The reassuring CV you are probably looking for, with all the proper degrees and certificates, is at the end of this page. But that is only part of my story and possibly, not the most important one. So let me start with another story.
It's the Fall of 2014, I'm in Northern Europe after over 15 years working in Oil & Gas around the world.
”That's what I want to do!”. My wife Heli heard me utter those words not fully realizing what I had just said. On the large TV screen the credits started running and our lives changed (yet again).
I had just finished watching ”Buck”, a richly textured documentary on the story of one of the most remarkable horsemen in America, Buck Brannaman. I was transfixed. I had never seen anything like this. The grace, the elegance and the power of the horse were perfectly matched by Buck's legendary "feel" for these extraordinary creatures. All I could think was ”I want some of that”.
There was only a minor problem with my plan. I was a 44 year old Business Executive who did not know how to ride. Not in the sense that I was not good at it, but in the sense that I had never taken a lesson, not one. I had been on a pony a couple of times as a child, and on two trail rides as an adult, but that was it. Hardly the stuff of legends. I've always liked horses, but until then it had been a platonic, unrealized passion.
On the positive side, I had just left a successful career in Oil & Gas and while looking for the next big thing I had time to ponder on "what's next?". It was indeed in this period that, building on my corporate experiences, I started to deepen my knowledge of coaching. The more I studied, the more I became enamored by this possible path.
At the time I was also discussing other corporate roles, but there was always something that somehow prevented me from saying Yes! Then, one day, without thinking about it too much, I started calling all of the ranches featured in the documentary to see who would be brave enough to take me as a student.
A shift had taken place and I slowly became aware that a new chapter of my life had started.
After a couple of months I flew across the ocean and arrived in Montana. Within 3 weeks I was hooked.
Under the very patient guidance of extraordinary teachers I started to learn the basics of horsemanship. In the fall of 2015 I drove 5,000 miles around "the last best place" in my friend Jacques' old pickup truck to find a place to settle down. In 2016, as I transitioned out of my corporate career into horsemanship and coaching, Heli & I moved from Europe to the historical town of Livingston, where we lived for 6 years with 7 horses and 3 giant dogs.
A New Purpose
I started studying both coaching and horsemanship with the same intensity that I had in graduate school and over time I had two realizations: for what concerned coaching, I would focus on supporting individuals brave enough to face major transformations in their lives, and when it came to horses, it became apparent that reined cow horse* was my thing. It brought me a sense of joy and exhilaration that I had not encountered before. In both areas, this was what I wanted to focus on.
* if you are not familiar with this type of horsemanship, you can click on the video here to watch my TX neighbor Sarah Dawson at work. She is considered "the Lionel Messi of cow horse".
Over time, the two separate, seemingly unrelated paths started to converge:
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some of the training principles and techniques used with horses could actually be very effective if applied to individuals in a coaching context, especially i the field of inter-personal communication and leadership.
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The horse innate capacity to feel changes in our emotional states would allow a unique real-time insight for both the coach and the client during an in-person coaching session.
I then decided to pursue an additional specializations as Wellness Coach and as EQUUS Coach, the art of coaching with horses. It took some time to fully recognize it, but I had found a new purpose in life.
FM Transformational Coaching was born by integrating my business experience, a long-standing interests in psychology and neuroscience, a unique skillset in dealing with change, and a passion for connecting with people and horses.
To combine all of these elements, in 2022 we moved near Weatherford, TX and created a unique coaching and retreat venue - The Artha Ranch. And the added personal advantage of having easy access to the best reined cow horse trainers in the world (details on the Ranch at the end of the Connect page).
My mission today is to support other driven individuals undergoing profound changes to navigate the next chapter of their personal and professional lives.
The formal CV
Originally from Rome, Italy, I have studied, worked and lived in 6 countries in the last 30 years.
I am a certified Transformational and certified Executive coach. I am also a licensed, specialty-certified New Life Story® Wellness Coach and certified EQUUS® Coach. Finally, I am also specialized in Peak Performance training and Brain science. I am a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and abide by its Code of Ethics.
In my previous corporate life I was the Chief Investment Officer for an Oil & Gas major, in charge of a $40bn. capital investment program.
I have an undergraduate degree in Political Science and completed my post graduate and executive education in International Economics, International Relations, Finance and Leadership development.
I have also been an academic and a journalist, a competitive tennis player and a national reserve champion kickboxer, a nightlife promoter, a serial entrepreneur, a mentor and a mentee, a corporate trainer and a coaching client, a coffee shop owner and a ranch hand.
I wrote a couple of books, created online courses, taught live (Financial) Decision Making to over 1000 people, travelled to over 50 countries, learned (and then forgot) a few languages.
These days I spend most of my free time with splendid four legged creatures, breeding, raising and riding performance reined cow horses
(PS all of the horses featured on this website are our own. Photos courtesy of Cynthia Matty Huber, Charlotte Fryer, Jacklynn Matthews. Video footages from David Lindberg, TedTalk, LinkedIn).
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