About Beverly (Bev) Berner, PCC

Contact Bev Berner 314-925-8260 bev@bevberner.com

A Concise Business and Personal Background

I have lived in St. Louis, MO since the late 70’s when I moved from Chicago to accept a terrific opportunity with an ad agency. While St. Louis was never on my “top ten places to live” when I was younger, I have grown to appreciate and love its history, architecture, neighborhoods and culture.

I have always lived in the city and enjoy all the texture and diversity that it offers. I am truly blessed to have incredibly good, smart and loving friends – all with a sense of humor.

I’m pretty much a mid-western girl having grown up in Indianapolis, Indiana until I went away to college. Following four glorious years at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, I found my way to Chicago where I pursued an advertising career.

Following my years in advertising I made a career leap (with the help of a career counselor) into banking which was quite a departure from advertising! Learning a new industry and market was exciting and filled with growth.

In 1994 I started my own business focused on strategic planning and leadership development. When I found coaching in 1996, I joined Coach U to enhance my coaching skills. An opportunity arose in 2000 to become Vice President of client services for a global career transition firm. Again this was a terrific way for me to increase my coaching skills in an area that had always interested me. Since then I have coached career changers, mid-lifers looking for their next step and CEO’s, managers and sales people who want to maintain their high productivity while assuring satisfaction in their lives.

What I have learned

I have grown into the notion that this life journey is just that…a journey. That recognition has opened up my appreciation, optimism and fascination for what shows up in life.

For many years my career and being a “success” was extremely important to me – and that was just perfect for that time in my life. The last 10-15 years have re-introduced me to a more creative, intuitive side – the side intentionally diminished while climbing the corporate ladder. I am grateful for everything I had the opportunity to experience and learn about in the corporate world – business is fascinating in many ways. And I am also grateful for what I have found in coaching. It enables me to take all that I learned during my corporate career and combine it with the freedom of thought of coaching. The emphasis is always on the client and whatever they want to accomplish. That feels very right.

Coaching for me is the capstone of a very dynamic and successful career.

Professional Organizations and Volunteer work

• International Coach Federation (ICF) since 1999
• Co-Leader of the St. Louis chapter of the International Coach Federation
• The Downtown Rotary Club
• Kids in the Middle
• The American Red Cross

Education, Training and Credentialing

• BS Degree
• Coach U Graduate
• Professional Certified Coach (PCC) ICF credential
  • completion of 125 hours of coach training from an accredited coach training organization
  • 750 hours of actual coaching

Here’s what I’ve been up to professionally over the past 25 years:

• Progressed up through the ranks of advertising from the traffic department to VP, Account Group Supervisor serving Fortune 500 companies such as Anheuser Busch, Purina and Banquet Foods.
• Brought in more than $10M in new advertising business
• Successfully transitioned to banking career for more than 7 years
• Owned my own business since 1994.
• Identified, researched and developed Act 2, a coaching program aimed toward Baby Boomers to support them in planning the next stage of their life.
• Graduated from Coach University, the largest and most comprehensive coach training organization in the world.
• Founded and continue to lead the St. Louis Coaches Group.
• Served as VP of a global career transition firm and supported hundreds of professionals in transitioning to their next career.