Executive Coach · Trainer · HR Expert
By aligning your values with your actions. From Dakar, I support leaders and organisations across French-speaking Africa — and well beyond.
Céline Thiam
Founder · Certified EMCC Coach
25 yrs
of professional life
20 yrs
dedicated to HR, innovation and coaching
420 h
of 1:1 coaching delivered
≈ 40
workshops and training sessions run
My mission
My approach rests on better self-knowledge, clarity of values, the power of gratitude, and the power of visualisation. When you understand yourself better, you open doors you never even saw — and sometimes, the stars align.
What I offer you
- Tailored, warm and structured support
- Online sessions, wherever you are in the world
- Concrete tools to progress at your own pace
- A space of trust to explore, step back and move forward
Why me
Former HR Director at international groups, trained in innovation at Polytechnique, and a certified EMCC coach: it's the intersection of these three hats that makes the change-support work I offer credible.
In a world where change is no longer the exception but the norm, leaders need to evolve with the same agility as their market — and HR needs to support them as a true business partner, not an administrative function.
Discover my backgroundWho it's for
Leaders, managers, HR teams
Companies
Evolve leaders' posture and management culture, de-risk transformations, and turn HR into a real business partner.
- Coaching
- Training
- HR consulting
- HR transition
- Workshops
- Talks
- Neuroinclusion
Foundations, NGOs, employability programmes
Foundations & youth
Preparing the next generation, not just handing out diplomas: decoding the job market's unwritten rules, building posture, equipping young entrepreneurs.
- Employability
- Professional posture
- Young entrepreneurs
Executives, leaders, people in transition
Individuals
Regain clarity without losing who you are: 1:1 coaching or skills assessment, built around your own goals.
- 1:1 coaching
- Skills assessment
- 20 min free
How it works
For individuals
It all starts with a 15-minute first contact: a live conversation to explain the coach's role and help you sense whether the fit feels right. We then set a minimum of five sessions, online with video, to move forward flexibly over time.
Learn moreFor companies
Let's set up a call so you can walk me through your context and goals. My background in HR management and innovation lets me draw on individual coaching, team coaching, facilitation or workshops — all in service of performance through your teams' well-being.
Learn more
Our formats
Individual coaching
Tailored, personalised support across a range of topics: managing emotions, employability, non-violent communication, manager posture…
Company coaching
A collaborative, stimulating framework for people with similar goals and challenges, with approaches adapted to each issue: thinking differently, problem solving…
Remote coaching
Especially for individuals, as well as for geographically scattered groups, sessions can take place over video call, ensuring a smooth, interactive and engaging experience.
Transition coaching
To build the skills, clarity and emotional resilience needed for a smoother transition into a new life stage: a new role, a new company, moving from entrepreneurship to employment and vice versa.
For companies
- Executive coachingDeveloping your leadership
- TrainingTransforming your management culture
- HR consultingAn outside, expert, actionable perspective
- Transition managementSecuring your HR function through pivotal moments
- Facilitation workshopsBuilding together
- TalksInspiring and mobilising
- NeuroinclusionRevealing every talent
Empathy and inspiration
Through candid conversations, Aurelle and Céline explore emotional listening, personal alignment and inner clarity, offering the keys to understand and move forward without ever judging.
Every episode is an invitation to listen to what resonates within you, to learn through experience, and to choose what feels meaningful.
Welcome to your space of empathy, freedom and inspiration! Welcome to TeA & TalC!
What they say
What the people I support have to say
We brought in Céline THIAM to train our managers on managing atypical, out-of-the-box profiles. It was a revelation. She doesn't just offer theory: she shares lived experience. Our teams now finally have the keys to turn neurodiversity into a driver of innovation instead of seeing it as a challenge.
HR Director, Africa, FinTech
Céline helped me get through a critical step when I took on a new role. Thanks to her approach blending self-knowledge and business reality, I was able to align my decisions with my values while navigating the complexity of a large group. Her support is a rare mix of warmth and strategic rigour.
Director, insurance sector
The design thinking workshop Céline led was the turning point of our transformation. In a single day, she broke down the silos between the business and support functions.
Head of HR innovation projects, Industry
Speaking honestly, the room is captivated from start to finish and leaves inspired. She proves that work done well, paired with self-knowledge, is performance's best ally.
CEO, Africa, real estate
What sets Céline apart is her ability to combine methodological clarity with communicative energy. Her sessions didn't just pass on tools: they helped people realise their own worth, structure how they talk about their work, and build confidence. Participant feedback was very positive, highlighting the concrete impact on their posture.
Mamadou D. — Co-founder, EDACY
I had the privilege of being coached by Céline at a particularly intense moment in my career, juggling heavy professional responsibilities alongside demanding personal and family matters at the same time. What felt like a small chaos gradually turned into a clear, prioritised path aligned with my real ambitions.
Noël A. — International Development Consultant
Her support stood out through genuine, authentic listening, a clear and structured method, positive and motivating energy, and a real focus on results and concrete impact. Céline knows how to create a space of trust that lets you step back and gain perspective.
Serigne T. — Director, insurance sector
Neuroinclusion
Neurodivergence, giftedness, multipotentiality: a genuine lever for performance and innovation, still rarely addressed in French-speaking markets. I support this from the inside, with the dual posture of an HR expert and someone who has lived these issues personally.
AtyKyPyk Newsletter
Once a month: neuroinclusion, atypical profiles and management, no jargon.
Read the issues on LinkedInTraining & certifications
2024
Professional coaching certification
EMCC
2022
Technology innovation management
Polytechnique Executive Education, Paris
2020
Agile Scrum project management certification
OO2 Training & Consulting
Twenty minutes for individuals, forty-five for organisations. No commitment.
contact@smartdemarche.com · Dakar, Senegal