Sarah van der Burch

Consultant

Years of experience of working both inside organisations, and supporting them externally, provides Sarah with a unique perspective and broad understanding of working with leaders. Her view is that because certain things are true of all people and all organizations, the process of shaping cultures has a constant set of principles. These principles of the vitality, continuous learning, and direction and purpose define the simplest approach to developing people and building cultures that combine flexibility with stability. Sarah's work to create healthy, high-performance work environments where people thrive has an honest and caring approach that her clients both appreciate and trust.

Since joining Senn Delaney in 1989, Sarah has led a significant number of engagements with global companies—T-Mobile, Hitachi Data Systems, CIGNA, GlaxoSmithKlein, Waste Management, Nortel Networks. She leads all facets of the client engagement, from coaching the senior team to the Transfer of Competency and the creation of self-managed union work teams. The depth of these relationships allows Sarah to closely partner with clients, supporting them in shaping the overall culture and leadership while transferring competency to the organisation.

Before joining Senn Delaney, Sarah worked in commercial banking for Nomura Securities in both New York and Japan. Her primary focus was the creation of a global leadership team; however, her first assignment was to create a performance-based, team-focused, incentive compensation plan for senior traders and salespeople. After launching the plan successfully, she then created the leadership development operation, working closely with the chairman and the global business heads to ensure aligned outcomes.

Prior to working on Wall Street, Sarah lived, worked and studied in Japan. She studied traditional Japanese art and language while working with companies to prepare their executives for working in the U.S. Before moving to Japan, she directed a statewide community education and leadership development program for Native Americans in rural Alaska.

Sarah did both her graduate and undergraduate work in education at Mills College in Oakland, California. She also attended the University of Texas in Austin where she studied natural sciences. She holds advanced certificates in both Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Health Realization.

Sarah is married to a New Zealander, Brian. She has a teenage son, Taylor, and two stepdaughters, Anneliese and Chelsea. Sarah, Brian and Taylor recently moved back to Christchurch, New Zealand, after three and a half years of sailing the South Pacific and Southeast Asia on their sailboat. The goal for that journey was to live closely together as a family while introducing Taylor to the values and vitality of significantly different cultures. Sarah also enjoyed the adventure and accomplishment of sailing 15,000 nautical miles on the high seas.

When she is not working, Sarah enjoys being with her family. As the family changes and grows, what they enjoy doing together also changes and grows. Taylor loves computer games and being a ‘normal kid' while both girls are currently travelling and living overseas. Sarah, as for many parents, is learning the process of letting go.