2012 Conference Presenters

>Download a PDF of the 2012 Conference Agenda

George Kinder - Founder & President, Kinder Institute of Life Planning | Conference Chair

George Kinder developed his Life Planning ideas and methods over 30 years as a financial planner and tax advisor.  For the last ten years, Kinder has devoted himself full time to speaking and teaching advisors his EVOKE® method of Life Planning.  His two books, The Seven Stages of Money Maturity and Lighting the Torch, The Kinder Method of Life Planning, are considered by many to be the seminal works in the  field.   

Jane Brendgen, Coach, trainer and mindfulness teacher

Jane is committed to supporting people to realize more of their innate potential.

She has been involved with organisational and personal development for the past 10 years and in her role as coach and trainer / facilitator  has delivered workshops, team and 1-1 coaching primarily to organisations such as The Discovery Channel, News International, Channel 4, Channel 5, The Walt Disney Company, GroupM, and MediaCom.   She has also worked with clients such as MSN Microsoft, AOL and the NHS.

Jane says "Mindfulness is integral to my life and work and I am passionate about bringing the benefits of it to individuals and into the workplace." She teaches mindfulness-based programmes (MBSR) and has developed a number of workshops all of which emphasize the application of mindfulness as an agent for change. Mindfulness plays a central role in her coaching approach. Enhanced by her practice of presence, “bringing my whole self to the engagement with the client and being fully in the moment with and for the client”, she finds that the coaching relationship becomes a powerful catalyst for change.

She is in her last year of an  MA in Mindfulness-based approaches at the University of Wales, psychology department. Her thesis topic is focused on establishing a methodology modelled on the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programme to fulfil the business need for mindfulness training in the workplace".

Jane has a committed mindfulness practice and is deeply appreciative of the benefits of this in her everyday life.

Jane is currently on the Kinder Mentorship programme and her intention is to working collaboratively with members of the financial fraternity to expand the reach of EVOKE®.  

Philip Calvert - Founder of IFA Life and Social Media in Financial Services Consultant

Philip Calvert is the founder of IFA Life – the award-winning social networking site for financial planners and IFAs.  Whilst there seem to be experts on Social Media everywhere these days, only a tiny handful of them actually run a successful social networking site.  Philip is much in demand as a speaker, writer, commentator and trainer on the Internet and social media in the financial services sector and is the author of two books on marketing.  He has also appeared on BBC radio and breakfast television.

Philip is a firm believer that the financial planning profession needs to change to make it more relevant and attractive to today’s Internet-savvy consumers.  “Whilst consumers have changed, most financial advisers haven’t – giving Life Planners one of the most exciting opportunities in years.  When combined with an irresistible online proposition, Life Planners will have a proposition that is head and shoulders above those of traditional IFAs.”

Nicolas Chagrin - Director, Time 2 Act – International Impact and Presence Coaching

Nicolas Chagrin has more than 15 years’ experience facilitating, coaching, designing, and leading workshops for the corporate, public, and not-for-profit sectors. He has delivered programs in presence and communication skills, presentation skills and interview skills in such diverse companies as American Express, Booz & Co, Coca Cola, Daimler, Royal Bank of Scotland, Boston Public Schools, the Universities of Bristol and Bath, bg PLC, EQUATE, Procter & Gamble, Ericsson, Bristol Myers Squibbs, Mars, McDonalds and Rank Xerox. He also works alongside Harvard Business School, Duke Corporate Education and IMD.

Having started work in film and TV as an actor/dancer at the age of 11, Nicolas’s 40-year career includes film, TV, and Theatre. As a young dancer, he joined England’s first Jazz Ballet Company which was the hit of that year’s Edinburgh Festival before appearing in London’s West End for a season. As an actor, he has guest-starred in numerous TV shows for the BBC and independent TV companies like NBC, where his credits include Murder on the Orient Express. His international film work includes Zefirelli’s Young Toscanini with Elizabeth Taylor and C. Thomas Howell and Wings of Fame with Peter O’Toole and Colin Firth. He has had several spells in London’s West End theatres and appeared most recently at England’s Royal National Theatre. He is currently appearing in the film WILL with Bob Hoskins and Damien Lewis. Watch out for the new series of Upstairs Downstairs where he appears as Neville Chamberlain.

Nicolas loves the balancing act of combining arts and business together, with each contributing to the other. He and his wife make their home in England’s beautiful County of Dorset.

David Ferguson - CEO, Nucleus Financial Group

Born & bred in Edinburgh, David started his career as a trainee actuary with Life Association of Scotland before stints with Ivory & Sime, Scottish Life International and strategic consultancy The Abacus.

Having concluded that the industry wasn’t fit for purpose David embarked on a journey in 1998 which culminated in the 2006 formation of Nucleus, the UK’s first and only adviser-controlled wrap platform. Over the last five years and with transparency as its core, Nucleus has emerged as a significant market participant and consistently achieves over 15% of wrap net inflows and is ideally placed at a time when honesty and accountability have never mattered more.

David lives with his sparkling wife Monique in Edinburgh, and enjoys dining in, dining out, live music and following the city’s mighty Heart of Midlothian FC.

Symon Jagersma, CEO Care Why Personal Finance

How financial personality drives financial decision making has been of interest for Symon the past 20 years. With a broad international network in Financial Life Planning Jagersma develops tools and training for financial advisors to deliver successful client-centered advice. Innovative fee based business models are being supported through consultancy. See for more info at www.carewhy.nl

David Jones - Regional Director, Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. 

David Jones is the UK Regional Director for Dimensional Fund Advisers.  His primary role is to educate advisers on modern portfolio theory, Dimensional's investment philosophy, and adviser best practices. Prior to joining Dimensional in 2009, David was the Managing Director of his own wealth management firm and has over twenty years’ experience in financial services.

Paul Palmer - Professor of Voluntary Sector Management | Faculty of Management

Paul is the Associated Dean at the Cass business School for ethics,sustainability and engagement. Previously Paul has been a member of the charity Commission SORP committee and a former chair of the Royal Society of Health. He has practical experience in the charitable field as well as academic interest, having been the Finance Director for a major UK drug rehabilitation charity. Paul is the author of several books including Good Financial Management Guide for Charities and the SRO Guide for Charities and Pension Funds.

Graeme Price - Director, UBS Wealth Management

Graeme is Head of the Strategic Partnerships Team at UBS. He has over 24 years experience within the financial services sector, starting his career at the accountancy firm Kidsons, and has worked in a variety of roles across the sector including direct sales for Legal & General, as an IFA, and for a life company. Graeme joined UBS in 2007, with responsibility for the identification of strategic partners, consulting with them to complement and enhance their existing business models and value propositions.

David Scarlett - Managing Director, The Adviser Gym | Author of The Soul Millionaire

David is an international conference speaker, best-selling author, and founder of The Advisor Gym™, a leading business and marketing consultancy for IFAs.  His client-centered yet business-focused approach combines his experience from 20 years as a financial adviser and fee-based financial planner with his 25 years as a Christian minister and counselor.   He has spoken on such topics as “The IFA Business Emergency” and “Why Change Is Not Optional” to diverse audiences of financial professionals including meetings of the Institute of Financial Planning, Personal Finance Society, Chartered Insurance Institute, Association of Financial Advisers, Academy of Chief Executives, and many others.  David is the author of The Soul Millionaire and most recently The IFA Marketing Manifesto.

Louis Vollebregt - Director, Means in Progress B.V. | Life Planning trainer NL

Louis spent over 20 years at Equity & Law/AXA in a variety of positions with a focus in Sales Management and Organizational Development.  Since leaving the corporate world seven years ago, he has been a successful executive coach and trainer dedicated to improving both business and personal effectiveness and a capable mediator during complex business negotiations.  Louis is a certified trainer for the Kinder Institute and also a personal Life Planner for successful business owners.  His intelligence, care, and deep knowledge of people is apparent in everything he does.

Tina Weeks, Serenity Financial Planning

Tina Weeks is the indefatigable founder of Serenity Financial Planning, a London-based financial life planning firm.  She founded Serenity in 2004 out of a desire to create a new, contemporary and vibrant financial planning brand that would provide the best in financial advice and coaching.  Tina completed her Registered Life Planning training with the Kinder Institute and served as the Institute’s UK representative for 2010.     She is so excited about the potential of Financial Life Planning that she and Philip Calvert developed the  “An Introduction to Life Planning” workshop which they delivered to scores of interested IFAs in 2010.  Tina is well known amongst her peers as an energetic, intelligent, infectiously engaging professional who is a master of the new world of digital social media.

Bruce Wilson - Vice President at Institute of Financial Planning
Founding Director Helm Godfrey Partners Ltd

Bruce is founder Managing Director of Helm Godfrey Partners Limited. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Financial Planning and a Chartered Accountant. His interest is in making a difference in his clients’ lives by putting their lives at the heart of the Financial Planning process rather than their money.

Mary Zimmerman - Owner, PATH Financial Strategies | Life Planning trainer

Mary Zimmerman is the owner of PATH Financial Strategies, LLC, in Chandler, Arizona.  PATH is an acronym for “planning at the heart.”  Mary is a Certified Financial Planner® professional and Registered Life Planner®.  She is one of the founding members of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning and is the first certified faculty member of the institute in the United States.  Mary is an active member of the Greater Phoenix Financial Planning Association, and is trained in The Art of Hosting Conversations about Money.  She is certified in Levels I and II of Spiral Dynamics.  She is a member of the National Association of Tax Professionals, the Arizona Society of Practicing Accountants, American Mensa  and the Nazrudin Project, a global think-tank of CFP® certificants and other professionals dedicated to the human and spiritual aspects of money