Bio
In March 2017 Steve left a life of 20 years in corporate HR and consulting to start the Inner Child company and community, now iGallos®, focused around bringing his own lived experiences, and the experiences of people around him at work and socially, combined with his HR leadership background, to do what he could to challenge the way we as a society and in the working world manage those with mental ill health. He now works with leaders, HR professionals and teams all around the world in companies of all sizes and sectors.
It is fair to say that Steve has experienced many painfully dark and difficult times. Some he willingly shares in his work to be in service of those he works with, other experiences are sacred and personal which whilst not shared with others, are powerful drivers in his work in supporting people in whatever life has thrown at them or however the house of cards has fallen. The world is not a fair place, it is inexplicably unkind and judgemental in many ways, we have very little control over how our lives play out or how we are treated by others. In his work though Steve is acutely aware of this and brings a safe space where judgment, labels and criticism are left outside the door, and kindness, support and understanding remain.
Working with a number of other key figures, clinical experts, campaigners and advocates, he talks extensively through his role as a workplace and community mental health consultant and trainer, as a coach and counsellor, and as a speaker to bring awareness and greater understanding so that the 1 in 4 people who suffer from mental ill health every year around the world can continue to work and be successful in their chosen pursuits.
Steve's corporate life began as a consultant in the Human Capital and Executive Compensation Solution practice at professional services firm Arthur Andersen, followed by a similar role at Grant Thornton, later becoming a manager at Nestlé Purina, and most recently held a variety of roles in the global Pharmaceutical sector culminating in an Executive Director role in HR working globally leading many diverse areas from employee engagement, values and strategy to HR information system implementation.
Steve is a therapeutic counsellor in Transactional Analysis and and also trained as an Advanced Organisational and Educational Transactional Analyst. He has completed many trauma informed training programmes including being a HeartMath Trauma-Sensitive Certified Practitioner. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA), a qualified Executive Coach (Academy of Executive Coaching, AoEC), holds the International Certificate in Systemic Team Coaching (AoEC), is a Coaching Constellations Practitioner, and has completed additional work in Gestalt Coaching, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Somatic Awareness and Coaching, and Applied Behavioural Science. He is a certified facilitator of the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® materials and methodology trained by the Association of Master Trainers in the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Method which is used specifically to model solutions to complex problems. He is certified to deliver the full suite of the Hogan executive leadership and team psychometric tools as well as the Team Connect 360 questionnaire. He is an MHFA England Mental Health First Aider and instructor member, and a former Suicide First Aid (SFA) Tutor. He holds a joint honours degree in Psychology and Sports and Exercise Sciences, and a postgraduate diploma in Outdoor Education. He has also been a sports coach in many disciplines, an outdoor instructor, completed the Ultra Tour of the Lake District 50 mile ultra-marathon in 2014, been a practicing Sports and Remedial Massage therapist (London School of Sports Massage) since 2004 and is a trained studio pilates instructor (student) through Polestar Pilates.
In 2018 he was a co-founding member of the Association of Mental Health Advocates; an association which was dedicated to bringing together and supporting all those, regardless of background or experience, with a passion and energy to be advocates for good mental health and to support those with mental ill health.On 4 June 2020 he was published as a co-author of the Amazon best selling (for a time, but for some unexplained reason now de-listed) book ”Unlocked: From Surviving to Thriving" curated by Sadie Restorick about how to emerge from difficult times.
At the close of 2021 he created Mental Health Adventures; an organisation focused on viewing mental health as a positive adventure, something to explore and be curious about. With highs and lows, and lessons to learn. As a journey of exploration. Using his background as an outdoor educator, as a coach and therapeutic counsellor, as a trainer, curious about all psychological, therapeutic, scientific, and anthropological facets and perspectives around mental health, and his own curiosity about his own adventure to healing. When the world reopens so will Mental Health Adventures and we can adventure outside together and learn what needs to be learnt as a community with mutual support and without judgement.
In 2023 he began work on Artskind®, a body set up to support the Arts industry through the creation of a Company of Elders in the industry.
His openness and curiosity sit on a solid foundation of many years' experience in many different and exciting areas at the highest level of global corporate HR that have brought a sense of grounding and perspective and also multiple tools for managing different and complex challenges across cultures. He has a broad and varied network across sectors, industries, expertise and continents, which has grown professionally and through recommendations.
He helps to pass on these tools and experiences to those he works with and can aid them in being able to see a bigger picture and make wide and often creative connections. He is known for identifying and calling out broader issues which increase awareness for clients giving them greater control and comfort in their roles and their broader life. Feedback consistently references the energy, calmness and psychological safety he brings to relationships and work, and his ability to bring a team together and to sensitively decompress any political or relationship issues at play.
Steve's passions run to organisational culture and values, mental health and wellbeing, neuroscience and psychology, anthropology, and changing and improving relationships through increased awareness of self and open communication. He works with organisations, teams, executive and senior leaders through to those early in career on a variety of opportunities across a variety of sectors and specialisms.
Feedback:
This course was incredibly valuable to me and one of the best training events I have attended in all my years of nursing. A truly positive learning environment was created which fostered openness among the delegates and made it easy to share experiences and learn from each other. Our Instructor Steve was inspirational and had a clear passion for the subject. I left the days feeling very well informed and far better able to deal with mental health in the workplace, albeit I will need to use the skills more to feel completely confident. I am already raising awareness of my profile as an MHFA at work and have buy in from the senior leadership team to develop the service at my site. Thank you.
This is THE best course I have attended in a very long time. Steve was knowledgeable and made the environment safe for everyone to share very very personal experiences. The course went very qickly and was so informative. A MASSIVE Thankyou to Steve who was an absolute GEM. A really open honest and kind man. Thanks again for the course. It was extremely useful THANKS THANKS THANKS