Fiona Murden is an award-winning psychologist, author, and founder of Oka. For 25 years she has profiled and worked with people across leadership, sport, medicine, the creative industries, and education from CEOs and surgeons to young people just starting out. The patterns repeat regardless of context. What separates people who thrive isn't talent or circumstances. It's knowing who they actually are.

Fiona has coached 12 FTSE 100 CEOs, profiled thousands of leaders globally, and impacted thousands more across diverse fields. Her clients have included Burberry, Dr. Martens, McKinsey & Co, Soho House, the UK's National Health Service, UNESCO, and United for Global Mental Health.

She is a Partner at Global Future Partners, where she specialises in biographical profiling, assessment and executive coaching for senior leaders. She founded Aroka Ltd in 2007, her previous consultancy working with leaders and organisations.

Fiona divides her time between two populations: senior leaders, through Global Future Partners, and young people, through Oka (visit oka.life) and partner organisations including the Women's Coaching Alliance. The science underpinning both is identical.

Books

Fiona is the author of two books. Defining You (John Murray/Nicholas Brealey, 2018) won Self Development Book of the Year at the Business Book Awards 2019 and the Axiom Silver Award in the USA. Mirror Thinking (Bloomsbury, 2021) has been translated into Simplified Chinese and Japanese.

Speaking and Media

Fiona has spoken at the London School of Economics, the Royal College of Surgeons, the Institute of Directors, the American Museum of Natural History, and McKinsey & Co. She delivered a TEDx talk at LSE in March 2021.

She has appeared on BBC Radio 4 (Woman's Hour, Christmas Day Special), BBC Radio 2 (Jeremy Vine), ITV News, and Channel 4 (Sunday Brunch). She has been featured in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Sunday Times, Forbes, and BBC Science Focus, among others.

Podcast

Fiona is the host of the Dot to Dot podcast, exploring the connections, challenges, and stories that make us human.

Academic Work and Research

Fiona holds a BSc in Psychology from the University of Warwick, an MA in Organisational Studies from Warwick Business School, and an MSc with distinction in Psychology from the University of London. She is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. She began her career at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).

Her published academic work includes research on emotional resilience in the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (2018, 90+ citations), cognitive psychology in the European Journal of Cognitive Psychology (2006), and a policy paper advising the UK government on decision-making. She has contributed to the Royal College of Surgeons Bulletin and the British Psychological Society.

Her current research, conducted with leading institutions, focuses on human irreplaceability alongside AI, what it is, how to measure it, and how to develop it deliberately in anyone.