about aephoria
We support sustainable human flourishing in
individuals, coaches, teams, and organisations.
who is aephoria?
Aephoria Partners was founded in 2011 by Dr. Simon Kettleborough and Dr. Julia Kukard and joined by globally renowned Enneagram teacher and psychometrist, Lucille Greeff, in 2015. They are supported by a team of experts in the fields of psychology, leadership, coaching, and organisational development.
Our facilitators and coaches create strong, safe, and powerful learning containers for people to heighten their awareness of self and others, to identify patterns within and between systems, and to develop their own solutions to organisational and personal challenges.
Aephoria’s suite of products offers coaches cutting-edge, rigourous, accurate assessment solutions. We empower you to become a mature, wise, sought-after developmental coach.
we support organisations
across the world to...
survive
"Who do you choose to be for this time? Are you willing to use whatever power and influence you have to create islands of sanity that evoke and rely on our best human qualities to create, produce and persevere?"
- Margaret Wheatley
In today's world, marked by heightened anxiety, stress, addiction, and a meaning crisis, we stand by you to address these challenges. Some say that we face an unprecedented global predicament. Many of our organisations are creaking under the weight of market expectations, retrenchment, financial constraints, and demands for exponential growth.
We support people and organisations to survive during this time of volatility and disruption.
In such environments, our work is typically to gear people and institutions up for survival. We often operate against the emotionally charged backdrop of restructuring and business turnaround, supporting people and systems through the inevitable anxiety, opportunism, uncertainty, and change.
At these times, we tackle the dynamics of internal competitiveness, alliances and cliques, mistrust, and political manoeuvring. We troubleshoot and solve tricky relational problems between individuals and within teams, which are often exacerbated by a climate of stress and ambiguity.
As trained therapists and coaches, we are also equipped to diagnose and work with some of the more difficult leadership and organisational pathologies, including narcissism, sociopathy, depression, and anxiety. Our interventions dissolve conflicts, align groups, shift cultures, and, ultimately, equip people to survive under extreme personal and professional conditions.
thrive
"We do good work because we do good work"
- Angela Blanchard
We support people and organisations to thrive by creating appropriate, respectful, and pragmatic individual and group leadership development interventions that deliver the outcomes our clients want, both personally and professionally. We do this by providing a space and stimuli for people to connect with their full intelligence and passion.
Our individual and group development programmes provide opportunities for people to mature. Often lasting 10-20 days over the course of 12-24 months, we work deeply and intensely to help people, teams, and organisations to increase awareness, consciousness, and confidence. Our work provides a framework for understanding functional and dysfunctional behaviours, increasing compassion for self and others, and uncovering pathways to further growth. Ultimately, all of these improve engagement, productivity, and performance.
Our psychotherapy skills are key to our work, allowing us to unravel the impact of early life socialisation on leadership, thus supporting leaders to have more meaningful and effective lives at work and home.
meet the aephoria team
Dr. Simon Kettleborough
Simon’s career spans 27 years in private, public, and non-profit sector organisations engaged in Leadership Development, Strategy,
Simon has a Doctorate in Existential Psychotherapy from Middlesex University, UK. He also has an MSc. in Sustainable Development with Distinction from London University, an MBA with Distinction from Warwick University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from Leicester University, and a BA Honours degree in Modern Languages and Music from Durham University.
Simon is a member of the United Kingdom Society for Existential Analysis (SEA), the UK Universities Psychotherapy and Counselling Association (UPCA), the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and has completed Mindfulness training at Oxford University. He has lived and worked long-term in the UK, South Africa, France, Belgium, and Brazil, and speaks English as well as some French and Portuguese.
Fun fact: Simon loves to ride his bicycle up and down South African mountains and plays keyboard in various rock bands.
Dr. Julia Kukard
Julia has over 30 years of experience in learning and development. She has worked globally with multinationals, nationals, governments,
She graduated from the University of Cape Town (UCT) with an Honours degree and MA in Art History, an MBA from the UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) and a BA in Psychology and Art History. Julia has also completed a Doctorate in Existential Psychotherapy at Middlesex University, UK.
She taught on the UCT GSB Advanced Leadership elective with Prof Kurt April for nine years. Her research focusses is on supporting the development of mature leaders and cultures that can enable human maturity. Julia has co-written a book on this subject with Dean Kai Peters from Ashridge University and Professor Kurt April from the GSB.
Fun fact: Julia can write a book, weed her garden, plan a party and drink a gin, all at the same time.
Lucille Greeff
Lucille is a Chartered Organisation Development (OD) practitioner, facilitator, coach, team development specialist, and HPCSA-registered
Her work focuses on personal, team, and organisational change and transformation, emphasising health and effectiveness, issue-centricity, and deep transformation. Her clients span financial services, conservation, retail, resources, Information Technology, manufacturing, agricultural, and government and non-governmental sectors.
Lucille enjoys partnering with clients through long-standing strategic projects. She has also developed numerous scalable and customised tools, processes, and interventions, including co-developing AIM, an online Enneagram and maturity assessment tool.
Lucille has a degree in Political Science, a BA Honours in Psychology, and an MA in Development Studies, all from the University of Johannesburg. She practices as an International Enneagram Association (IEA) Accredited Professional Member.
Lucille has written and published a number of organisational and poetic works. She enjoys working with micro-narratives in organisations and the way these tell the story of the heart and soul of a business. She is also a vision quest facilitator and makes use of wilderness-based leadership development and deep ecology work as part of her practice.
Fun fact: Lucille writes, performs and publishes poetry and runs rites of passage workshops called Vision Fasts in nature.
Dr. Makgati Mokwena
Makgati is a registered Art Therapist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and has taught psychology at two universities
Makgati holds graduate degrees in Psychology, Speech and Drama and Anthropology. She has also received her Master's Degree in Dance Movement Therapy and her Doctoral Degree in Psychology and participated in a 200-hour internationally certified yoga teacher training programme in Rishikesh, India.
Makgati works across corporate and NGO sectors. Her employment in the corporate sector extends to the facilitation of programmes such as Executive Development Programmes, Emerging Leadership Development Programmes, Women in Leadership, Train the Trainer, Leadership Presence, Unconscious Bias, Race Dialogues, Self-Storying in Stillness Retreats, Mentorship Training Programmes, various Diversity Training Programmes, and Having Crucial Conversations. Her work in the NGO sector focuses on personal and interpersonal leadership development, which is intended towards the improvement of self and society.
Makgati also holds ceremonies and facilitates rituals to help individuals journey through various life passages such as marriage, the scattering of ashes, birthdays, and other rites which mark important transitions in a person’s life.
Fun fact: Cosmic pilgrim in heels who loves to dance and play - I am on a non-dual path to self-realisation.
Karl Geggus
Karl is a core member of the Aephoria team, whose work involves the implementation and maintenance of the online Aephoria assessment platform and
Karl’s past projects include speech recognition systems, online psychometrics, and vessel-based and company solutions for fisheries worldwide to enable data logging, compliance, visualisation and analysis, GIS editing tools to create digital maps from satellite imagery for international GIS solution providers, and mobile app development. His work has collectively been expressed in technologies that include Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, SQL Server, MySQL, Node.js, Angular, C#, Android Studio, and Python.
Karl has a Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics) degree from the University of Pretoria. His love for technology began as a child with a home computer in the eighties, and today he’s still loving the technological wave and its ever-unfolding power and potential. If not immersed in code, he can be found exploring the mountains of Cape Town or spending time in the sea.
Fun fact: If Karl is not immersed in code, he’s often in the actual sea or on the mountains of Cape Town.
Marlon Ford
Marlon is our web developer with experience in front-end web development and is equipped with a host of self-taught knowledge and insights into
He is highly motivated and aspires to continually expand his knowledge by exploring different web development and social media marketing spheres to help Aephoria grow.
He believes in growing himself in every aspect of life and hopes to become a well-rounded web developer and social media marketer with a track record that speaks for itself. He spends most of his free time exploring in and around Cape Town, looking for that next amazing adventure.
Fun fact: Marlon has a love for anime and puma shoes, and is the office's table tennis champion.
Cherise Nortje
Cherise is based in Gauteng and manages client programmes, social media, and other diverse online and technology-related projects for Aephoria.
Cherise spent most of her corporate career in large banking and petrochemical organisations in the Marketing Research and Human Capital divisions. With a passion for understanding how people and systems work, she then started working for a business specialising in the Enneagram for coaches and team development, which has paved the way for where she finds herself today.
Cherise has a BA Honours in Industrial and Organisational Psychology from UNISA. She has worked with the Enneagram for over 10 years and is an accredited Enneagram practitioner. Additional development work has included depth facilitation with Helene Smit and coaching training with Thoughtsmiths (ICF Accredited).
In her quiet time, she studies and explores Metaphysics and alternative healing methods for her family and furry friends.
Fun fact: Cherise likes to study astrological themes that shed more light in making sense of the complex nature of human life on planet earth.
Rikus Combrinck
Rikus is Aephoria’s machine learning engineer, working primarily to automate the marking of Maturity assessments by artificial intelligence.
Before Rikus could talk, he was taking things apart. He went on to study electronic engineering with a postgraduate specialisation in machine learning and then ventured into software engineering for several years.
More recently, the global thaw after a long artificial intelligence winter presented data science as a viable career. Rikus's interest in artificial intelligence dates back to high school. He is overjoyed by the fact that the rest of the world has finally caught up and is now prepared to pay him for exploring and solving truly fascinating problems, aspects of which ultimately touch on the nature of life, the universe, and everything.
Fun fact: Rikus can juggle four balls.
Cheryl Hendricks
Cheryl is a self-motivated, hardworking, and passionate all-rounder with more than 24 years experience in Office Management, Bookkeeping,
Throughout her career, she has consistently demonstrated a passion for Office Management, finding fulfillment in delivering efficient services to all stakeholders. She thrives on taking on new challenges and continually seeks opportunities for growth. Cheryl has been a pivotal member of the Aephoria success story since joining the organisation.
Fun fact: Cheryl's love of fashion led her to own 150 pairs of shoes.
Andisiwe Mketo
Andisiwe holds a Bachelor of Arts honours in Linguistics as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Industrial Psychology from the University of the Western Cape.
Her life journey has been shaped by an insatiable curiosity about human communication and behaviour. This fascination with discovering the intricacies of human interaction ignited Andisiwe’s passion for both Industrial Psychology and Linguistics, a realisation that further fuelled her dedication to bridge the gap between unspoken narratives and meaningful understanding.
At Aephoria, Andisiwe is committed to applying her academic background and passion for Linguistics and Psychology to drive positive change. She is also dedicated to matching her goals with her values, striving for success while at the same time staying true to herself. Instead of seeing challenges as roadblocks, she sees them as stepping stones to the future and creating a positive impact.
Andisiwe’s career dreams have guided her life’s direction - driving her to help society and to keep learning.
Fun fact: Andisiwe is obsessed with languages, but learns at her own pace to enjoy the process.
Hani du Toit
Hani is a senior facilitator, inclusion specialist, educator and coach at Aephoria. Her specialty lies within training and strategic thinking to aid the design
With 26 years’ experience in leadership education and human development, Hani works locally and abroad within companies, universities, and government. She holds qualifications from UCT, UWC, Cambridge University as well as the Creating We Institute. Hani is an Aephoria AIM practitioner working with the Enneagram and Maturity.
Fun fact: In her free time Hani writes children’s fiction and nonfiction for National Geographic.
Zanele Kumalo
Zanele is a senior consultant at Aephoria and a black African woman who claims Sotho and Ndebele ancestral heritage. She is a seasoned facilitator, trainer and
Zanele also served as guest faculty for The Kopanya Institute’s online course on Dismantling Race and Racism in Conscious Community and, prior to that, was faculty for Aephoria Partners’ University of Johannesburg Women’s Leadership Development Programme for three years. Most recently, in 2022, she led sessions on Diversity and Inclusion for UCT’s Graduate School of Business Discovery Management Development Programme.
Fun fact: Zanele is trained in the healing arts as a quantum healer. Also, she loves travelling, hiking, and singing.
Kate Clayton
Kate has more than 30 years’ experience working with a range of start-ups, social enterprises, entrepreneurial businesses and corporates to build cultures,
Kate brings together Integral Coaching with strategic thinking, weaving these together in practical ways that help leaders, teams and organisations move forward with greater possibilities. Kate helps clients distill key aspects of who they are and what they stand for, and then helps them show up to this with greater agency.
In the words of some clients: “Kate invests fully in her clients’ success, championing them forward with sincerity, love and challenge.” “Kate brings depth, creativity, sass, wisdom and inclusion to her work, creating the space for people to participate confidently and courageously. We see her as an extension of our business.”
Fun fact: One of Kate’s greatest loves is going on alive-making adventures in nature, especially when it involves swimming, hiking and dancing.
Christo van Staden
Christo is a highly experienced global organisation development practitioner, coach and team facilitator with specialities in DEI, culture development,
Christo’s current focus is on practices of self-awareness to stimulate the potential inherent in individuals and teams to create healthy worlds for our own and future generations. He has worked in both the private and public sectors, as a lead in a consulting firm, and as a teacher, lecturer, learning designer, consultant, facilitator and coach.
As a coach and facilitator with a broadly Existential approach, Christo uses the Enneagram and Leadership Maturity widely, and draws on his understanding of the humanities, philosophy and psychology. He has a Master's degree in Literature and is a published poet (Eros ontbind, Protea 2006), with a new book of poetry in the final stages of development.
Fun fact: Christo practices do-nothing gardening, imperfectly, of course
aephoria supports
growth and development
Assessments
Aephoria presents coaches and development practitioners with a full suite of personality and maturity assessments to support, accelerate, and enhance professional and personal development. Aephoria assessments are the first assessments globally that combined the Enneagram and Maturity.
Services
for Organisations
Gain potent and transformational insights about your organisation’s overall personality type and maturity stage with Aephoria for Organisations. We specialise in using the power of our Maturity and Enneagram personality tests to produce profound, unique, systemic views of entire organisations and how they are operating. This enables developmental interventions that are appropriate, meaningful, and pointed towards radically successful impacts and outcomes.
Accreditation Programmes
Aephoria accreditation programmes are comprehensive, certified learning journeys that take people from entry-level Enneagram practitioners to master professionals able to work skillfully in one-on-one, team, and group facilitation spaces with the Enneagram and Maturity Frameworks.