She has fulfilled senior director roles in various international corporations such as KLM, EMI music, ASML and Shell for 23 years. Sari is NOBCO-EMCC accredited as a master coach and is currently applying for her ICF MCC. As a consultant she is specialized in restructuring multinationals, changing the organizational culture and talent and leadership development. Her passion is co-creating sustainable behavioural change in an organizational setting.

Her company INTACT has been offering executive coaching, management consultancy and training programs for coaches and consultants in Budapest since 1993. The training programs are NOBCO, TA and soon to be ICF accredited and bilingual (English and Hungarian). For more information go to: www.intact1.com

1. When did you arrive in Hungary and what brought you here?
I first started working in Hungary in 1992. The short story is that I was an associate professor at the time and brought my students over to study emerging economies. By chance I heard a new transactional analysis association had been set up. I went out to dinner with the president of the association and over a glass of wine he asked me if I wanted to start a training course for managers, coaches and consultants here. My answer was: Why not? and the rest is history...

2. Have you ever been an expatriate elsewhere?
I grew up as an expat - born on Aruba, moved to Spain, Italy, Belgium, France, Saudi Arabia and the States before going to the Netherlands to study in my "home" country.

3. What surprised you most about Hungary?
The cosmopolitan culture, the museums, concerts, restaurants, beautiful countryside, the huge changes versus the sub stream of political and economic unrest.

4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do?
Go to the opera, walk by the Danube on a summers night, have cocktails at Menza.

5. What is your favourite Hungarian food?
Goulash - really!

6. What is never missing from your refrigerator?
Fruit and veg

7. What is your favourite Hungarian word?
Igen

8. What do you miss the most from home?
Licorice and my family

9. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?
Furniture maker or writer

10. What's a job you would definitely never want?
Ticket controller in the Budapest subway

11. Where did you spend your last vacation?
I spent 8 glorious weeks on a small island in Greece, walking up and down mountains and writing my article on modern nomads

12. Where do you hope to spend your next one?
On a mountain near lake Tahoe California with my brother, his grand piano and his huge mountain dog (to scare off the bears :)

13. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?
I have always loved salsa dancing. I actually ran a salsa dance school for 12 years, working my multinational director’s job during the day and teaching dance at night.

14. What can't you resist?
Opportunity

15. Red wine or white?
Deep full red wines

16. Book or movie?
Oh absolutely a book - I read about 4 books a week, from pulp fiction to professional literature. I use a lot of movies in my training programs as well, I'm a bit of a film nut.

17. Morning person or night person?
I get up at 0600 am in the morning - not sure if that's choice anymore or just age. Anyway I love preparing my day accompanied by the early morning bird song.

18. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about?
Injustice linked to diversity - I have done a lot of pro bono work encouraging people to deal with difference as an asset.

19. Buda side or Pest side?
I live and work on the Pest side, and I love the bustle, parks and arts going on there.

20. What would you say is your personal motto?
Freedom is not the absence of responsibility but the presence of choice