SO... WHO IS WILLIE HORTON AND WHAT IS GURDY.NET ALL ABOUT?
Willie Horton has been working in the field of personal, leadership and team development since 1996. Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1958, he rose through Ireland’s financial services industry, holding Senior Management positions in sales and marketing with Aviva and Prudential, prior to becoming the youngest banking General Manager in Europe, when he was appointed to the position with Ireland’s ACCBank in 1990. He was responsible for transforming the bank into one of Europe’s most profitable and preparing it for privatization.
In 1996, he established his consultancy practice, based in Dublin, focusing on the effective development of teams and leaders in large businesses. As a result, Willie has worked with multi-national companies in Europe, US and Africa. Today, his clients include Pfizer, Deloitte, Nestlé, KPMG, Allergan, Diageo, Stada AG, ESB International, Jurys Inns, Unilever, Matheson and BDO – where his work includes the coaching and mentoring of senior executives and the training and development of leadership and functional teams both in the commercial and production environments. Willie is also much sought-after as an adviser and confidante – having advised a number of Governments and the World Bank – and as a keynote and motivational speaker across Europe.
Willie qualified as an Associate of the Irish Tax Institute in 1980 and as a Certified Accountant in 1981, becoming a Fellow in 1983. During this time, he practiced tax and financial planning with KPMG and PwC in Ireland and the UK. He is also a Member of the Marketing Institute of Ireland. Willie studied psychology with The Open University and is currently certified in cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, biological psychology and applied psychology.
A prolific writer – with over 250 personal and leadership development articles published in various magazines, periodicals and syndicated websites – Horton’s first book, To Succeed... Just Let Go was published by Janus in London, England. His second book, Normal Crazy People, was published in 2011. Horton regularly appears as a guest on US radio talk-shows and is known for what US radio hosts call his ‘Irish wit and charm’! In 2008 he launched Gurdy.Net. a – his personal and leadership development website. Over two thousand people tune in to his weekly video-based Ezine.
In 2002, the Horton family left Ireland. Willie and his wife, Lisa, now live in the French Alps, close to Geneva. Their three children are finalizing their third-level studies in France, whilst Willie works throughout Europe.
AND... WHAT ABOUT GURDY.NET?
Willie launched Gurdy.Net in 2008 with two aims in mind: to provide ongoing online support to his many clients throughout Europe and to deliver online e-workshops for the general public. Change Your Life and No More Stress is now used by individuals on four continents whilst ongoing client support is provided in a tailored way for each corporate client - each organization has it's own portal on Gurdy.Net.
WHAT'S SO DIFFERENT ABOUT WILLIE'S APPROACH?
Willie draws together diverse strands of psychology, neuroscience and business management to provide practical, up-to-the-minute knowledge and tools to people who want to achieve effortless happiness and success. Psychologists with a senior management business background are few and far between and, all too often, scientists working in one area of psychology won't even talk to their colleagues from different psychological disciplines. Willie's approach is, thus, unique. Not only is it unique, it delivers the kind of results that large corporate businesses look for... bottom line results.
WHAT IS WILLIE'S KEY FOCUS?
Willie operates across five key areas. In each area, Willie's goal is to enable his clients achieve effortless happiness and success:
Open Workshops - focusing on leadership development and the psychology of success
One-to-One Leadership Coaching - enabling clients inspire and achieve the extraordinary
Leadership Team Events - the team that grows together achieves the unbelievable
Resources for Coaches - other coaches use Willie's extensive expertise via psyberCoach
EWorkshops - personal development and stress management online workshops
