Faculty member
Former architect, now high performance coach, psychologist, and author.
Saiyyidah has three strands to her practice: she is a founding partner at Altair Advisory LLP she works with CEOs, senior leaders and their teams, as an advisor, mirror and sounding board; she trains coaches and provides coaching supervision; and she researches in identity, culture and belonging as a Research Associate with the University of Oxford’s Center for Culture and Religion.
Originally trained as an architect, Saiyyidah spent over twenty years in senior roles in both the public and private sector. She left a fast-tracked career in local government to curate a portfolio career focused in two areas: leadership advisory and academic research. Stylistically, Saiyyidah has been described as a “marshmallow sledgehammer” — someone who calmly and kindly takes her clients to unexpected places and has the courage to deliver unexpected insights and challenge.
A passionate, life-long learner Saiyyidah has two Masters degrees (with distinctions) in Construction Economics and Management and Applied Positive Psychology and a doctorate in critical studies/practical theology on the topic of belonging, identity, and culture. Saiyyidah has a practical and research expertise in cross cultural and contextual use of coaching and conversational skills. She believes that with the right strategies, tools, and coaching the ability to do extraordinary things is open to anyone willing to take up the challenge.
Saiyyidah was a non-executive committee member for the British and Irish Association of Practical Theology from 2020-2024, is a Research Fellow with the University of Oxford’s Center for Culture and Religion, and is a Senior Research Fellow with the William Temple Foundation. She sits on the Advisory Board for AHRC research into Communities of Inquiry, is Founding Convenor for the Centre for Belonging and Understanding, is an EMCC accredited Master Coach, and is a Fellow of Association of Project Management.
Saiyyidah has lived and worked in eight countries, and travelled the world with family before returning to live in her native London where she currently lives with her husband, two young adult children, and Tiger the cat.
She is passionate about holistic wellbeing, travel, life-long learning and good coffee!