From the outside
everything
looked
successful.
That’s exactly why
I built The Essence.
EXPERIENCE
I spent 15 years in global corporate roles. Leading transformation. Moving countries. Delivering results. And quietly losing touch with what I was actually doing it for. That’s not a career story. That’s the reason this work exists.
DEPTH
I don’t just ask questions. I trained in coaching, somatic work, and breathwork because thinking alone doesn’t shift patterns. The body knows things the mind hasn’t named yet. That’s where I work.
CONVICTION
Too many capable people running on empty. Too many initiatives that looked good on paper and never landed in practice. I built The Essence because I believed there was a better way. There is.
Hi, I'm Özlem.
I help individuals and organizations get
clear on what's driving them, what's in the way,
and what to do next.
I work with people who are capable, high-performing and quietly off course. And with organizations where change isn’t landing. In both cases, the work starts from the same place: understanding what’s actually driving the situation and what to do about it.
Built from experience. Driven by what's real.
I’ve spent most of my adult life navigating change professionally and personally.
15 years in global corporate roles at Unilever and Henkel. Working in large-scale transformation. Moving countries four times. Building a life in unfamiliar places, again and again.
From the outside, everything looked successful. But I know firsthand how easy it is to quietly lose clarity and direction while still performing at a high level. To keep delivering and feel increasingly disconnected from what you’re actually doing it for.
That experience combined with everything I witnessed in organizations, is what led me to build The Essence. Too many capable people running on empty. Too many transformation initiatives that never truly landed. And a growing conviction that there was a better way.
So I went deeper. I trained in transformative coaching, change management, somatic coaching, and breathwork to understand what actually moves people not just what sounds good on paper.
Today my work focuses on one thing: helping people and organizations get clear, so they can move forward with real conviction.
What it feels like
to work with me
Clients often describe working with me as unexpectedly deep and grounding at the same time. I listen carefully to what you say. And to what you don’t.
I’ll ask the question you weren’t expecting. I’ll reflect back what I notice. And I’ll hold a space that is honest, safe, and completely free of judgment, but not always comfortable. That’s intentional.
This isn’t coaching by formula.
Every engagement is shaped around you, your patterns, your pace, your story.
Some sessions feel like clarity arriving all at once. Others feel like something quietly shifting beneath the surface. Both are part of the work.
CREDENTIALS & TRAININGS
Trained with intention.
Applied in the real world.
15 Years in
various corporate
roles
Unilever and
Henkel
Prosci Certified Change Management Professional
Globally recognised change management methodology
ICF Certified
Coach
Trained with Animas
Centre for Coaching
Somatic Coach
Trained with
InnerCamp
Yoga Teacher
Vinyasa, Yin, Yoga Nidra, 300+ hrs trained with Yagoy and Arhanta Yoga
Breathwork Coach
Trained with
Dan Brulé
Five principles that guide every engagement.
Integrity
Honest, direct, and aligned. Always.
Real Change
Not surface shifts. Change that holds in decisions, behavior, and direction.
Wholeness
Structure and softness. Mind and body. Strategy and soul.
Presence
Deep, non-judgmental listening. To what you say and what you don’t.
Compassionate Challenge
A space that feels safe. And questions that don’t let you off the hook.
"My Name, Özlem,
Means longing in Turkish. But not just any longing. Within it lives a smaller word, Öz, which means the inner self, the essence.
Özlem, a longing for the self. That's what this work is about. Not adding more. Returning to what was always there."
"My Name, Özlem,
Means longing in Turkish. But not just any longing. Within it lives a smaller word, Öz, which means the inner self, the essence.
Özlem, a longing for the self. That's what this work is about. Not adding more. Returning to what was always there."
Words from clients
More than what
happens in the room.
When I’m not coaching or consulting, you’ll find me teaching yoga at my local studio, staying connected to people in a different way.
I run breathwork and bodywork workshops. I’ve completed marathons, ultramarathons, and two half Ironman races. Endurance sport taught me something I carry into every session: how to stay present when things get uncomfortable and trust what’s on the other side.
I’m also slowly making more room for art and learning to be a beginner again.
At home, I share my space with two cats who are completely unbothered by transformation work.
Ready to move forward?
If something on this page resonated, that feeling is worth paying attention to. A discovery session is where it starts. One focused conversation to help you see what’s really going on, what’s getting in the way, and what’s possible from here.