improve Global Sales Incentive management/spending process.
•	Oversaw execution of a variety of Company and Public/Media events ranging from Sales Conferences to Philanthropic events including Annual Awards to Women, and Pink Ribbon Campaign support.

Executive Director and Member of the Board

•	Responsible for Financial policy making/implementation and reporting for Avon Japan as a public company (including statutory/public, and Board Meetings). All year-end financial documents audited with no comments/exceptions.
•	Defined and executed new department Vision and Mission, and recruited, trained and developed a completely new Finance team (80% new hires within a six month period) to move from scorekeeping to business partnership. Finance team formed core of country high potential list.
•	Consistently over achieved profit performance commitment under adverse conditions of sales decline by aggressively managing strategic business needs with cost cutting; Delivered zero overhead growth during all years; Japan winner of regional awards for best cost management performance, and for boldest transformation strategy.
•	Provided leadership and support for critical decisions and strategy development as Japan Leadership Team Member.  Actively led change management process within company.
•	Consistently achieved best internal control results in Asia-Pacific/Avon over a period of eight audits.  Japan one of only two countries with highest audit rating. Outstanding performance generated support to remove Japan from list of High Coverage countries.
• Co-developed strategic/financial business case, and obtained approval for number of campaign reduction in 2006 making Avon Japan only country ever in Avon to undergo campaign reduction. 
• Independently analyzed and provided strategic direction for Plant study which challenged and reversed previous recommendation by outside consultants on plant closure.
• Provided leadership in several restructuring initiatives by providing an achievable plan to achieve 12% people related cost reduction.  Played lead role in this study representing Finance, Supply Chain and HR 
• Consistently achieved highest performance rating and nominations to several high potential programs
• Elected (and re-elected) to Board of Directors

Executive Director, CFO and Member of the Board of Directors

Delphi

• Prepared Asia-Pacific regional messages / presentations for Delphi Strategy Board, and for Delphi Board of Directors.
• Supported development and implementation of critical Asia-Pacific strategies.  Performed competitive intelligence and other special studies to identify risks / competitive threats and outlined regional / corporate response.
• Provided Miller Heiman strategic selling process training to Asia-Pacific personnel to improve value propositions and increase sales effectiveness.

Director Asia-Pacific Planning

• Management responsibilities for Finance, HR, General Affairs, and Six-Sigma.
• Active member of the Japan Strategy Board and Japan management team.  
• Six-Sigma Deployment Champion for Delphi Japan.

Delphi Japan – CFO & Administration Director

Country Responsibilities:
• Managed all finance functions including accounting, budgeting / forecasting and treasury.
• Lead development of cross-functional and cross-divisional Internal Control Review Board.
• Lead and supported strategic initiatives including venture development support, site enhancement, competitive analysis, transfer pricing, and cost reduction studies.
• Represented Japan in Asia-Pacific Financial Task Team.

Regional Responsibilities:
• Coached country CFO and staff to implement common financial reporting processes.
• Supervised and provided training for engineering / commercial / plant / site analysts.  Coordinated regional financial training programs for the sector in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Coordinated the regional budget, business plan, and capital management process.
• Supported development of common financial practices among ventures including:  Loan monitoring, F/X and cash management, compliance with accounting principles, report submission, etc. Provided regional oversight of venture risk exposure.

Asia-Pacific Senior Finance Mgr.

Executive Coach | MBA Professor | Ex-Global CFO

I help senior leaders master complexity, elevate strategic impact, and lead with authentic authority.

I bring over 25 years of C-level and boardroom experience as a former Global CFO for a $5B publicly traded company, combined with a deep commitment to human-centered leadership development.

Today, I coach global executives, CEOs, and leadership teams — specializing in executive transitions, strategic leadership, high-performance teams, and Asian leadership development.

I am also an MBA Professor of Leadership and Strategic Management, blending research-driven frameworks with boardroom-tested insights to develop transformational leaders.

Based in Kyoto, fluent in English, Urdu, and Japanese.

Connect with me: arif@thecfocoach.jp

Website: www.thecfocoach.jp (please sign up on my mailing list to receive future announcements and newsletters)

Arif Iqball

Fast Mental & Emotional Transformation for Senior Leaders → Stop Stress Loops, Lead With Calm Confident Authority | RTT® + NLP | 400+ Client Transformations

You can be successful and still feel tense, triggered, or disconnected from yourself.

I help senior leaders and high-performing executives return to a state of calm, clarity, and embodied confidence, without losing drive, edge, or ambition.

Within weeks, my clients report:
	•	A noticeable sense of lightness
	•	More energy and mental space
	•	Calm, grounded confidence in the body
	•	The ability to respond instead of react under pressure

After 15+ years as a GM and VP leading high-growth, multimillion-dollar portfolios and global teams, I understand the real cost of performance culture:
Constant decisions. Continuous pressure. No off switch.

Eventually, excitement erodes.
And “success” starts to feel heavy.

Most leaders call this stress.
In reality, it’s often unprocessed emotional load.

That’s where my work begins.

I combine executive leadership experience with fast, subconscious transformation using RTT® and NLP to clear emotional blocks at the root — not talk about them endlessly or manage symptoms.

This isn’t mindset coaching.
And it isn’t traditional therapy.

It’s emotional processing and mind-body recalibration that creates:
	•	Calm authority under pressure
	•	Confidence that feels natural, not performed
	•	Emotional self-trust
	•	A steady sense of ease — even in high-stakes environments

Clients often say:
“Years of therapy couldn’t touch what shifted in just a few sessions.”
“I didn’t become someone new — I came back to myself.”

If you’re done pushing through stress
and ready to lead with clarity, ease, and real confidence…

💬 Book a Strategic Clarity Call
→ https://calendly.com/ylm/20min_zoom

Helen Pleic

Overthinking isn’t logic. 

It’s intelligence seeking safety.

If overthinking delivered the best strategy,
the most capable people would move the fastest.

They don’t.

Because when it matters, it keeps leaders:
• smaller
• slower
• quieter
than they need to be.

That’s why it’s a leadership issue.

When you overthink:
• your posture collapses
• your breath shortens
• your voice softens externally while the noise gets louder internally
• decisions get delayed under the banner of “perfection”
• your presence shrinks

Leadership isn’t about being loud or performative.
It’s anchored in clear thinking.

Big on purpose,
so that others rise with you.

A reset when your mind spirals:

1. Record the worst-case story your mind is running.
Listen, do not to judge. Notice the tone and the words.

2. Record the best-case story with the same level of detail.
Not fantasy. Just one clear possibility for the goal. Listen to it 3 times.

3. Take one small action that aligns with the best case.

Because you don’t need more thinking.
You need a new identity that asks this one question:

How would my breath, posture, and voice change
if this actually worked out better than expected?

That’s leadership returning to the body, 
creating space for the next level.

I’ve helped 400+ leaders and high performers break out of overthinking loops that looked like:
• anxiety
• poor sleep
• emotional overload
• self-sabotage

Not by thinking harder
but by restoring internal authority.

💬 What’s one best case you’re willing to act like today?

📌 Save this for the next time you slip into overthinking.
➕ Follow Helen Pleic for fast leadership and emotional transformation.

(credit: Instagram @itsbobbypopp)

The most costly leadership risk only shows up in hindsight.

It’s not the risk you expect from others.

External betrayal is obvious sooner than later.
Self-betrayal is harder to spot — and more expensive.

It feels like momentum.

New project.
High pace.
High visibility.
A long-term goal you believe in.

And slowly, you start overriding yourself.

Not because others are intentionally betraying you.
But because capacity, fear, politics, and noise don’t always align.

Under pressure, high performers exchange their standards for speed to deliver.

It shows up as:
- saying yes too fast
- accepting good intentions with inconsistent behaviour
- stepping in before it’s required
- over-explaining to secure safety or buy-in
- carrying responsibility that isn’t yours
- staying available so you’re never seen as “the problem”

And the cost isn’t immediate.

It’s slow decline.

First self-trust.
Then clarity.
Then identity.
Then decision quality.

That’s why the quote hits differently with experience:

“Anyone who betrays you once will betray you a thousand times.”

But here’s the part most leaders miss:

When you stop betraying yourself,
you see external betrayal immediately.

The answer under pressure isn’t more effort.

It’s distance.

Distance to:
- regain perspective
- return ownership
- protect your standards

Distance isn’t cold.
It’s strategic detachment.

That’s leadership.

💬 What’s one way you create distance when pressure rises?
♻️ Repost if this reframes how you see loyalty, standards or leadership.
➕ Follow Helen Pleic for resilient leadership + emotional mastery.

Speed is common under pressure.

Calm leadership is rare.

Because when pressure rises,
what matters isn’t where you’re going,
it’s whether people can move together right now.

Leadership is measured in state, not intent.

These are the fundamentals that keep leaders steady
when the environment isn’t.

1. Perspective → in the face of negativity
They adjust the frame to build capacity and shrink fear.

2. Priorities → when distractions multiply
They protect focus and eliminate noise.

3. Presence → under pressure
Their state sets the tone and the pace.
Calm leads. Chaos leaks.

4. Patience → in chaotic environments
They slow the moment so the team can speed up the outcome.

5. Privacy → amid noise and drama
They hold boundaries, energy, and integrity.

6. Peace → through operational stress
Not passive, powerful.
Peace creates clarity. Clarity creates results.

These aren’t purpose.
These aren’t soft skills.
They’re strategic stabilisers.

When a leader anchors in the 6 P’s:
✓ Teams stabilise
✓ Communication cleans up
✓ Decision-making sharpens
✓ Influence rises without force

Anyone can lead briefly in urgency.
The most respected leaders rise because of how they carry themselves when things get chaotic.

Master this, and momentum follows.

💬 Which “P” gets tested first under pressure?
♻️ Repost this for leaders navigating pressure.
➕ Follow Helen Pleic for leadership, emotional mastery, and high performance.

Anyone can lead when conditions are right.

Leadership is revealed when they aren’t.


It’s your ability to stay in a good internal state while the 
unplanned, unexpected and unpreferred is 
happening around you.


Executive presence isn’t how you speak.
It’s how much chaos you can hold without leaking it.


Because people don’t just respond to what you say.
They respond to what you bring.


When your state is steady:
• decisions are cleaner
• conversations stay productive
• feedback lands without defensiveness
• your energy and focus don’t get pulled by noise
• you become the calm reference point in the room


This isn’t pretending life is easy.
It’s choosing neutral over reactive.
Perspective over spiralling.
Emotional maturity without becoming closed.

And the best part?

This is trainable.

Not by “managing stress” with more effort
but by building the inner skill to return to calm faster.

That’s the difference between leaders who burn out,
and leaders who keep expanding.


💬 What helps you return to a good state fastest: movement, silence, or a clear plan?
♻️ Repost if this clarifies what executive presence actually is under pressure.
➕ Follow Helen Pleic for leadership + emotional mastery.

Expectations can elevate you — or trap you.

Because in the wrong conditions “expect a lot from yourself” quietly turns into emotional debt.

Expectations can be positive when they represent standards.
But when they don’t, they can become a loop.

And high performers confuse the two:

Standards hold. Expectations loop.

In the wrong state “expect a lot from yourself” becomes pressure…
and “expect little from others” becomes tolerance, then resentment.

1) Expect less from people ≠ tolerate less unkindness

It means: stop assuming.
Stop assigning unspoken responsibilities.
Start clarifying.

Because most disappointment is just unclear, unspoken needs.

Anchor:
• Name the standard (behaviour, pace, quality)
• Name the boundary (what you will / won’t carry)
• Name the consequence (what changes if it repeats)

2) Expect more from yourself only works when it means standards, not strain

Standards are chosen. Values-based. Clean.
Strain is fear dressed up as excellence.

When expectation is running you, you start scanning:
• you see the shortfall, not the gain
• you rush timing and call it “drive”
• you treat normal human pace as failure
• you punish yourself for having needs

That isn’t high performance.
That drives emotional debt.

Leaders know the difference.
They pause and anchor:
• “What am I optimizing for?” (truth, speed, quality, trust)
• “What’s true right now?”
• “What’s the next clean move?”

I’ve helped 400+ high performers with massive expectations.
Externally: exceptional.
Internally: unfulfilled, not happy.

Because the real problem is emotions, not achievement.
Driven by expectations that hide suppressed emotion and added self-pressure.

 When that lifts, what changes fast is:
• decisions are clearer and simpler
• you feel lighter, more energised, more optimistic
• self-talk is real and directionally positive
• there is satisfaction in taking action
This all builds momentum.

Image Credit & Inspiration: LuRae Lumpkin 🏝️ check out her awesome post on the mechanics behind expectations and freeing others.

💬 Where do you need to swap your expectation for standards?
💾 Save this for the moment you start scanning for shortfalls.
➕ Follow Helen Pleic for leadership + emotional mastery.

Most leaders don’t lose authority by being too harsh.

They lose it by being too reliable under pressure.


Reliability is kind.
It’s also expensive.


The cost of the “reliable leader” is consensus:
You keep the peace.
You keep it moving.


Over time, that can lower team performance, not raise it.


Because what you don’t raise doesn’t disappear.
It becomes frustration.
Friction.
Quiet resentment.


Kind isn’t nice.
Nice is soft.


Kindness is saying the hard thing early 
so standards stay clear, 
people stay safe and 
performance continues.


Under pressure, most people let small slips slide.
Because delivery becomes the priority.


Leaders address them early —
because what you tolerate becomes the standard,
and standards determine delivery.


You can be a kind leader & still:
	•	be direct
	•	raise the standard
	•	make the tough call
	•	protect your capacity
	•	repair fast after tension
	•	cut noise, protect focus
	•	end unproductive conversations
	•	hold people accountable to pace
	•	update decisions with new data
	•	give honest feedback, respectfully


Reliability can minimise the truth → costs performance.
Clarity keeps standards alive → performance thrives.


💬 Which one is over looked under pressure you wish was addressed more?
➕ Follow Helen Pleic for emotional mastery + self-leadership under pressure.

taplio

The Battle

Arif Iqball

Helen Pleic

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreHelen Pleic's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Arif Iqball

Helen Pleic

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Helen Pleic's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreHelen Pleic's LinkedIn Performance