About
Deniz Ünal
MSc | PCC | CPCC | BMP
Corporate Coach and Trainer
Education & Career
I was born in Istanbul, Türkiye, in 1979. I graduated from American Robert College in Istanbul in 1997 before earning a BA in Business Administration from Koç University in 2001. In 2003, I earned a double master's degree in Fashion and Textile Management, including a maîtrise from Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) in Paris and an MSc from the University of Southampton in the UK.
I pursued a fourteen-year corporate career: seven years in Paris, beginning in 2003, and seven years in Istanbul, beginning in 2010. I held management roles in product management, sales, and business development at Louis Vuitton, Prada, Beymen, and Saydam Textile.
My work as a Corporate Coach and Trainer began in Istanbul in 2016. Over the past decade, I have developed my practice by working with organizations and directly with professionals. In 2022, I relocated my practice to Padua, Italy, where I continue to work internationally with leaders, teams, and organizations, delivering coaching and training in English, French, Italian, and Turkish.
Professional Certifications
Since 2016, I have completed the following training programs and professional certifications.
Coaching
- I completed my coach training with Co-Active® Training Institute (CTI), becoming a Co-Active Coach, followed by the Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) credential through CTI's advanced certification process.
- I was accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), first with the Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential, then with the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential, which I have since maintained through renewal.
- I later diversified my expertise by earning the ICF-accredited Certificate in Career Coaching Practice (CCCP) with Full Circle Development (London), becoming an ICF-accredited Breathing Mind® Practitioner (BMP) in mindfulness coaching, and training to coach using PAPI assessment results.
Training
- I completed the following training programs accredited by the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC): the Nonviolent Communication Primary Training Program, Compassion Course, Loving the Unlovable, Naturalizing Nonviolent Communication, Nonviolent Communication in Depth, Nonviolent Facilitation, and the Nonviolent Communication Mentorship Program.
- I further broadened my expertise through Eckhart Tolle's Practicing Presence teacher training, the Breathing Mind® Mindfulness Group Facilitator certification, and Karla McLaren's Emotional Genius training.
References
Clients I've worked with include Microsoft, Vodafone, Trendyol, QNB Finansbank, Cigna Healthcare, Atasun Optik (EssilorLuxotica), Çelik Motor (Anadolu Group), Kredi Kayıt Bürosu, Akkök Holding, Porter Novelli, Liv Hospital, Koç University, American Robert College, UNICEF and other leading organizations.
Training sessions consistently receive evaluation scores above 90%, with record-breaking participant feedback from QNB Finansbank, Trendyol, and Vodafone.
Diversity and Inclusion
Area of work since 2022
- Interculturality — International Student Coach at Collegio Don Mazza / University of Padua
Areas of work between 2010 and 2020
- Women's leadership — Training Designer and Facilitator for Vodafone's Women in Technology initiative
- Neurodiversity — Coach and Trainer for leaders and managers at Tohum Autism Foundation
- Youth educational equity — Co-developer of a mentoring program at Hope Project
- Women's economic inclusion — Product Development Project Co-designer at Payda Association
International Community Engagement
Alongside my career, I have chosen to contribute to international communities through professional associations and nonprofit organizations.
In France, I was a member of the Comité France–Turquie from 2001 to 2010; after moving to Italy, I served on the Steering Committee of International Ladies of Padua from 2023 to 2025, contributed to ICF Global as a Coaching Subject Matter Expert for Credentials and Standards in 2025, and joined ICF Italia's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Team in 2026.
These experiences have reinforced my belief that meaningful professional integration extends beyond the workplace and grows through active participation in the communities around it.