BENCHMARK LEADERSHIP & COACHING CONFERENCE 2025

Theme: Digitalization + Authentic Connection = NEXT-LEVEL LEADERS

September 18, 2025 at 8AM-12PM Philippines Time
(September 17, 2025 at 8PM-12AM Eastern Time)
via Zoom

Benchmark 2025 is SOLD OUT and registration is closed!

Introduction

In a world racing toward AI-driven efficiency, how do we lead—and coach—with humanity at the core?

The Benchmark Leadership & Coaching Conference 2025 is where visionary leaders, coaches, and change-driven professionals converge to answer this defining question. As digital transformation reshapes workplaces, the most successful leaders won’t just adapt—they’ll harmonize cutting-edge tools with irreplaceable human connection.

This isn’t just another conference. It’s a catalyst for reinvention.

Silhouette of a person using a smartphone surrounded by digital binary code projections.

Why Attend?

At Benchmark 2025, you’ll gain the strategies, tools, and mindsets to:

Lead with focus and agility in a world of rapid technological change.
Coach with deep human connection that creates lasting impact.
Build trust and foster belonging in hybrid and digital-first environments.
Foster long-term resilience amid disruption.
Stay grounded even when life throws you off balance.
Keep people at the center of progress, all the time.

Through this interactive and reflective conference, you’ll leave equipped to bridge the gap between the digital and the human—transforming how you lead, coach, and inspire in the age of AI and disruption.

The future of leadership isn’t just digital. It’s deeply human. Are you ready to redefine what’s possible?

The Speakers and Topics

Gain wisdom, insights, and proven strategies from pioneering ICF coaches—visionaries who, for 30 years, have shaped leaders, transformed teams, and revolutionized organizations through the power of coaching.

Grounded Leadership
with Stephen Cluney, MCC

Stephen Cluney, MCC, is an executive coach with 35+ years helping leaders unlock higher performance by aligning teams and applying the Principles Behind Human Performance. He helped found Coach University and the International Coaching Federation and has served as an adjunct professor of NYU’s Coaching Certificate program.

In Stephen’s session, you’ll explore what it means to be grounded as a leader. Through storytelling, practical tools, and reflective discussion, you’ll learn how to start your day centered, stay grounded when challenges arise, and recover quickly when you’ve been knocked off balance.

Stephen Cluney, MCC, is widely recognized as a coaching industry leader and innovator. He has spent the last 35 years coaching/consulting CEOs and executives in the Beauty, Fashion, and Outdoor industries at global brands like Loreal, J. Crew, Luxottica, and Burton. Stephen’s main focus is helping leaders perform at new levels. His projects have him working with individuals, teams and across entire organizations. He takes a comprehensive approach aligning senior teams by facilitating thought provoking conversations that yield compelling visions and strategies. As a foundational part of his work, Stephen focuses on teaching executives The Principles Behind Human Performance to accelerate both individual and business performance. When these principles are learned, executives experience dramatic reductions in stress, have fewer distractions, connect at a deeper level with others, and surface fresher more insightful visionary thinking.

Additionally, Stephen was President of a 90-year-old privately held Italian luxury leather accessories company, responsible for reconstructing the company’s vision and strategies, while
returning the company to profitability. Stephen was instrumental in the development of the coaching profession. In 1991, he assisted in launching Coach University. In 1995, Stephen helped launch the International Coaching Federation (ICF – the largest global professional coaching governing body with chapters in over 130 countries) and was an advisory board member for five years. He also developed a Coaching curriculum at New York University and taught as an adjunct professor of NYU’s Coaching Certificate program.

Stephen is a Master Certified Coach, a passionate collector of European antiques, a classic car enthusiast, and a lover of all things design. He lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut with his wife and three kids.

In today’s high-pressure environments, effective leadership requires more than strategy—it demands presence. Grounded Leadership is the practice of maintaining a clear, calm, and centered mindset regardless of external pressures. When we are grounded, we access deeper wisdom, make better decisions, and stay connected to ourselves and others.

In this session, we’ll unpack what “being grounded” really means. We’ll look at how to start your day from a centered place, how to hold that space when challenges arise, and how to regain your footing when you’ve been knocked off balance.

Key Takeaways
Through storytelling, practical tools, and reflective discussion, you’ll walk away with:

What it feels like to be grounded as a leader
How to achieve and sustain a grounded mindset
Practical tools to recover quickly when life or work throws you off balance

Whether you’re facing a chaotic week or a high-stakes decision, this hour will help you better lead from a mindset of strength and clarity.

How to Get to the Heart of the Matter In Your Coaching
with Laura Berman Fortgang, MCC

Laura Berman Fortgang, MCC, is a coaching pioneer known for her Now What?® Career Clarity Methodology, coaching leaders across corporate, government, and creative sectors. She’s a global speaker, media contributor, and bestselling author.

In Laura’s session, you’ll learn how to move beyond surface-level symptoms to uncover the core challenges holding people back. She’ll guide you through a proven framework with practical coaching techniques, key questions that get to the truth, and how to use your intuition to identify the real problem.

Laura Berman Fortgang, MCC, is recognized as a pioneer in the coaching field. She was one of the first in the world to receive the Master Coach Credential from the International Coach Federation.

Laura has worked extensively in the corporate arena as an Executive Coach in pharma, the food industry, entertainment, banking and in government agencies such NASA and the Army Corps of Engineers. She has also worked with artists and entrepreneurs through the TED fellow program, the Sundance Film Festival and multiple startups.

As a professional speaker, Laura has traveled to many parts of the world to inspire excellence for individual and companies. Such companies include: McDonald’s, Prudential, Tricon, American Express, and The Blanchard Companies. Women’s groups such as the Healthcare Women’s Business Association, the Women’s Food Service Forum and Women’s Leadership initiatives for McDonald’s Corporation, Eli Lilly and Novartis have had her back year after year as a featured speaker. Her TEDx talk has garnered over 2 million views.

The best-selling author of five self-help books as well as a finalist in the spiritual category of the Books for a Better Life Awards with her latest, The Little Book On Meaning, Laura has been a frequent contributor to mainstream media like REDBOOK magazine, The Huffington Post, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The CBS Early Show, NBC’s Today and various nationally syndicated print and cable outlets.

She is best known for her Now What?® Career Clarity Methodology and is also a mentor to other A-List coaches.

Like doctors diagnosing an illness, leaders and coaches often see only the surface-level symptoms in their teams or clients. The real work – and the real value of coaching – lies in uncovering what’s beneath these symptoms to create meaningful, lasting solutions. In this session, Laura will guide you through her proven framework for cutting through surface issues to identify and address the core challenges holding people back. You’ll learn practical coaching techniques to move beyond obvious symptoms and discover how to facilitate breakthroughs by getting to the heart of the matter every time.

Key Takeaways:

Questions that make a difference to getting to the truth
How your intuition plays a role in uncovering the real problem
What changes to make immediately to become more effective in using coaching

The Secret to Getting Great Results in Coaching and Leadership Conversations
with Dr. Marcia Reynolds, MCC

Dr. Marcia Reynolds, MCC, is a behavioral scientist and coaching pioneer who has delivered programs in 47 countries. She served as the 5th ICF Global President and is known for her bestselling book Coach the Person, Not the Problem.

In Dr. Marcia’s session, you’ll explore how to use human energetic exchange and neuroscience-based co-regulation alongside coaching skills to connect deeply and engage others in difficult conversations. She’ll share ways to integrate presence with conversational skills to generate co-created results and foster learning and growth.

Dr. Marcia Reynolds, MCC, is a behavioral scientist who has spent 40 years researching how conversations can deepen connections that both unify us and open our minds to learning. She has delivered programs in 47 countries and teaches leaders to use coaching skills in organizations and government agencies.

As a pioneer in coaching, she was the 5th global president of the International Coaching Federation, is recognized in the ICF Circle of Distinction and recently was awarded an ICF Impact Award for her work in creating a successful coaching culture with AEON Vietnam. Global Gurus places her in the top 5 coaches in the world.

Excerpts from her 5 books including her international bestseller, Coach the Person, Not the Problem, have appeared in major publications around the world.

Her education includes a doctorate in Organizational Psychology and two master’s degrees in Communication and Adult Learning/ Instructional Design.

Dr. Reynolds will explore how to use the human energetic exchange to connect and co-create powerful results even in difficult conversations. She will describe how to blend the neuroscience of co-regulation with coaching skills to quickly engage others to explore their thinking and articulate new possibilities. Then she will share simple yet profound ways to integrate this presence with conversational skills to generate co-created results.

Key Takeaways

Discuss how to use the latest research that demonstrates how coaching is the best learning technology to foster learning and growth.
Discover how to use coaching presence to overcome resistance and stimulate mental activity.
Explore how intentions and emotions impact your use of a coaching approach in performance and developmental conversations.

Be Future-Ready Being Generative
with Janet M. Harvey, MCC

Janet M. Harvey, MCC, is a global thought leader and CEO of inviteCHANGE, empowering leaders to achieve transformative results through the Generative Wholeness™ framework. She has worked with organizations like Amazon and Microsoft and served as ICF Global President.

In Janet’s session, you’ll explore Generative Wholeness™ leadership, which asks what you want to cause to happen in light of what you know or suspect about the future. You’ll reflect on practices that block breakthrough, recognize tension as the seed of transformation, and learn how to transform from fixed to adaptive, authority to empowerment, and efficiency to sustainability.

Janet M. Harvey, MCC, is a recognized global thought leader, author, and the CEO of inviteCHANGE, a leading human development and performance organization. Established in 1997, inviteCHANGE empowers leaders and organizations to achieve transformative results through Generative Wholeness™—a dynamic framework that fosters authentic leadership, systemic awareness, and resilience. By harmonizing relational and transactional competencies, Janet’s approach helps leaders unlock innovation, embrace complexity, and inspire trust.

Janet’s nearly three decades of experience include working with global organizations such as Wells Fargo, Amazon, Microsoft, and UCB to build thriving workplace cultures. Her team of 70 ICF-certified coaches delivers bespoke coaching programs, leadership development initiatives, and ICF-accredited certification training, enabling both organizations and individuals to achieve their full potential.

With over 12,000 coaching hours, Janet has been instrumental in advancing the coaching profession, serving as ICF Global President and leading initiatives to promote coaching excellence worldwide. Her mission is simple yet profound: to empower leaders to Be authentic and generative, Choose to live values aligned, and Cause reciprocal prosperity. Leaders who choose this empowerment drive sustainable change, creating workplaces where people love their life’s work.

The future of work demands more than just efficiency and productivity, especially with the incorporation of embodied technology (AI+) that must be harnessed. People leaders at every level, and the coaches who partner with them, must strengthen and consistently demonstrate agility, creativity, and the ability to lead through ambiguity.

Research consistently shows that organizations with high levels of psychological safety, trust, and learning agility outperform their competitors in employee engagement, innovation, and bottom-line results. Yet, traditional leadership models continue to prioritize control, rigid structures, and top-down decision-making. Research about these approaches reveals limits on innovation, reduced employee ownership, increased burnout and incivility; all of these lead to a drain on organizational performance and viability. One might wonder what blocks change in the face of clear and rational evidence.

Generative Wholeness™ (GW) leadership offers a different paradigm. This state of being asks and answers a critical question for leaders: What do you want to cause to happen in light of what you know or suspect about the future

Transform from Fixed to Adaptive: embrace uncertainty as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Transform from Authority to Empowerment: instead of commanding, create conditions for employees to step into their full potential.
Transform from Efficiency to Sustainability: foster long-term resilience by embedding continuous learning and self-awareness into workplace culture.

By embedding Generative Wholeness™ into leadership practices, organizations unlock the power of collective intelligence, nurture future-fit teams, and drive sustainable growth in an era of constant change with the associated uncertainty and complexity of business today.

Key Takeaways:

Reflect on current practices that block to breakthrough to authentic power personally, for your team and applied to your entire organization
Recognize tension as the seed of transformation and antidote to uncertainty
Explore and tailor a Generative Leader’s Playbook for immediate application

The Insighters

A unique feature of this conference is that after each session, highly regarded executive leaders from different industries will bring the learnings to life by sharing how they can be applied on the job and in the real world.

Rowena Subido

Rowena F. Subido is the First Senior Vice President and Group Head, Human Resources at Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC). She is a seasoned HR Executive with over 35 years of experience across local and multinational companies, including 20 years in banking and finance. She has led key HR functions such as Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, Compensation and Benefits, and Employee Relations. She is also the chair of the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC) HR Council.

Noel Tempongko, Jr.

Noel Anthony M. Tempongko, Jr. is a veteran executive in the food, beverage and packaging industry with over 30 years of leadership experience, most recently as General Manager of Century Pacific Agricultural Ventures, Inc. Throughout his career, Noel has not only built businesses and expanded global operations, but has also consistently built people, developing high-potential talent into today’s executives and leaders. Noel has a legacy of mentorship and a deep passion for helping others grow to their fullest potential.

Dannah Majarocon

Dannah Majarocon is the Managing Director of Jobstreet by SEEK Philippines, bringing transformative leadership to the digital recruitment space. As a tech industry visionary, she’s known for leveraging innovative technologies to connect talent with opportunity across the Philippines. She has an impressive career spanning Groupon, Yondu, GCash, and Lalamove Philippines. She champions AI-driven solutions that enhance both employer and jobseeker experiences, making her a recognized voice in recruitment technology advancement.

Irvin Domingo, Jr.

Irvin B. Domingo, Jr. is an accomplished HR Talent Management architect and innovator with over 20 years of experience in talent management across top firms like BPI, Maybank Philippines, Magsaysay, SM Prime, and PMFTC. He is an educator and entrepreneur, currently serving as President of ICF Philippines Chapter and a board member of Filipino Science Hub. He also leads programs on leadership, performance, and team effectiveness.

Program Schedule

Please note that the schedule is subject to change. All times provided are in Philippines Time (GMT+8).

8:00AM – 8:15AM	Welcome & Opening
8:15AM – 9:00AM	“Grounded Leadership” with Stephen Cluney, MCC
9:00AM – 9:05AM	Insighter: Rowena Subido
9:10AM – 9:55AM	“How to Get to the Heart of the Matter In Your Coaching” with Laura Berman Fortgang, MCC
9:55AM – 10:00AM	Insighter: Noel Tempongko, Jr.
10:00AM – 10:10AM	BREAK
10:15AM – 11:00AM	“The Secret to Getting Great Results in Coaching and Leadership Conversations” with Dr. Marcia Reynolds, MCC
11:00AM – 11:05AM	Insighter: Dannah Majarocon
11:10AM – 11:55AM	“Be Future-Ready Being Generative” with Janet M. Harvey, MCC
11:55AM – 12:00PM	Insighter: Irvin Domingo, Jr.
12:00PM	Closing

Registration Details

Date and Time

September 18, 2025 at 8AM-12PM Philippines Time
(September 17, 2025 at 8PM-12AM Eastern Time)

Regular Rates

Local: Php. 2,500.00 + VAT
International: USD 50.00

Group Rates

Local: Php. 2,000.00 + VAT per pax for a minimum of 10 pax
International: USD 40.00 per pax for a minimum of 10 pax
For group registrations, email us at info@benchmark-consulting.net

Registration Forms

Individual Registrations

LOCAL REGISTRation CLOSED

INT’L REGISTRation CLOSED

Important Notes

Please be reminded that ALL PAID CONFERENCE REGISTRATIONS:
1. Cannot be used to attend other courses/programs
2. Are non-transferable

Contact Us

For any inquiries or concerns regarding the conference or refund-related matters, email us at info@benchmark-consulting.net.