Spotlight on Navid Nazemian

Dubai based, Navid Nazemian, author and award winning coach and founder the Certified Transition Coach™ (CTC™) programme, shares his journey.

SPOTLIGHTS & INTERVIEWS

Navid Nazemian

11/9/20263 min read

What brought you into your area of expertise, and what has kept you passionate about it?

I spent 26 years in corporate HR across Adidas, GE, BAT, Roche, and Vodafone — eventually reaching Global Head of HR at Roche. Across all of those roles, one pattern kept recurring: talented executives were selected for critical roles but received almost no structured support for the transition itself. According to Heidrick & Struggles, around 40% of executive transitions are considered unsuccessful within the first 18 months. That gap between selection and success became the question I couldn't let go of. In 2022, I left the corporate world to dedicate myself full time to executive transitions.

How has your business evolved?

It started as one-to-one executive coaching. It's since grown into a body of work: a bestselling book (*Mastering Executive Transitions*), proprietary frameworks like the Double Diamond Framework® and Executive Transition Intelligence™ (ETQ™), an e-learning programme (Mastering Leadership Transitions), and the Certified Transition Coach™ programme — 72+ coaches trained across five continents. The goal has always been the same: make transition support accessible, not just available to the few who happen to get a coach.

How have AI and technology changed what you offer?

Three years ago, clients asked for coaching. Today they also ask how to lead through AI-driven transformation — which is itself a transition. I've integrated AI into my own practice — research, diagnostics, content development — but the core work remains deeply human. The conversations that matter most in a leadership transition can't be automated.

Are organisations genuinely embracing AI?

It's a spectrum. Some are moving fast and thoughtfully. Many are still in "pilot purgatory" — experimenting without a clear link to strategy. The organisations getting it right treat AI adoption as a leadership challenge, not just a technology one. That's where transition thinking applies directly.

What will AI make redundant — and what becomes more important?

AI will handle much of the routine in talent assessment, succession analytics, and onboarding logistics. What becomes more important is everything AI can't do: building trust in the first 120 days, reading organisational politics, managing the emotional weight of a big role change, and helping leaders stay whole under pressure. The human side of transitions will only grow in value.

What are HR and Learning leaders in the Middle East getting right — and where are the gaps?

The region has made real strides in leadership development investment and nationalisation programmes. Where I still see gaps is in treating executive transitions as a discipline rather than an afterthought. Too often, the assumption is that a strong leader will "figure it out." The data suggests otherwise.

Has the Middle East market become more sophisticated?

Significantly. A decade ago, coaching was often seen as remedial. Today, the best organisations here view it as a strategic investment. Clients now ask about outcomes, frameworks, and evidence — not just credentials. They want to know how the work creates impact, which is a sign of a maturing market.

One misconception you'd like to change?

That executive transitions are just about the first 90 days. A well-managed transition starts before the appointment and extends well beyond the first quarter. The "first 90 days" framing has been useful, but it's nowhere near sufficient — and it can give leaders a false sense of security once that window closes.

One piece of advice for an HR leader preparing for the next five years?

Treat every senior appointment as a transition, not just a hire. Build transition support into your leadership pipeline the same way you build development programmes. The cost of a failed transition — in money, morale, and reputation — far exceeds the cost of getting it right.

The one development that will have the biggest impact?

The professionalisation of executive transition as a discipline. We're moving from anecdotal "sink or swim" approaches toward evidence-based, structured support. When that becomes the norm — not the exception — we'll see a measurable shift in leadership effectiveness globally.

What are you working on that excites you?

TransitionIQ™ — which we're building to bring insights from hundreds of coaching engagements into a scalable format for leaders and organisations. I'm also continuing to grow our Certified Transition Coach™ community, which now spans five continents.

Something colleagues or clients might be surprised to learn?

I'm always looking for parallels between the sporting and professional world of work. Preparation, split-second decision-making under pressure, the importance of the team behind the individual — these crossovers show up constantly in my coaching conversations.

A question you haven't asked that you'd like to answer?

"What's the human cost of a failed transition?" We talk about the business impact — derailment, lost revenue, disruption. But behind every failed transition is a person whose confidence, health, family life, and sense of identity may have been affected. That's what drives my work. The organisational outcome matters, but so does the individual one.

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