Client Testimonials
Chris Eberle
Managing Partner, Defiant LLC
Formerly Director, Content & Marketing Globalization at Netflix
“I have worked with Ilene Rapkin as my personal executive coach, as a coach for executives I have managed, and to develop an end-to-end culture and marketing assessment and change management program. I have enthusiastically referred her to colleagues and have seen her in action as a mentor to rising professionals. In each of these diverse areas, the approach is the same. You get the full Ilene, and she expects the full you to be present in this work as well. She is direct, fair but demanding, incredibly quick to assess an individual and team culture, and brings a true global view to her work. We originally worked together to bridge a California to NYC management team, and her style enabled us to demand more from ourselves as leaders in the way we approached our teams and our business. Working with Ilene you always feel challenged but also incredibly cared for. She quickly forms real bonds with people and makes you want to be a better leader. I can't recommend her enough.”
Reva Gaur
Partner Product Operations at Facebook
“Ilene has been instrumental to my career evolution and success as a manager and leader. Over the past five years, she has coached me through a wide range of professional challenges, guided me towards new growth opportunities, and supported me to become a more well-rounded, confident leader. Ilene took the time to assess my strengths and passions early on and quickly drove impact through active listening, thoughtful questioning, and clear action plans -- all of which helped me solve specific challenges at work and enabled me to be more effective in my role. Our work together has transformed the way that I think about leadership on a day-to-day basis and has greatly informed how I mentor and support my team. In addition to all of the above, Ilene shows a tremendous amount of care for those around her and is genuinely passionate about supporting rising leaders in tech and media. I recommend Ilene highly and look forward to our continued work together!”
Julie Sterling
Director, Broadcast Partnerships at Google
“I've had the pleasure of working with Ilene and can say without a doubt she helped me navigate my career in an instrumental way. Ilene knows the tech industry extremely well. She understands the companies, the key personalities and both the opportunities and the challenges. She is also extremely good at figuring out what makes you tick as a human and taking your whole self into account when coaching. Ilene is someone I trust to give me an honest assessment and has really helped me navigate my career. I highly recommend any executives, especially those in tech, consider working with Ilene as a coach.”
Laura Frank
Global Head of Communications at Hubspot
“Ilene has an incredible knack for "reading" her clients quickly and identifying what their needs are. She is able to instantly distill your strengths and weaknesses in record time which makes working with her effective, time well-spent. Having Ilene as your coach guarantees you a built-in cheerleader, advisor, strategic writing partner and creative thinker. She has a true talent at matching your skills with what that means you should be working on - whether that be at your current role or in something new. After every conversation with Ilene you will feel re-energized, and walk away with fresh ideas and personal challenges that you're confident you can achieve. Plus Ilene helps you focus on formulating an action plan and identifying what those next steps are with tangible deliverables. Ilene is also incredibly creative. You'll see her years of working as a marketing expert find their way into every conversation. The strategic coaching work I've partnered with Ilene on has far exceeded my expectations. She has armed me with a new perspective and confidence that I didn't necessarily expect to accomplish when I started to work with her. I knew that working with a coach would be helpful, but I had no idea it would be revolutionary.”
Paul Caine
President, NFL On Location Experiences
“Ilene is a true gift to anyone lucky enough to work with her. She has a unique ability to help organizations and individuals succeed at their highest level. I have seen her work first hand amongst many of my team members and colleagues. I highly recommend Ilene and encourage anyone who is seeking high level executive coaching to contact her.”
Shanelle Reese
CPO, PresenceLearning
“I have had the privilege of working with various coaches in the past; however, Ilene is by far the best professional coach I have ever worked with.
I appreciate that Ilene provides a personalized experience just for me based on where I am at and where I want to be. She also provides room for my experience with her to be fluid and even to iterate as needed, and this is not a trait I have encountered with other coaches. She is also phenomenal about holding me accountable and ensuring I am pushing forward towards accomplishing my goals while still giving me the space to reprioritize as needed. I find myself, in some instances, thinking, "What would Ilene say to me if she were here?"! More than anything, I genuinely believe she is a vested partner in my success, and I look forward to the things I continue to accomplish with her guidance, consultation, and partnership.”
Esther Raphael
CMO, Intersection Co.
“Ilene's superpower is the ability to truly understand each client. She knows what you're thinking, what's important to you, and what you really want (not only what you say you want). This helps build an immediate connection and trust.
Over the past few years working together, Ilene has coached me through many challenges and many successes. She has taught me so much about the leader that I am and want to be. Her impact on my career has been profound.”
Mary Murcko
CRO, The Skimm
“I have worked with Ilene for the past ten years and she has been an incredible coach and career strategist. Ilene has created customized action plans to attain goals and successful positioning through CV, Bio, and highly effective interview prep. And most importantly, Ilene has a unique understanding of which behaviors result in strong, effective leadership. I strongly recommend Ilene if you are looking for a coach who is truly invested in your success and future career aspirations.”
Loren Simon
CRO, American Giant
“Few people have the opportunity to find an Executive coach who both ‘gets you’ and provides strong strategic advice. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ilene for the last five years through many different roles and companies. Her ability to provide straight-forward guidance and support has helped me become a better leader and a better person. I look forward to continuing to work with her as my career progresses.”
Alexis Hochleutner
Head of Marketing,
T-Mobile Marketing Solutions at T-Mobile
“Ilene’s wealth of experience in leadership and organizational management coupled with her genuine care has made her a strong ally and guide as I navigate my career in tech. Ilene is exactly the action-oriented, practical voice everyone needs in their head guiding them down the right path for personal success.”
Jon Reus
Sr. Engineering Program Manager, Apple; Google; Snap, Inc.
“Ilene has been an invaluable resource to me over the past few years and has helped me navigate through some interesting situations. Ilene understands the specific challenges that tech leaders face, gives clear guidance and helps craft ‘a plan’ for success. There’s no doubt that Ilene has paid dividends for me. Through our work together I have become more self-aware, strategic and a better manager.”
Rob Deichert
CRO, TuneIn
“Ilene is my secret weapon both for myself and also my friends and colleagues when they need help getting to the next level, finding a new job, or improving your general performance at an executive level. The old adage, "the best person to negotiate for you is not you," holds true for executive coaching. An independent coach who knows the media and adtech industry can provide perspective and guidance that a generic coach simply can't come close to.”
Joey Trotz
Director, Privacy Sandbox, Google
“Ilene has provided me with invaluable insight and advice as I’ve navigated my career as a media and adtech executive. She has her finger on the pulse of the tech and media industry, and her support has always been framed by keen insight into the macro (and some micro) trends in our industry on top of her extensive management experience. Her support has given me a critical perspective on my career decisions. As my personal coach, her insights have helped me navigate job changes, career branding, and personal development. I have recommended Ilene to many of my industry colleagues, and cannot stress enough how important she’s been in my career development”
Kenetta Bailey
SVP, Marketing at Clear Channel Outdoor
“I’ve worked with several executive coaches over the years, and Ilene has been the most intuitive, responsive and caring. Her intuition is strong and she successfully guided me through a variety of professional situations. What’s impressive about Ilene is that she is able to quickly assess a business situation, she understands internal politics, and she has a strong grasp on how to navigate for success in a variety of enterprise organizations. Ilene works with transparency and she personalizes her approach to each and every client. For professionals in high profile roles who lead teams, it’s great to have a coach to truly partner with you and help you stay on course. I highly recommend contacting Ilene if you’re seeking individualized curated sessions with a good listener who truly wants to see you succeed.”
Christina LoNigro
Policy Communications Manager at WhatsApp Inc.
“Ilene was instrumental in helping me to understand my full set of skills—professional and personal—opening up an entirely new and fresh perspective on the value I bring to current and potential employers. Her passion and dedication to her work is obvious from the first moment you meet her, and she truly takes the time to fully understand who you are, ensuring that her strategic career advice is always in step with your goals and your life. Throughout my time with her, she remained accessible for real-time advice and course correction, helping me at every stage of my journey.”
Kate Herbert
Director, Strategy & Business Development - Identity at Oracle
“I have had the pleasure of working with Ilene as an executive coach and can say she has materially helped me navigate my career in ad tech. Ilene cares deeply about her clients. She is accessible and available as needed not just during scheduled sessions. She has supported and coached me through some tough situations. Ilene has expertise in publishing, media and tech. She understands the players, the organizations and the external pressures on the ecosystem. Having this context really lends to her credibility and the value of her insights.
Recently when I wanted to make a proactive change, she was able to listen and hear both my personal and professional goals. She provided tailored coaching for me as an individual. Providing advice based on what I stated I valued and what was right for me at the time.
Ilene also took the time to understand how I process ideas and options. This allowed her to guide me better to an action plan. Once we agreed on the path, she was relentless in helping me get there!”
Kate Eberle Walker
CEO, PresenceLearning
“Ilene pushes me to be honest with myself in our work, and as a result I’m able to lead my organization with more clarity, confidence and authenticity.”
Angela O’Banion
CIO, Cook County Health
“Leaders with whom I’ve worked often compliment me on my ability to develop superb leaders. It turns out that one of my most challenging leadership and operational opportunities was myself. I turned to I Openers. What I value most about Ilene’s service is her approach to working with clients: tailored, pointed, and purposeful. Ilene is not in the business of cajoling and consoling; although she will perform such services while on the path to what she’s really about. Ilene is in the business of cultivating leaders to propel them to their next professional level. Said levels are different for each of us and may include positioning oneself to solve an enormous operational issue, seeking a position at the Executive table, or positioning oneself for a successful post-career directorship. For me, it was the C-Suite position at a large organization. After a thorough investigation of my personal and professional experiences, Ilene’s analysis concluded that I already had the competencies and leadership qualities. Ilene’s role was to assist me in embracing and tweaking my ‘brand.’ With a clear brand and message in-hand we crafted a set of conversations, interviews and opportunities with executives to which Ilene had access. Working with Ilene requires significant time commitment, personal investment, and exploration into what is possible and probable based on your personal and professional background. I look forward to continuing to work with Ilene on a number of priorities including building a high impact executive team to address today’s challenging health care technologies; negotiating my next executive position, and in the distant future, navigating my board directorship and philanthropic aspirations.”
Sarah Saxe
CFO, The St. James
“Ilene was instrumental in helping me navigate a career transition. Ilene's comprehensive discussions allowed me to think through all considerations and deepened my conviction through change.”
Kimberly Snead
CMO, Bookshop.org
“I’ve had a wonderful coaching experience working with Ilene. She has been instrumental in guiding me toward a senior leadership opportunity that I would not have identified for myself but has resulted in a very fulfilling career experience. Ilene has extraordinary insight into the inner workings of both large and small organizations and she can quickly break down a situation and help you to successfully navigate through a variety of challenges. I also found Ilene’s knowledge of the world of tech and start-ups unique and invaluable. It’s very rare to find a coach who has an understanding of such a breadth of organizations and industries. Ilene is a true partner and she invests deeply in the people she works with, showing a level of care and support that I’ve yet to experience with a coach. Through my partnership with Ilene I’m experiencing one of my most satisfying career experiences. If you are ready to take your career to the next level then I would recommend having Ilene on your team.”
Kate Watts
CEO, Long Dash
“Ilene is a blessing to any senior executive eager to step outside their comfort zone to channel meaningful growth and enlightenment. She challenges convention in a way that motivates and inspires. She has an innate ability to quickly get to the heart of any matter, size it up, and deftly chart a path forward that leaves you borderline breathless in its profound clarity and common-sense grounding. She has an ability to do this because she has spent years in the trenches and many more years as an executive leader in her own right. She has seen it all, she has done it all. Ilene brings those years of experience and insight to you in a direct, candid, no-punches-pulled manner. She has been a refreshing and indispensable guide in my journey as a new CEO. I can’t recommend her enough.”