The company is led by Tarja Vartiainen, the founder, who is passionate about team development, team cohesion and authentic leadership. She incarnates Nordic expertise and authenticity, with a strong background in management and coaching.
After more than 20 years in management positions with international companies in Paris, New York and London, she followed her heart and passion to work with managers and their teams to improve performance, develop their capacities and reach their full potential.
She works with a diverse team of professional & certified coaches, consultants and trainers, who are aligned on the same types of practices, and used to working together in the same philosophy.
In this vast, cold country, guardian of ancient wisdom and reputed to be the happiest in the world, Tarja’s parents ran a business. Even as a child, Tarja liked to accompany her parents to be in contact with the people. This is the source of her deep humanity.
Tarja has always lived on the edge of the forest, close to nature, between the blue sky and the white snow. And in the silence too, the one that all Finns learn to use from the cradle to listen to others. During the vacations, Tarja and her family tamed nature, which in turn taught them a lot. Tarja has gained great strength of character, even though the snow that covers the country for a large part of the year complicates daily life. It pushes them to perseverance. This formative environment and the care of the family are the roots of Tarja’s authenticity and her keen sense of priorities.
For as long as she can remember, her passion for horses has been a part of her life. A bright student in a school system that leaves a lot of time for personal development, Tarja ran every chance she got to a neighbor of her parents. He passed on to her everything he knew about horses. He owned these famous cold-blooded, docile, affectionate and hardy little Finnish horses and used them to collect wood in the forest. Tarja brushed them, talked to them, cleaned the boxes, brought them water and looked after the well-being of her little protégés. The conditions were harsh and difficult, but Tarja did her job in all kinds of weather, her love for horses taking precedence over everything else. It was there that she learned about self-transcendence and endurance, courage and self-sacrifice.
In Finland, people are at the heart of everything. And Tarja is built on this concept.
It is simple and authentic, and it is built around four basic values of human nature.
Equality: Tarja’s parents were both business owners, so they shared the household chores equally and as naturally as possible. This equality of rights was part of Tarja’s upbringing.
Well-being: In Finland, the balance of the individual is considered in its entirety. The teaching days in schools are short. The rest of the time is devoted to contact with nature, social and family life, and sports that keep the energy flowing. The sauna, a place for physical and mental relaxation, is also considered a necessity.
Perseverance: this is the Finnish “sisu”, this inner strength essential to life and success. This Finnish word concentrates in four letters the notions of “courage”, “tenacity” or “determination”. The Finnish way of education and human formation has given Tarja the ability to go beyond obstacles. However, it has not been easy. While Tarja has encountered obstacles along the way, she has also learned resilience.
Responsibility: Tarja’s parents trusted her from a young age, encouraging her to make her own experiences and allowing her to make her own decisions. They instilled in her a sense of caring autonomy. Throughout her schooling, she has always been free to manage her work and choose her studies. She knows that she alone is responsible for her destiny.
At the heart of a dazzling career, a meeting with oneself
Driven by her desire to live and discover the world, Tarja flew to the United States at the age of 18. She then entered the world of international finance by working for American Express in London, New York and Paris, enchanted by the multicultural aspect. Confronted with the very different points of view of the international teams, Tarja gained an incredibly rich human experience.
With determination, with the feeling of finally following her heart, she closed the door on a twenty-year professional career in finance to enroll in a coaching course at HEC, which she completed with a “Horses and Coaching” course with Guillaume Antoine.
“All of a sudden, it was like an evidence for me. It was the convergence of everything I had done until then and I could combine business and coaching. I will create team building seminars for companies”.
An estate, horses, a life mission…. the connection with nature and a space out of time, comfortable, and resourcing.
“With breeding, equicoaching and the seminars I organize at the Haras des Écus, I have found the essence of my life mission. I love my coaching work, being connected to nature and focused on performance & high quality with my horses & seminars.”
Event address:
• Le Haras des Ecus
72350 Brulon – France
• In France and abroad
according to the customer’s needs