Who are we?
Diana Barden
CEO & Director of Learning Experience
Diana, our CEO and Director of Learning Experience, has decades of experience in learning, from Teaching English as a Foreign Language through to developing managers and leaders at all levels through facilitation and coaching. With us since the very start in 2004, she’s highly skilled in helping people gain confidence, no matter what their starting point along the coaching and training skills journey.
People really matter to Diana. She harnesses the Identity of Self to help our learners to recognise and reinforce the importance of their contributions.
When Diana isn’t working, she can be found paddling with her fellow Pink Champagne Breast Cancer Survivors in and around Christchurch Harbour on the south coast.
Paula Tasker
Director of Client Relationships
Paula is our Director of Client Relationships. She’s been with us since the beginning working with ML&C’s clients to develop and support strong-lasting client relationships.
Paula has a strong insurance, broking and finance background which moved into managing, training, and developing leadership teams. She is also an ILM qualified coach, and has experience coaching leadership teams.
She lived in Canada for a few years where she raised her family and worked in the community on the Board of Revelstoke Childcare Association and Relay for Life Cancer Charity.
In her own time, Paula can be found travelling and walking her dogs in and around the South Downs National Park.
Darren Newman
Senior ML&C Associate
Darren is a seasoned Programme and Project Manager with over 30 years of experience, specialising in Programme Management, Project Delivery, and Change Management. As a member of The Association for Project Management, Darren now focuses on sharing his expertise by training others in the application of project management techniques.
With a strong background in aerospace engineering, Darren has successfully led major programmes in highly regulated industries, including organisational design, transformation, and systems integration.
Outside of his professional life, Darren is a keen weightlifter and amateur strongman, bringing the same level of discipline and dedication to his personal interests as he does to his work.
Gordon Borer
ML&C Associate
Gordon has many years’ experience in coaching small and medium-sized business owners and supporting them to grow them sustainably and coherently. With us since 2018, and a background as a engineer and project manager, Gordon loves to help our learners organise their projects and project teams efficiently and effectively via coaching and performance management.
With a background in engineering, he’s an experienced facilitator, coach and consultant with over 15 year’s experience of delivering learning and development and business improvement in the private, public and third sectors.
In his spare time, Gordon is a 3rd Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo and loves instructing young people. He’s also a keen marathon runner, although he’s not so great at remembering a marathon is not 27.2 miles!
Lisa Reynolds
Lisa is our Business Manager and manages the business and the systems underpinning it. With 30 years of business experience including running two business of her own, her past work has included managing prestigious 4 star hotels, managing sales for a medical company, working in the oil industry, with expertise in customer service, department and system set-up, office setup up and admin, and handling everything from suppliers, couriers and warehouses to celebrities.