About us

Kokoro (Japanese: 心) stands for heart. Written with the above character, this word signifies also mind, in the emotional sense; spirit; courage; resolve; sentiment; affection; and inner meaning, - just as we say in English, “the heart of all things.”

Lafcadio Hearn

We founded Kokoro in 2018 because we felt the way performance is  measured and optimised is broken. We wanted to find new ways of helping  people learn and grow.

In our years of working with leaders and teams of all shapes and sizes, we realised the only way to effect change is to upskill leaders to create great environments for people to thrive in.

So that’s what we’ll keep doing!

KOKORO letters in Japanese

The Kokoro team

Photo of Imran Rehman
Imran Rehman

The heart of the heart of things. Imran’s vast experience as coach and consultant is what fuels everything Kokoro does - from introducing the three dimensions of healthy high performance to asking the right questions right up to helping you take the right actions.

Reach out to talk about leadership, team development, training and coaching. And 🐕.

Photo of Andrej Barla
Andrej Barla

Anrej is passionate about building a culture of learning by focusing on strength-based work and effective conflict management. He’ll identify the most suitable solution for your leaders and teams and accompany you on your path.

Talk to him about power skills, change and coaching. And 🐈.

Photo of Sabine Ballata
Sabine Ballata

Designs and builds Kokoro, and makes double sure our upskilling content is based on the latest and most diligent research out there. Creating tangible value with technology and data humanism makes her heart beat faster.

Get in touch with her about the Kokoro method and model, product design and digitalisation. And 🏊🚴👟 .

Photo of Shazad Rehman
Shazad Rehman

You are not seeing double, he is Imran’s twin. And he is also the person keeping tabs on your data security and privacy, your data load time...you get the picture.

Talk to him about software development, anonymity and security. And 🔩.

Photo of Martin Knecht
Martin Knecht

Beyond lines of code and logic, Martin infuses the team with  thoughtful insights, energising kindness and his cheerful spirit. Passionate about helping teams develop every team members potential,  he’s an invaluable contributor to our team.

The extended team

Katharina Petsche

puts Kokoro questions into pictures that are better than words

Katharina’s Website
Chris Gannon

performs animated interactive SVG wizardry

Codepen
Khaled Kazzaz

makes this website reality

Khaled's Website