The Core Team

Pygmalion is deliberately a small entity that relies on a core infrastructure and a committed team of independent associates and extended peer network. This means that we are able to grow our capacity to 'scale-up' on a project by project basis. Our clients can be assured that we will always resource the project team with the best possible people. This ‘in-sourcing’ model allows us to manage internal costs to offer competitive rates. It also ensures a rich cross pollinisation of ideas and practice, where we learn from each other as we craft tailored solutions to meet each client organisations’ unique requirements.

Our belief is that we are most effective working within a consortium model to ensure flexible capacity that also results in a more competitive pricing model in support of our services. Furthermore, in line with our vision to develop internal capability within our client organisations, more often than not the Team consists of a working partnership that straddles the Pygmalion-Client relationship

Sean Germond BA. B.Soc. Sci (Hons) MA Psych (U.C.T). Director & Founder.

Sean is the founder and director of Pygmalion (est. 2001), a Cape Town based consultancy and coaching practice.  His work experience is in Leadership, Organizational Development & Executive Coaching.  Having completed his professional qualification as Health Psychologist (1991), he started out in Occupational Health, focussing on rehabilitation (coping with chronic disease), health/wellness promotion, stress management and comprehensive occupational health risk mitigation programmes (including executive health medicals).

Sean’s interest has always been on the application of essential principles and models in Psychology, Coaching and Systems Thinking to assist business leaders in understanding and developing more effective leadership practices to meet the challenges of a changing, complex and interconnected world.  These are often in conjunction with necessary business and organisational development planning processes.  This is in keeping with a more systemic approach as this applies to person-in-context considerations, how one thinks about ‘interventions’, and the implications for the design of development initiatives.  He works with executives and senior leadership teams from private sector global organisations who are required to lead their organisations through change and uncertainty, and develop alternative leadership practices, learning & development solutions, and organisational processes to meet the changing organisational structures and business demands. 

Sean has 15 years experience working across a wide range of industry sectors: Manufacturing (confectionary, beverage, packaging, pharmaceutical, motor vehicle, etc), Mining (coal, gold, manganese), Financial services (private banking, insurance), Transportation and Distribution (supply chain), Retail (Clothing), Petrochemical (logistics and retail), Heritage (Museums) and Professional Services (consulting & legal firms).  He has worked with executive boards to implement large scale change processes (mergers, rebranding the business, and dealing with culture change in support of ‘transformation’).  He has facilitated strategy and business planning processes; delivered numerous leadership team development programmes across all functions within business organisations, and designed and developed client owned and delivered “learning & development” programmes to address capability & talent requirements.  He has also committed himself to pro bono work in leadership development in the NGO sector to address the challenges of social development in South Africa.    He recently (2010) completed training and has initiated the supervision of Post Graduate (Masters & PhD) theses as part of his interest in straddling academia and his work as a practitioner.

Sean has been instrumental in establishing two professional consulting businesses, has been a shareholder and partner of a strategy & organisational development consultancy, and founded his own business Pygmalion in 2001.   He was born and raised in South Africa in small mining communities, has lived and gone to school in Brazil, and has worked in Angola, Egypt, Dubai/U.A.E., Kenya, Ghana, Namibia, Swaziland, Argentina, Sweden, France and the United Kingdom.  He has an MA in Psychology (Health Psychology), is a registered Counselling Psychologist (HPCSA), and is an active member of a number of peer/professional networks.  These include: the “Centre for Creative Leadership” (EMEA Region, based in Brussels); the "Talberg Foundation" (Stockholm); and the “Progressio Foundation" (based on Netherlands).  He lives in St James, Cape Town, with his wife Ivana (Massage Therapist & Yoga Teacher), daughter Nina and son Samuel, loves communing with nature, is a keen hiker, mountain biker, surf ski paddler & surfer, and is a ‘still-to-be-recorded’ musician and song writer

Jemima Thomas.  Book Keeper

Jemima has taken over the book keeping and financial administration of the business.  With Trish Lukas's retirement end of 2010, there was an opportunity to re-think the structure of Pygmalion, with a very intentional move to continue to in-source talented individuals who are independents in their own right. This ensures that Pygmalion is able to access the required levels of experience and skill set to provide the levels of service and professionalism.

Jemima provides our Accountant (Patrick Louw, Dunes Accounting services - since 1998) with the necessary reports to ensure that we fulfill all relevant SARS and GAAP requirements.