Is This You? lands partnership with global software giant Sage
The North East coaching company, based right here at the North East BIC, has been
appointed by Sage to design and deliver a 12-month leadership development
programme for its IT division. We could not be more proud.
When John Forth, Phil Gray, David Beharall and Steve Beharall set up Is This You?
just a couple of years ago, their mission was simple: help people get out of their own
way and perform at their best. Drawing on decades of experience building seven-figure businesses and leading organisations at the highest level, they had something
genuinely different to offer.
Fast forward to today, and Is This You? has just secured one of the most exciting
partnerships in its short history, working with Sage, the global leader in accounting,
financial, HR and payroll technology, to design and deliver its High Performance
Programme for senior leaders in Sage’s IT division.
It is a brilliant result for a brilliant team, and one we are delighted to have played a
small part in.
“We’re proud to be partnering with Sage on a programme that invests in the next
generation of leadership” said Phil Gray, Co-founder and CEO, Is This You? “For us, this is about helping people grow with clarity, confidence and measurable progress, while supporting organisations to build leadership strength for the future.”
What the programme looks like
The High Performance Programme is a bespoke 12-month initiative for senior leaders
and emerging directors who have been identified as future director-level talent within
Sage IT. Each participant gets a personalised development plan, regular one-to-one
coaching, and structured group learning alongside peers.
Is This You? has also built a digital platform to sit alongside the coaching, giving
participants and their organisation a clear view of progress and priorities throughout
the year. It is a genuinely modern approach to leadership development, a long way
from the kind of one-size-fits-all training programmes that most businesses have sat
through at some point. Sage were looking for something different, and they found it on their doorstep.
Kerry Sinclair, Executive Vice President, Sage IT said: “Finding the right coaching partner was an important decision for us. We wanted a partner who could offer personalised, confidential development, and Is This You? stood out for their lived experience, professional approach, and their ability to balance one-to-one coaching with cohort learning.”
Built on real experience
What makes Is This You? different is not just their coaching model. It is the people
behind it. The founders have lived through the highs and lows of building businesses
themselves, and that experience runs through everything they do.
John Forth, who also serves as a Business Adviser here at the BIC, lost his seven figure
property business during the 2008 financial crisis. He rebuilt, founded a successful renewables company, and eventually found his way to coaching after realising that financial success alone was not enough.
“I found the anxiety and stress coming back,” John has said of that period. “I felt like I
was losing myself again and realised I needed to change. Life needed to be about
purpose.”
That is the foundation Is This You? is built on. Purpose-led coaching from people who
genuinely understand what it feels like to be under pressure, to lose something you have built, and to come back stronger. It resonates, and it is why clients like Sage trust
them with their people.
Where the BIC fits in
Is This You? has been based at the BIC since the business started scaling, and that decision has always been about more than just office space. John has spoken before about why the BIC felt like the right home for the business.
“Moving the business to the BIC was a no-brainer because of its strong and supportive
network,” he said. “Sunderland seems to be where everything is happening right now
and we’re right in the centre of it. We love the collaborative nature of the coworking
space, and the beauty of the BIC is its versatility.”
Alongside workspace, the BIC has supported Is This You? with strategic guidance,
mentoring, and connections to the wider regional business network. For a growing
company with national and international ambitions, that kind of backing matters.
John Forth, Co-founder and COO, Is This You? said “The BIC have been instrumental in supporting our growth. We have been challenged and supported by them, and they’ve helped us think bigger as a business. I believe that their backing has certainly been important in allowing us to reach this point.”
Hearing that from a founder is genuinely what we are here for. The BIC exists to
support businesses to grow, to connect them with the right people, and to give them
the confidence to go after opportunities they might not have otherwise pursued. Is This You? is a great example of exactly that.
What comes next
The Sage partnership is a significant milestone, but it is far from the end of the story for Is This You?. The team has been busy building out the Is This You? Academy, a CMI
accredited coaching programme designed to equip the next generation of coaches with professional certification, a proven framework, and everything they need to build a meaningful, profitable coaching business of their own.
With national rollout plans already under way and international ambitions on the
horizon, the team’s dream of becoming a global coaching movement is very much
alive.
“We’d like to be global,” John said. “Our dream is to have coaches and clients in
as many different countries as possible, and to be a catalyst for Lives Well Lived
globally.”
“It’s very humbling and incredibly satisfying to hear how the work we’ve done has
touched people’s lives. Whether it’s helping someone change careers, overcome
stress and anxiety, or break free from a career situation where they felt stuck, we’re
genuinely changing lives.”
We have no doubt they will get there. And we will be cheering them on every step of
the way.