WHO WE ARE
Our Team
While our team come from different backgrounds and experiences, one thing that we have in common is that we all stepped back from successful careers in the corporate world to consider "what next?"
The C&8 team are passionate about team building, development, and facilitation. We have a shared perspective on life, and most importantly want to make a positive impact on people and their workplaces, through embracing curiosity, creatitivity, and collaboration.
MAYANK
Originally from India, Dr. Mayank Gupta has studied and worked across Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Czechia and now the Netherlands. He's a qualified aerospace engineer who earned his PhD at Delft University of Technology, where he built a model to predict the path a crack would take through GLARE, the lightweight material used in the Airbus A380, and tested those predictions against real laboratory results.
Prediction using mathematical tools continues to be his passion. In 2016 he co-founded Jugaad Analytics, working with industrial names like AkzoNobel, Heineken, KLM, NLR and Royal IHC to forecast downtime in rotating machinery before it happened. After the pandemic brought that chapter to a close, he kept sharpening the craft, including building predictive algorithms robust enough to trade the financial markets on their own. This hands-on experience building predictive systems laid the foundation for his growing focus on AI.
In late 2024 he turned AI toward a more human problem: how it might make mental health support more accessible and empathetic. He saw how fast AI produced ideas, and then he saw the catch: the moment he stopped actively thinking with the AI, it ran away with him, generating endless possibilities but few that held up in the real world. This lesson, that AI is only ever as good as the person thinking alongside it, is the conviction behind how he now advises teams on navigating it.
Mayank is pro-AI, a believer in open-source engineering, and a privacy-first advocate when it comes to data. Above all, he's committed to making people aware of the influence of AI.
AARON
Aaron Quinn has over twenty years of experience leading teams and developing leaders across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He's worked with companies including WPP, Nike, LinkedIn, Uber, Danone, and Bayer, helping senior leaders and executive teams improve effectiveness and build psychologically safe environments.
Aaron specializes in team effectiveness, leadership development, and navigating organizational transitions. He's particularly skilled at working with senior leaders facing mid-career transitions - those asking what's next or whether their current path still fits.
He's a certified Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coach and trained facilitator with the Asian Leadership Institute. At Collaborate & Eight, Aaron designs and facilitates workshops for leadership teams focused on high performance, psychological safety, and cross-cultural collaboration.
Based on the Greek island of Aegina, Aaron also co-founded Laughing Heart Retreats, helping leaders explore what makes a fulfilling life beyond career success.
CATHY
Cathy brings two decades of international experience in sales and learning & development to the table. Her 16-year stint at Google, where she worked in Sydney and Dublin, honed her skills.
Today, Cathy serves as an Organisational Development Consultant/Practitioner, a certified Leadership Coach with the Association for Coaching, and a certified Gallup Strengths Coach. Her expertise lies in helping organizations, leadership teams, and individuals unlock their potential by turning challenges into growth opportunities.
With a background that spans five countries and diverse roles, Cathy values exposure to different places, people, and cultures. She hopes to instil a love for exploration in her two young daughters.
As a certified Clifton Strengths coach, Cathy specializes in helping individuals and teams harness their strengths effectively. Her areas of interest include Facilitation, Training, Team Building, Change Leadership, Resilience and Well-being, Career Coaching, Return to Work, and Team Effectiveness.
SEÁN
Seán has over twenty years of experience building teams and delivering campaigns for major brands across Asia, Europe, and North America. Throughout his career, he observed a consistent pattern: the difference between people who thrived and those who struggled wasn't talent - it was whether their environment let them lean into their strengths.
Seán excels at spotting potential others miss and creating the conditions where that potential can show up. When teams have psychological safety, understand their strengths, and collaborate authentically rather than performatively, everything improves: creativity, innovation, and results.
He particularly enjoys helping early career professionals and first-gen talent find their footing in corporate environments, though he works with teams at all levels on effectiveness, psychological safety, and collaboration.
At Collaborate & Eight, Seán designs and facilitates workshops that help teams work better together.