Guila Clara Kessous

Guila Clara Kessous has been coaching executive committees, senior executives and managers for more than 15 years in the context of leading change, taking over a position and developing strategy. As a recipient of an Executive MBA from ESSEC Business School, she has coached more than 500 leaders in France and abroad in both private and public sectors on positive leadership issues. 

Her current research focuses on Key Behavioral Indicators (KBIs) and burn out in the workplace. Women’s role and their relationship to leadership is also an expertise that she develops and embodies as a Rising Talent of the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society. She has created her own methodology and offers dedicated coaching on the notion of “subtle skills that aim at fostering leadership from the heart” (“Heartificial intelligence“). She has published in the Harvard Business Review France and Forbes France. For her work in coaching organizations, she received the “International Thought Leader of Distinction” award 2021 by the prestigious MEECO Leadership Group. She has been nominated by Harvard Business Review France Woman of influence 2022. 

Guila Clara Kessous trained at the Performing Art Conservatoire in France as an actor and pursued an Executive MBA from ESSEC Business School to use the techniques of theatrical art to enhance the impact of communication. Following a PhD at Boston University under the direction of Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, she was invited to teach at Harvard University a class on Theatre and Human Rights. There she met Professor Tal Ben Shahar, a specialist in positive psychology, and Professor William Ury, a specialist in negotiation, who encouraged her to become a coach using role-playing techniques. She became a certified ICC coach with a specialization in negotiation and executive communication from Harvard University. She received the title of Associate of the Emotional Intelligence Academy while training in the techniques of Professor Paul Ekman. Guila Clara Kessous is also certified for assessments such as Leadership Effectiveness Analysis (MRG), Hogan (Authentic Talent) and Springboard (Leadership for Women). 

Guila Clara Kessous is also a UNESCO Artist for Peace and Ambassador for Peace, using art to help vulnerable populations (DU Art Therapy, Paris Descartes/Ste Anne). She animates, moderates and mediates the International Women’s Rights Day at UNESCO under the patronage of Nobel Prize winner Dr. Mukwege. She also directed the World Art Day at UNESCO in collaboration with the World Health Organization to officially recognize the therapeutical value of art. She was knighted by the French government and for her humanitarian work she received the Global Gift Women Empowerment Award from actress Eva Longoria in 2020.