Florence Ainsworth

I’m passionate about accelerating people in their development and growth.

I believe that authentic self-awareness and expression are the starting points for connection, creativity, and collaboration, and that people, profit, and making a difference go solidly hand-in-hand.

I’m a certified international executive coach who specializes in supporting people to create healthy, "heart smart" and vital relationships and environments that go beyond the bottom-line. I believe that every individual on the planet has unique talents and is purposed to build a better and more sustainable future for us all, at work, in life, and community.

I aim to make a contribution to building leadership, strong teams, and communities through my work as a coach and facilitator.

With Caribbean roots, I was born and went to school in the UK, and I now live and work internationally from The Netherlands. My personal journey thus far has been a plethora of experiences that have helped me grow and learn. I have celebrated all of these experiences over the years. The biggest blessing and challenge of all was raising my daughter, Robyn, as a single parent.

My formative years were unconventional. Shortly after my birth, my mother suffered a debilitating illness, and as a result, entered the UK’s social care system. I transitioned through multiple homes and my name was changed from Jane to Florence. Whilst difficult at that time, these experiences have enabled me to lead with emotional intelligence, deep empathy, and a willingness to be vulnerable. I can now fiercely yet compassionately confront seemingly complicated or uncomfortable issues in a way that is disarming and yet propels clients into action.

My career has spanned four decades, starting on the industrial shop floor, and progressing to leadership positions in international organizations such as Nike, adidas, and Asics. In these roles, I lead the development of several diverse teams. I was accountable for ensuring productive growth and profitability, as well as evolving overall customer perception and establishing product strategies for athletic teams and world-class women and men in sport.

These experiences have allowed me to focus on what it takes to create strong leadership and build sustainable and healthy teams that are empowered by their uniqueness and wonderful differences in their collective strength, power, and edge.

I pay it forward by contributing to foundations serving vulnerable individuals such as The Homeless Running Charity and Care Leavers Rock, The Rainforest Alliance, and UNHCR.