Meet the Team

Here at Continuous Improvement Projects, we’ve a broad range of different experiences – in life, as well as professionally. Meet some of the team below.

Kiran Kachela

Director and Black Belt Lean Six Sigma Practitioner

Oge Zogie-Odigie

Business Change Manager

Becky Kendall

Project and Programme Management

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Benedicte Cormier

Change Management

Eva Odediran

Office Manager

Tess Pendle

Business Unit Director

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Olivia Chalmers

Change Management

Sarah Collins

Project and Programme Management

Karolina Gaura

HR Project Management

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Kiran Kachela

Director

In 2012, after several years of working for a large FTSE100 company as the Head of Business Improvement, I decided to take a big leap forward into the ‘Unknown’ and start up my own business. Having worked with numerous independent consultants and the Big Four when driving strategic change initiatives as an employee of a large corporation, I learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t work when driving organisational change. I was keen to create an alternative to overtly generic, high cost approaches to solving business challenges and had a desire to apply my passion and pragmatism to helping organisations drive continuous improvement. Starting up and expanding a business has been an exciting journey, particularly growing my team to include other highly skilled professionals that share the same ethos and passion.

I’m a qualified Black Belt Lean Six Sigma Practitioner and a strong advocate of the principles behind this methodology; so much so that I ‘live and breathe’ them – even at home where I’m always trying to make the housework more efficient! I’m also a Prosci Change Management Practitioner and qualified Project Manager. I strive on leading large, complex change and driving operational excellence.

Whilst I have a drive for business; as a working-mother of two daughters, my other passion is education. I am a School Governor and a volunteer at ‘Inspiring the Future’ charity which connects schools with professionals. I often deliver speeches and workshops at schools and universities to inspire students and raise awareness of the career opportunities available to them.

Of course, my biggest life-accomplishment is my family. I enjoy my family time and am a strong advocate of a healthy work-life balance. In my spare time, I love cooking and baking with my children as I enjoy experimenting with new flavours and cuisines. I’m also often redecorating my home as I have a keen interest in interior design and enjoy releasing my creative flair. My interest in design and different cultural cuisines lends me to want to travel as much as possible. To date, I’ve travelled to 5 of the 7 continents of the World.

Oge Zogie-Odigie

Business Change Manager

After nearly fifteen years of being a primary school teacher, I embarked on a career change journey that brought me to CI Projects. I share their believe that one size doesn’t fit all – rather a partnership and a tailor-made approach is what truly drives change and growth.

I am a people person and thrive on connecting others. I have been known to recommend everything from the perfect date to the perfect cleaner! My mission at CI Projects is to hunt for the ‘perfect match’ for us and our clients.

Outside of work, I sit on the governing board of my local school and periodically volunteer with my church’s charity Hope Worldwide.

My hobbies include immersing myself into detective dramas (especially solving cases before they do); singing with my two wonderful children and going on interesting dates with my husband.

Becky Kendall

Project and Programme Management

With a degree in Theatre Arts & Drama, IT project management may not have seemed a logical choice for me! But I started my career at a travel guide publishing company, where I discovered an unexpected enthusiasm for managing technical change projects.

I pursued this career into Local Government, broadening my skills and experience across a wide range of IT and business transformation projects, which has since broadened further across different industry sectors.

I have a passionate commitment to diversity and equality, and find the current climate of fast-paced cultural change fascinating and exciting. Working with organisations who are keen to embrace change and tackle challenges can be very rewarding.

I love cooking and eating out, especially experimenting with recreating dishes I’ve had in restaurants, with some notable successes and failures. I have a weakness for sushi, and am a bit of a Japanophile generally.

I recently moved out of London into the commutable countryside in Kent and am hoping to discover a love of gardening! It’s early days, but I have ambitious plans to grow vegetables and build some kind of water feature.

Benedicte Cormier

Change Management

Team player with CI Projects since 2017. A true believer of CI Projects’ 3 core values, which resonate so well with my own truths and ethos.

So a little about me… I love laughing, smiling, sharing, running, (and yes) shoes and bags, being with people and (trying to) be an inspiration to my 18-year old son.

I am passionate about team playing, leadership, motivation, delivering to the best of my ability and by default, I am a fixer, so I rejoice when challenged with some organisational or project-related issues.

I’ve spent nearly 2 decades working in “marcomms” for FMCG across an array of industries and more recently, combining my skills in the FM world to focus on change management.

Following some personal and health concerns, I became invested in supporting my local community as a thank you for the support I had received, and took up Trusteeship to two not-for-profit organisations. In my few spare hours, I like to grab some fabric or yarn to make bags, a hobby that in time, I hope can turn into a financial and social venture and maybe bring me closer to Marc Jacobs.

Eva Odediran

Office Manager

My background is in business and finance by training. I have worked in financial services, retail, pharmaceutical, food and cultural relations in various capacities. I am excited about my journey at CI Projects and working with the rest of the team to drive and sustain positive change in our clients.

Music takes me to my happy place and on the occasional down time, thrilling crime dramas and romantic ones too are my thing. The kids and I enjoy singing and dancing to 'baby shark' and lots more interesting tunes (Daddy does have hilarious periodic cameos).

I do like to think creativity is embedded in my DNA as I love calligraphy and drawing, while I played the piano in my previous life I am convinced I'll be an interior designer in the next. Lover of cake and all things sweet (hint: white chocolate if anyone is asking ;). I bake occasionally and relish the process of 'remixing' interesting recipes to create the desired taste, yum!

Travelling and experiencing the different cultures of the world as a family of 6 is very much on my agenda.

Tess Pendle

Business Unit Director

I am lucky enough to have enjoyed a substantial career crossing the private, public and social sectors. After a long period as an international broker at Lloyd’s of London, I spent three years in West Africa working with a locally run microfinance institution, building its loan portfolio and operational capacity. I later established and managed the Department of Health’s pioneering

£100 million Social Enterprise Investment Fund; the first government social fund to offer non-grant finance.

Subsequently I was CEO of My Home Finance, a social enterprise lending to people on low incomes. I piloted the business regionally and expanded it to achieve national coverage. Latterly I have worked as a consultant with Public Private Partnerships in the health sector.

My career has equipped me with a thorough experience of business start-up, transformation and service improvement, managing organisational restructures, and planning and implementing operational and cultural changes, as well as creating productive and sustainable partnerships.

I am a qualified mediator; holding the National Certificate in Workplace Mediation.

On a personal level I am sports mad (pretty much all sports except horseracing and F1) and run Parkrun every Saturday, as well as the odd 10K. I also love cryptic crosswords, travel, theatre, cinema and reading.

Olivia Chalmers

Operations Change Manager

Upon finishing my A Levels, I was eager to dive straight into the wide world of business and landed my first position within the Business Improvement team in a large FM company. Within a few years I obtained a strong knowledge on the complexities and challenges within the world of FM, and was able to develop my project management skills through completion of the APM PMQ (Project Management Apprenticeship). Joining CI Projects in early 2019 has opened the door to many new and exciting challenges and I hope to be able to further develop my ability to bring new and innovative change into the workplace.

I am a versatile individual, always open to new challenges even when it is completely new territory and will always tackle these challenges head on.

Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, eating and drinking and talking endlessly about the weather, work and good memories. I enjoy visiting different countries on both short and long holidays and even being a tourist in my own country.

Sarah Collins

Project and Programme Management

I’m Sarah and I’m a Project Manager specialising in CAFM systems.

After graduating with a Maths degree I started my career in Operational Research, but found I was more interested in the IT platforms than the mathematical modelling. Since then I’ve spent the majority of my career working in IT / IS teams in various industries, with the last 14 years being in Facilities Maintenance.

I became a Project Manager because I like to approach things logically, so planning and organising comes naturally to me. Over the years I’ve worked with several project methodologies and I’m always keen to try new techniques.

I love writing, for fun as well as for work, as well as reading anything I can get my hands on! Weekends are usually spent with family and friends – walking the dog, going to the cinema or theatre, competing with my husband over the Telegraph crossword (I’m not divulging who answers the most clues).

Karolina Gaura

HR Project Management

My journey with CI Projects began in February 2018 and it has since become a great platform for my career direction. I deeply support the ethos and values that CI Projects advocates and stands for.

I am a versatile leader with experience in delivering projects ranging in complexity and size and my big passion is in HR. I went to university in 2016 to study Business Management with HR specialism to gain a deeper understanding of the HR arena and current HR trends.

Human Capital is important to any organisation's success and I am passionate about supporting employers to provide the best working environment and practices to enable all employees develop their full potential which contributes to the overall success of the business. This ranges from matching the right person to a job to keeping them engaged and motivated, so they will become a productive and effective member of any business team.

In my personal life, I am a dedicated wife and mum of two who believes in setting a good example for my daughters, showing them that by working hard you can advance in your career and achieve your goals, and that having a job does not make you less of a loving and caring mum.

In my free time I love to spend time with my family having fun, going for walks, watching movies, especially comedies and eating good food. I am an active Christian and God is the foundation of my life and the motivation for all I do.

Meet the Team

Kiran Kachela

Oge Zogie-Odigie

Becky Kendall

Benedicte Cormier

Eva Odediran

Tess Pendle

Olivia Chalmers

Sarah Collins

Karolina Gaura

Kiran Kachela

Oge Zogie-Odigie

Becky Kendall

Benedicte Cormier

Eva Odediran

Tess Pendle

Olivia Chalmers

Sarah Collins

Karolina Gaura

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