Meet Avalyn

 
 

I’m a former Corporate Warrior turned Executive and Embodied Leadership Coach.

Born in New Zealand to Straits Chinese parents, I spent most of my life in Singapore – 40 years! – with a few years spent in Malaysia and Canada, before moving back to Auckland in 2020.

“Through my youth and adulthood, this paradox of “fitting in” and “standing out” pulled me in random, meandering directions.”

I’ve been a chameleon all my life, never feeling like I truly belonged anywhere, whether in terms of country, culture, or profession. Always blending into the background, I shape-shifted to fit the environment, friend groups, communities, and organisations. But at the same time, I was always a little kooky (also like a chameleon). My thoughts and ideas would spring new shoots haphazardly, making me quite the clown in brainstorming and games. Through my youth and adulthood, this paradox of “fitting in” and “standing out” pulled me in random, meandering directions.

My career took a similarly random path. Aside from a short stint in stage work and television acting in the early 90s, I started my career as a lawyer back in 2000 in one of the top Singapore law firms, but it just wasn’t for me. After a few years in law, I moved between industries and jobs, going with the flow through word-of-mouth referrals.

Over the next 15 years, I would work at a technology practice in a public relations agency, a branding firm, headed account management in financial services looking after private banks, did brand and product development in a start-up skincare brand, project management for an applied genetics firm for the timber industry, learning & development in a primary industries company, and consulted for luxury goods businesses (see my Bio here).

In 2015, I finally nailed it: I became a coach and the dots finally connected. It was just after my EMBA at INSEAD and Tsinghua School of Economics and Management. Through this program, I discovered that coaching combined my love for personal development, mindfulness, and my corporate life. The two things that have stayed with me from that experience are words from my coach, Kate, “to become the most sophisticated version of myself”, and my coach mentor, Brigitte, to list down all my skills and experiences because we so often forget the depths and breadths of what we know.

That was a turning point for me and becoming a coach was the first mindful choice in my career. It’s been extraordinary how things fell into place when I made the decision to coach, and went from “go with the flow” to “being in flow”.

 
 
 

My mission is to raise consciousness and elevate ourselves energetically, so that we can truly be at our best.

Since my coaching career began, I have been privileged to work with hundreds of executives in various industries, including professional services, consulting, FMCG and manufacturing, from over 25 countries around the world.

“Clients come to me when there is a desire to integrate more of themselves into their daily existence. To become more fully themselves. ...

But the paradox of who we are and who think we should be is often is the biggest stumbling block.”

My clients include start-up founders, management consultants, as well as C-suite executives of Fortune 500 companies. Curious, open-hearted leaders looking to make bold, creative, fulfilling, and sometimes radical, life changes.

They come to me when they find themselves stuck in a rut, whether in their personal or professional lives, when they crave more fulfilment, flexibility and freedom, but don’t know where to start. In most cases, there is a desire to integrate more of themselves into their daily existence. To become more fully themselves.

But the paradox of who we are and who think we should be is often is the biggest stumbling block. This was mine as well. In the early part of my coaching work, most of my focus was on the mind, logic, thought, and how to help clients be more productive, because so much emphasis had been placed on these and the intellect. It was only after many years that I realised it isn't the only thing to focus on, if we are to be truly effective leaders.

We are so distanced from ourselves physically, our bodies are merely vehicles for us to move from point to point for a lot of the time for a lot of us and we disconnect our emotions from our bodies and our minds.

Prepping for a pre- and post-meditation brain scan at an Advanced Workshop with Dr. Joe Dispenza, in Tampa, FL.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), due to various challenges that we were faced with since 1998, my husband and I dived into a whole gamut of profound tools, meditation with various masters and teachers, and healing modalities, including Reiki, Pranic Healing, Magnified Healing, Lindwall Releasing, and meditation practices under Sadhguru and Dr. Joe Dispenza, which gave me an appreciation of holistic work and techniques to integrate the mind, body, and emotions.

With Dr. Joe Dispenza in 2017.

When I first started coaching, I wanted to bring these techniques into my practice but was afraid I wouldn’t be taken seriously, but over the years, I have increasingly added somatic and energy work into my coaching practice.

Slowly but surely, I was getting more confident that there is a place in corporate executive coaching for intuitive and healing energy work.

Working with these extraordinary, high performing individuals and teams, the thing that makes it all worthwhile is the “a-ha” moment when and the light comes back into people’s eyes.

As I become more attuned to what makes the most impact for people and organisations in this VUCA and fast-paced world, where AI and machine learning are right at our doorstep to change the way we live and work, I am compelled to turn coaching into a conversation that’s not just about effectiveness, but about becoming more human, more humane, and fully connected, so that we can tap into our intelligence in multiple ways.

I work with clients on a new way of being, where we move away from survival, scarcity, loss; and toward a greater sense of wholeness and abundance.

Where we behave and show up in a way that recognises our uniqueness, our gifts, and our contribution to the world.

 

Qualifications

  • LL.B. (Hons), National University of Singapore

  • Executive MBA, INSEAD, Singapore, Fontainebleau, Abu Dhabi

  • Executive MBA, Tsinghua School of Economics & Management, Beijing

  • Holistic Life, Career & Executive Coach, Goal Imagery Coaching Academy

  • NeuroChangeSolutions Consultant (Licence inactive), Encephalon TTT | Dr. Joe Dispenza, Denver CO

  • The Dynamic Trio: EMDR, Positive Psychology & Somatic Coaching, Mindfulness Coaching School

  • The Thinking Environment Foundation Course, The Thinking Field, Australia

  • The Art of Developmental Coaching, Coaches Rising

  • Conscious Business Coaching, BetterUp | Fred Kofman PhD

  • Coaching with the Enneagram, The Ennegram in Business | Ginger Lapid-Bodga, PhD

  • BUILD Framework Certified Coach, In Balance with Life | John Peitzman

  • Vertical Development Practices for Leader and Coaches, Vertical Development Institute | Alis Anagnostakis, PhD

 

Memberships

  • Professional Certified Coach, International Coaching Federation

  • Associate Member, Enneagram in Business Network

 

Clients

 
 
 

What clients are saying…

 
 

Click on the “+” below to read more client testimonials…

  • The words to truly describe Avalyn's impact in my life are difficult to find because she is definitely “one” of a kind. I have realized what I need to better work with my team and how to handle very difficult situations at work. Most importantly, I really appreciate Avalyn's coaching posture: always impactful but never intrusive.

    Elvie Lahournere, Principal Consultant

    Saudi Arabia/Dubai

  • "I have gained new awareness of how my limiting beliefs are potentially holding me back.

    I have become less afraid of speaking up, asking, challenging, sharing my point of view, where it serves the larger outcome."

    Cintia Tavella, Strategic Partnerships

    Seattle, USA

  • The most lovely thing about Avalyn is that she teaches you how to fish. She changed my mindset from the core (and not superficially) on how to be a leader and interact with diverse teams, this was very important for my career and personal life at that point in time.

    She gives such beautiful ways of looking at things and how to solve complex problems that help in managing stress effectively. I highly recommend Avalyn as a personal coach.

    Behram Irani, Consultant, BCG, Jakarta

  • Avalyn’s coaching approach was very effective in helping me to discover the underlying drivers of behaviours and my blind spots in leadership. Her direct and genuine style made it very easy to engage each time while making concrete progress along the way. I would highly recommend Avalyn to anyone looking for a result driven and purposeful coach!

    Kate Yeo, VP - Sales, Singapore

  • Avalyn was able to share new and holistic insights that helped me develop my perspective to focus beyond my core competency of achieving results/quantitative performance. Her well rounded perspective also enabled me to prioritize personal development as a way to support delivering high performance and better leadership to my organization.

    Osman Belal, Group Director, Finance, Paris

  • “It was great working with Avalyn on a series of webinars for personal/professional development for the people managers at Grab. Avalyn is highly resourceful and insightful, and brings to the table her intelligence and wealth of experience. I’ve seen her demonstrate a strong ability to adapt quickly to dynamic environments, translate concepts into highly applicable and actionable steps, and lead the way for her team from content to delivery. She also showcased tenacity in iterating and improving every step of the way. This helped us co-create and deliver an impactful and effective learning experience for our people managers.”

    Cheryl Sim, Learning & Development, Singapore

  • "Avalyn was the first person I went to when considering a radical career change. She helped open up new avenues and possibilities. I was buzzing with optimism, ideas and direction, and quickly shifted into an exciting new direction. I feel so much more in flow, aligned with my values, and with a renewed sense of purpose!"

    Georgina Halabi, Coach

    United Kingdom

  • "Avalyn is an outstanding listener and asks questions that invoke a deeper level of discovery and exploration. She helped me find the real issues, not just what lies on the surface."

    Jon Lokhorst, CPA, Coach

    USA

  • "She does not only bring leadership knowledge but also practical experience and business acumen in her coaching practice.

    Avalyn is definitely on top of her game."

    Javier Cunat, COO/CFO

    Los Cabos, Mexico

  • Avalyn doesn't give you answers but questions to drive personal ( and sometimes hard ) honesty and clarity around who we are, who the world sees us as and who we pretend to be. Most valuable for me was surfacing those internal conflicts that exist in every human being and being able to see them for their true value / lessons or obstacles to remove. Everybody who wants to lead or excel should go through such a review process and I believe Avalyn can be a great asset in that respect.

    Christina Andrews, UAE

  • Avalyn brings a very interesting insight from different points of view, bringing together her very varied experience and also her portfolio career skills, having worked in senior leadership positions across multiple countries and industries. She’s an excellent coach and would love to work with her anytime!

    Joanna Reijgersberg-Siew, Senior Director, Singapore

  • Spending time with Avalyn gave me more clarity of thought and understanding my own motivations for making certain choices in my own career transition. I felt like she knew how to give me direction without being overly assertive. She knew how to listen and help me reflect onmy own thoughts.

    Tonya Shaw, Business Coach, Singapore

  • "As a first-time founder and managing a team that also had little to no experience working in high-growth start-ups, I deeply appreciated Avalyn's advice and coaching."

    Yilin Choo, Founder & CEO

    Singapore & Vietnam

  • "I was at a dead end in my career, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. I was feeling frustrated and disappointed, lost and afraid to embark on an unexpectedly new and yet unknown career path. After coaching, I have a sense of increased self-confidence and optimism for the future. I now focus on learning, growing, and adding value through my unique contributions."

    Dr Adele Lim, Scientist

    Singapore

  • Avalyn is great at asking thoughtful questions. She is professional yet possesses a great sense of humor, creating a welcoming atmosphere where I felt comfortable exploring even the most challenging aspects of my life. She guided me to uncover insights and solutions that resonate with my authentic self and align with my personal values. Through her coaching, I gained clarity and perspective on my career trajectory, navigated complex workplace dynamics, and addressed limiting beliefs that once hindered my personal growth.

    Subin Park, San Francisco

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