Growing Businesses & Changing Lives: Our Newest Franchise Partners

Latest trio to join ActionCOACH’s thriving network

As the first half of the year has already flown by with record audiences for their podcast, The Business Excellence podcast hosted by James Vincent, and the largest number of delegates ActionCOACH has ever seen at their signature BizX conference in April, their network of franchise partners is expanding too – and they’re proud to introduce the latest three to join the team.

The first of these is Sean O’Donnell, who officially launched his ActionCOACH firm on 12^th July with his first event and has been coaching clients since joining the network in March. Sean’s territory includes Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth and businesses in the rest of Hertfordshire.

“I can’t wait to get started! ActionCOACH was the perfect next step for me – their systems and processes have produced results for businesses for over 30 years – it was a no-brainer!”

Close to two decades of Sean’s 30 years in sales were in leadership positions where he developed a love for scaling up and growing businesses. “ActionCOACH provides me with the opportunity to combine my passion for growing businesses with coaching people. The initial training had a profound effect on me too. It was almost like an epiphany where I realised what was important to me and what I wanted to achieve in the future.” 

Canice Nicholas joins as Business Development Manager for ActionCOACH Northern Ireland.

“We’re planning to build the infrastructure across Northern Ireland. We currently only have two coaches across the country – one in Belfast and one in Bangor – so we’re now raising the profile of ActionCOACH to continue to grow.”

Canice built his own pharmacy group across the UK and Ireland, with almost 20 stores and over 240 staff. Initially approached by an Action Coach, Canice met ActionCOACH founder Brad Sugars at a conference three years ago, inspiring him into action. “I fell into coaching through helping friends – I really enjoyed the feeling of helping others and making a difference to their businesses. 

“ActionCOACH made so much sense to me. Their approach to professional development was such a standout. I think if I’d been an independent coach, I would have been consistently left behind – ActionCOACH’s encouragement of continued learning means you’re always on top of your game as a coach.” 

Completing the trio is Lyndon Rakowski, who joins as General Manager for ActionCOACH Birmingham South. “The bulk of my career has been in the manufacturing industry, the latter half of which was spent in senior leadership roles.

“When COVID hit, I decided to resign and did a master’s degree in business. When I was studying for my MBA, I saw the advertisement for ActionCOACH general manager and started doing some research.”

Throughout his due diligence process, Lyndon discovered that ActionCOACH ticked a lot of boxes for him – he credits his recent studies providing him with the required learning mindset to complete ActionCOACH’s notoriously intense training period.

Launched in March, Lyndon is aiming to be the best coach he can be and has his sights set on the next 12 months. He says, “I’m looking to employ another coach and by this time next year have our own office. Further down the line, I’d like to invest in my own ActionCOACH franchise.”

ActionCOACH UK Co-Founder, Ian Christelow, welcomes Sean, Canice and Lyndon to the team: “Each of them brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective that will undoubtedly contribute to our mission of helping businesses grow and succeed; because being in business should give you more life. I'm excited to see the impact they will make in their respective regions."

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