ABOUT ME
I’m Fred.
My passion is helping people achieve their vision,
their goals, let go of the self imposed shackles that hold them back.
My passion is helping others make their life a masterpiece.
My passion is seeing all around me AT THE TOP!
Coaching has always been part of my life.
For 30+ years in the Private Equity industry, and lately in the Media and Advertising business, I have learnt that what matters in success is above all the value of the transformation organisations go through, not who did it.
I learnt that thoughtful influence trumps “lead from the front” decision making every time. I learnt that an effective leader who carries the team often leads from the back: building a vision and a consensus EVERYONE around knows is their OWN.
I am honoured and humbled that so many of you around me describe me as a tranquil force – a calm harbor – a safe mountain hut from which to summit or return in case of storm.
I am honoured and humbled that so many of you around me describe me as a tranquil force – a calm harbor – a safe mountain hut from which to summit or return in case of storm.
I am passionate about helping others and especially those who think coaching might not be for them because of the cost or lack of time : students, parents, entrepreneurs.
I am passionate about helping others and especially those who think coaching might not be for them because of the cost or lack of time : students, parents, entrepreneurs.
I sit and have sat (or chaired) on more than 20 Boards of Directors over the years and have learnt my own methods in transformation, from purposeful value creation to crisis management. I am also the entrepreneur’s coach having started and developed 3 of my own companies myself over the years. I know how it feels to be at the top, on your own.
I sit and have sat (or chaired) on more than 20 Boards of Directors over the years and have learnt my own methods in transformation, from purposeful value creation to crisis management. I am also the entrepreneur’s coach having started and developed 3 of my own companies myself over the years. I know how it feels to be at the top, on your own.
Whether you are a student, a parent, an entrepreneur, a leader, an executive, an organisation wanting to place coaching at the heart of your life or your teams, you will not find a more solid and enthusiastic ally to help you strive along the path YOU have chosen.
Fred has played an integral role in my professional and leadership development firstly at Chiat then when I took on the role of CEO at Mother in the US. He was instrumental in helping us think differently about our people, organisation and business model, all the while keeping the necessities of the day to day business central in appraising various strategy options. This focus seemed natural to him, undoubtedly a result of his background in private equity. At the same time, and equally importantly, Fred challenged me to think critically about our business and how to communicate our goals and business objectives to the team and get their input into solutions that would have their buy in. Fred is independently minded and will provide unbiased and frank advice, delivered simply and directly. He has an ability to adjust to his audience and can just as much discuss strategy and new ideas with a CEO and board or detailed operations with broader implementation teams.
Peter Ravailhe, CEO & Partner, Mother IndustriesFred is both engaging and direct. He does a very nice job of building a relationship with the client. He listens very well and often had the perfect question that moved the conversation forward in a way that I found helpful. He is interesting and fun to talk to, two traits that allow the client to be comfortable in opening up. I would recommend Fred without reservation to organizations and individuals alike. I saw first hand how he will bring to the table his human experience and coaching skills, with the utmost dedication, in service of the client’s objective.
Stewart Putnam, Retired Healthcare Executive and Former Chair, National Board, The Alzheimer's Association (US)Fred has an unusual combination of strong business judgment, skills and experience mixed with genuine concern for people that together make his coaching rather unique, whatever the situation. During our time together at Mother, Fred proved time and again his ability to effectively engage with a wide cross section of our team, folks from all sorts of background and age groups, and promote transformation for the sake of measurable results and always with good humor. No challenge, small or big, seems to daunt him and he truly is a force for calm in stormy weather. His support and encouragement for all involved has been instrumental in gaining acceptance and buy in even though Fred did not bring extensive sector experience to the job. With such a long and distinguished career in venture capital behind him it was immediately clear to all involved that this was not an issue rather an opportunity to challenge age old practices for the sake of transforming our business model for what is a major market shift in creative services.
Michael Rose, Chief of Staff, Mother IndustriesFred is professional and friendly. He has an easy style that worked well for me in quickly developing trust and building rapport. He is naturally observant and curious about what he hears and how it is being said. He helped consolidate my thinking and take it further than I had gone before to the point of making some concrete actions. He was also able to gently challenge my thinking, not to the point of being pushy, but exploring to see the limits I was setting for myself. I enjoyed our sessions and would definitely recommend Fred as a coach.
Naomi Clark-Turner, Johnson & JohnsonFred was a valued colleague and coach for me and my team at Mother. Coming from a smaller firm I was reassured by Fred’s passionate commitment to my personal growth in settling into a larger role than I had previously held and at a time of deep transformation for the company. He always felt like my champion inside and outside the company and helped me raise my game and learn to trust my instincts even in this challenging new environment. Fred brought warmth and a very human approach to what tend to be dry subjects of Finance and always found ways to lessen tensions at the same time challenging me and the team to grow in whole new areas. I felt supported and challenged to think differently at the same time. I would recommend Fred’s coaching to anyone based on my experience with him.
Edward Lu, Head of Finance, Mother IndustriesIn the three years I worked with Fred I always found that he made timely and wise decisions. He had a very good grasp of private equity and mid-market businesses in both the UK and France. I have no doubt that Fred knows what it takes to make a company successful and he will work incredibly hard during every phase of his involvement.
John Hudson, Finance Business Partner for SME entrepreneursBIO
Fred Chauffier is an ICF (International Coach Federation)-credentialed coach (Associate Certified Coach) as well as a CTI (Co-Active Training Institute) Certified Professional Co-Active Coach. He comes from an experienced Board Director as well as an entrepreneur and successful C-Level executive background.
He specialises in board advisory services and executive coaching and mentoring. He has established, grown and successfully exited a number of high-profile private equity organizations, including Duke Street and Axen Management.
An entrepreneur and investor with over 25 years of cross-industry experience, Fred has been retained to a number of boards to support executive teams by advising on expert business development strategies and by supporting senior leadership teams on an individual coaching and mentoring basis.
Fred is a shrewd investor and has a proven track record of delivering substantial returns for investors, as well as an ability to recognise and react to market conditions. His first business, Duke Street, has invested in excess of €2.5 billion in approximately 50 companies over 25 years, achieving returns of over 20% IRR throughout the cycle. He led the fund-raising efforts for Axen Management, raising over $50 million from both financial institutions and high net worth individuals and subsequently delivering double digit returns to investors.
More recently, Fred has moved into the business and executive coaching sphere, supporting major organisations in achieving contracts with blue-chip clients, advising on growth strategies and utilising his expert business insights into the development of robust business foundations.
Fred received his Master of Business Administration from Cornell University.
Passionate about enabling positive change and nurturing significant growth, Fred uses his successful career as a venture capitalist and board member to create lasting value both in business and in life. He is looking to utilize his diverse industry experience to coach executives, teams, and individuals on leveraging the full extent of their abilities and capacity for learning to lead a life that is intentional, successful, and growth-oriented.
BIO
Fred Chauffier is an ICF (International Coach Federation)-credentialed coach (Associate Certified Coach) as well as a CTI (Co-Active Training Institute) Certified Professional Co-Active Coach. He comes from an experienced Board Director as well as an entrepreneur and successful C-Level executive background.
He specialises in board advisory services and executive coaching and mentoring. He has established, grown and successfully exited a number of high-profile private equity organizations, including Duke Street and Axen Management.
An entrepreneur and investor with over 25 years of cross-industry experience, Fred has been retained to a number of boards to support executive teams by advising on expert business development strategies and by supporting senior leadership teams on an individual coaching and mentoring basis.
Fred is a shrewd investor and has a proven track record of delivering substantial returns for investors, as well as an ability to recognise and react to market conditions. His first business, Duke Street, has invested in excess of €2.5 billion in approximately 50 companies over 25 years, achieving returns of over 20% IRR throughout the cycle. He led the fund-raising efforts for Axen Management, raising over $50 million from both financial institutions and high net worth individuals and subsequently delivering double digit returns to investors.
More recently, Fred has moved into the business and executive coaching sphere, supporting major organisations in achieving contracts with blue-chip clients, advising on growth strategies and utilising his expert business insights into the development of robust business foundations.
Fred received his Master of Business Administration from Cornell University.
Passionate about enabling positive change and nurturing significant growth, Fred uses his successful career as a venture capitalist and board member to create lasting value both in business and in life. He is looking to utilize his diverse industry experience to coach executives, teams, and individuals on leveraging the full extent of their abilities and capacity for learning to lead a life that is intentional, successful, and growth-oriented.
INSPIRATION
Lionel Terray
(1921 – 1965)
A hero of our modern age
Lionel Terray (25 July 1921 – 19 September 1965) was a French climber who made many first ascents, including Makalu mountain in the Himalayas (with Jean Couzy in 1955) and Cerro Fitzroy in the Patagonian Andes (with Guido Magnone in 1952).
Lionel cut an exceptional figure in alpine mountaineering as he was self effacing, modest and generous to the point of sacrificing his life for others.
So many extraordinary examples of this make him a true hero of our modern age and an example to behold.
He was also understated.
A hero of our modern age
Lionel Terray (25 July 1921 – 19 September 1965) was a French climber who made many first ascents, including Makalu mountain in the Himalayas (with Jean Couzy in 1955) and Cerro Fitzroy in the Patagonian Andes (with Guido Magnone in 1952).
Lionel cut an exceptional figure in alpine mountaineering as he was self effacing, modest and generous to the point of sacrificing his life for others.
So many extraordinary examples of this make him a true hero of our modern age and an example to behold.
He was also understated.
“From down here it seems impossible. We’ll have to go see from closer”.
What better way to describe the coaching experience for both client and coach ?
These were Louis Lachenal’s, Terray’s friend, words as they were about to rescue two lost italian climbers in terrible weather on the North Face of Eiger (not the highest in the Alps but the tallest vertical face at 1600m (5250ft) and a widely recognised alpine climbing challenge).
An Extraordinary Human.
Terray was part of the famous first ascent of Annapurna by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal (his frequent climbing partner) in 1950. He did not summit the mountain himself, but helped get those two severely frostbitten men down alive. One story has it that, at 8000m, he swapped boots with Lachenal when his friend could not fit his frozen feet into his own pair; then wore Lachenal’s, two sizes smaller, for the descent.
Included amongst his famous first ascents are Makalu mountain (8,481m), 12 miles South East of Everest, Cerro/Monte Fitzroy in Patagonia and Jannu in Nepal, technically one of the hardest climbs in the world.
In 1957 Terray played a large part in the rescue of four climbers from the North Face of the Eiger. He died in 1965 while rock climbing in the Vercors.
“From down here it seems impossible. We’ll have to go see from closer”.
What better way to describe the coaching experience for both client and coach ?
These were Louis Lachenal’s, Terray’s friend, words as they were about to rescue two lost italian climbers in terrible weather on the North Face of Eiger (not the highest in the Alps but the tallest vertical face at 1600m (5250ft) and a widely recognised alpine climbing challenge).
An Extraordinary Human.
Terray was part of the famous first ascent of Annapurna by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal (his frequent climbing partner) in 1950. He did not summit the mountain himself, but helped get those two severely frostbitten men down alive. One story has it that, at 8000m, he swapped boots with Lachenal when his friend could not fit his frozen feet into his own pair; then wore Lachenal’s, two sizes smaller, for the descent.
Included amongst his famous first ascents are Makalu mountain (8,481m), 12 miles South East of Everest, Cerro/Monte Fitzroy in Patagonia and Jannu in Nepal, technically one of the hardest climbs in the world.
In 1957 Terray played a large part in the rescue of four climbers from the North Face of the Eiger. He died in 1965 while rock climbing in the Vercors.
“To give to a person the joy of climbing always seemed to me to be creating, making something tangible, and I feel the same pleasure that an artisan would have by doing what they love, or even an artist creating a masterpiece.”
Lionel Terray, - Conquistadors of the Useless (1961)Well, this to me is the essence of coaching.
You, the client, visualise the masterpiece you want to make of your life.
I, the coach, help you achieve the vision, in the most self effaced way
but with pride in your accomplishment.
About CTI
Founded in 1992 at a time when individual coaching was only heard of in sports, the Co-Active Training Institute (formerly known as the Coaches Training Institute) led a groundbreaking movement for individuals striving to become the best version of themselves. Their renowned Co-Active model basically gave birth to the coaching industry as we know it. Today, the CTI is the largest in-person coach training and leadership training organization worlwide. They have trained more than 62,000 coaches, consultants, managers and team leaders, coming from all professional backgrounds from entrepreneurs and CEOs to parents and community leaders.
Co-Active Coaching is a philosophy of coaching which purpose is to adress the feeling of disconnection and lack of meaning that often comes with extremely fast-paced lives only pushing to get the job done (doing). Thus, Co-Active Coaching aims at combining “doing” with “being” : a place of receptivity and inner consciousness from which all of our actions should arise. Co-Active Coaching is an approach of coaching that seek wholeness : when the “Co”, works together with the “Active”, when we’re being together in action. It helps the individual design his/her life by leveraging the courage to be the one he/she wants to be.
My coaching practice is deeply grounded in these principles. I am extremely proud and honored to be a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC).
About ICF
The International Coach Federation is the world’s largest organization of trained coaching professionals. It delivers globally recognized and independant credentials to professional coaches who have set the highest standards in their coaching practice and successfully completed a rigorous and demanding in-depth coaching education with a strictly monitored number of coaching hours with real clients. The training ends with a comprehensive application and evaluation process designed to test the coach’s proficient use of core coaching skills as per the high standards of the profession as well as a full compliency with the ICF Code of Ethics.
I am extremely proud to be an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential holder.