I am Defne.

I worked in a holding company's human resources for twelve years. Most people who left my office said the same thing: "I don't know what I want." Today I accompany conversations that begin with that sentence.

Coach Defne Aksoy holding a red rope in front of a mustard backdrop

I came to coaching with a knot of my own: in the middle of my career, while everything looked fine.

In 2013, while working in recruitment and talent management, I took my first coaching course; I wanted to talk better with managers. In the third week I drafted my own resignation letter, and it waited in a drawer for two years.

In 2017 I left and set up my own practice. Since then I have worked with individual clients and with companies' management teams. Most of my clients are in their thirties and forties, people who feel stuck inside a life that looks "fine" from the outside.

My method is simple: I listen, I ask, and two weeks later I ask again so that you keep your word. I do not give advice; but I do not hide what I see either.

How do I work?

  • The answer is yours

    I will not tell you what to do. I ask the questions; you make the decision.

  • Small steps

    Not grand plans but steps you can try within two weeks. That is how change lasts.

  • Confidentiality

    What we talk about stays in the room. Even in corporate programmes no session content is passed to the company.

  • An honest limit

    If I see that coaching is not right for you, I will say so and refer you to the right person.

Training and credentials

  • ICF PCC (Professional Certified Coach)
  • Boğaziçi University, BA Psychology
  • Marmara University, MA Human Resource Management
  • More than 1,400 hours of one-to-one coaching
  • Hogan Assessments certification

Session languages: Turkish, English

The consulting room in Moda: two armchairs, a bookcase and a large window
The room in Moda: two chairs, a window, a closed door.
A client joining an online session from a laptop at home
Online sessions: for clients outside Istanbul and abroad.

The coach I work with

Emre Tunalı

Emre Tunalı

Executive coach, ICF ACC

He spent ten years as an engineering manager at a technology company. He runs executive coaching and team workshops together with Defne Aksoy, working especially with new managers from technical teams.

Management in technical teams, team workshops

Let's start with your own sentence.

The first call is 30 minutes and free. You decide about the programme afterwards.

Free intro call