Your next chapter deserves the same strategic rigour you've applied to everything else
You're succeeding in your current role but quietly questioning whether this chapter is still yours
You have no shortage of people to talk to, and yet no one you can truly think out loud with.
You are not alone, and you are in the right place.
I'm Mary Vaz, a certified coach and senior HR Leader with over three decades of experience. I've sat inside the rooms where succession and leadership transition decisions are shaped. I bring that insider knowledge to your side of the table, alongside the coaching depth to hold both the strategic question and the personal one at once.
If you're ready to design what comes next with clarity and your reputation intact, send me a message to start the conversation.
WHY THIS WORK EXISTS
Hi, I’m Mary Vaz.
I Didn't Always Sit on This Side of the Table.
For thirty years, I worked as a senior HR Leader across Australia and Southeast Asia.
I sat inside succession conversations and leadership reviews. I watched capable, accomplished leaders make transitions that didn't serve them. Poorly timed exits, reactive pivots, roles taken out of relief rather than design.
The gap no one was filling
Career coaches treated the question as a job search. Executive coaches stayed inside the current role and focused on performance.
And the people inside organisations who understood the real landscape, people like me, were structurally unable to share what they knew while still in role.
The knowledge existed. The leaders who needed it couldn't access it.
What it costs to stay one season too long
I know this territory from the inside.
I spent eighteen months in a role I was genuinely good at, but the environment, the structure, the relentless demands were quietly taking something from me that I couldn't see at the time.
Then a health crisis stopped everything. In the days before surgery, I sat with one question: how do I want to show up in the time I have?
The answer was clarifying. Not this. Something more.
That moment freed me. It gave me permission to design my life from the inside out.
That clarity is what I now bring to your side of the table. You don't have to wait for a crisis to find yours.
With over 30 years inside the rooms where succession decisions are made, I help you navigate your next move with strategy and your reputation intact.
✓ 30+ Years as a senior HR Leader across Australia and Southeast Asia
✓ 4+ Years coaching senior executive leaders
✓ Certified Coach | MBA, AGSM | AHRI-certified HR Professional
✓ Practice built to hold the organisational chess game and the identity question in the same room
“Insightful, enjoyable and leaving me feeling empowered”
“My coaching sessions with Mary have been insightful, and enjoyable, leaving me feeling empowered and confident to further develop my leadership impact and influence. Mary has a calm nature as she guides you through her coaching sessions which allows you to safely explore and delve into topics that can be confronting and challenging to face. She works with you to develop actions you can put into practice that are achievable and targeted to your specific circumstances.
Working with Mary has been a really positive experience and I'm grateful for the opportunity to benefit from her coaching expertise.”
Gina Campbell
Higher Education Sector
Stop carrying this question alone.
Design your next chapter with clarity, strategy, and your reputation intact.