Murali Murthy
Career & Leadership Coach | Communications & Employability Trainer | Ann Arbour Academy Lead Coach
750+ placed
100+ workshops
Murali Murthy is a Career and Leadership Coach dedicated to helping students and newcomers build the confidence, communication skills, and workplace readiness needed to succeed in Canada's competitive job market. Through practical coaching and interactive workshops, he empowers individuals to transition from education to meaningful employment with confidence.
With a results-driven approach, Murali specializes in bridging the gap between academic knowledge and real-world employability. His coaching focuses on professional communication, personal branding, interview preparation, workplace confidence, executive presence, AI-powered career strategies, and adapting successfully to Canadian workplace culture.
Having delivered more than 100 workshops and helped over 750 students secure employment, Murali has earned the trust of educational institutions and students alike. His engaging, hands-on coaching is tailored to the unique needs of each individual, ensuring participants develop practical skills that employers value from day one.
As the Career Coach for Ann Arbour's Career Integration Program, Murali works closely with participants to strengthen their communication, build professional confidence, refine their resumes and LinkedIn profiles, prepare for interviews, and develop the workplace skills required for long-term career success in Canada. His mission is simple: to help every participant become confident, employable, and ready to thrive in today's evolving workforce.
Genelle Payant
Career Coach | HR & Workplace Success Specialist
20+ Years of HR Leadership
Employer-Side Career Insights
With more than 20 years of senior and executive-level Human Resources experience, Genelle Payant brings something especially valuable to career coaching—an insider's understanding of what employers look for when they hire, develop and retain people. Throughout her career, Genelle has worked across a wide range of industries, helping organizations strengthen workplace culture, recruit and retain talent, develop employees, improve performance and create exceptional customer experiences.
As a coach with Ann Arbour Academy, she brings that employer-side experience directly to participants. She helps individuals understand how they are perceived by employers, communicate their value with confidence, prepare effectively for interviews, navigate workplace expectations and develop the professional behaviours that can help them succeed long after they are hired.
Genelle is particularly passionate about helping people understand that career success goes beyond qualifications and technical ability. Communication, attitude, professionalism, relationships, customer service and the ability to learn and adapt can be just as important in building a successful career.
Her extensive experience includes recruitment and retention, employee relations, training and development, employee engagement, performance management, customer service, workplace culture and leadership development.
Known for her warm but straightforward approach, Genelle creates an environment where participants feel supported while also being challenged to grow. She believes strongly in practical coaching, honest feedback and giving people the tools and confidence they need to reach their potential.
With more than 20 years of senior and executive-level Human Resources experience, Genelle Payant brings something especially valuable to career coaching—an insider's understanding of what employers look for when they hire, develop and retain people. Throughout her career, Genelle has worked across a wide range of industries, helping organizations strengthen workplace culture, recruit and retain talent, develop employees, improve performance and create exceptional customer experiences.
As a coach with Ann Arbour Academy, she brings that employer-side experience directly to participants. She helps individuals understand how they are perceived by employers, communicate their value with confidence, prepare effectively for interviews, navigate workplace expectations and develop the professional behaviours that can help them succeed long after they are hired.
Genelle is particularly passionate about helping people understand that career success goes beyond qualifications and technical ability. Communication, attitude, professionalism, relationships, customer service and the ability to learn and adapt can be just as important in building a successful career.
Her extensive experience includes recruitment and retention, employee relations, training and development, employee engagement, performance management, customer service, workplace culture and leadership development.
Known for her warm but straightforward approach, Genelle creates an environment where participants feel supported while also being challenged to grow. She believes strongly in practical coaching, honest feedback and giving people the tools and confidence they need to reach their potential.
Her coaching philosophy: When people are given the right knowledge, honest guidance and an opportunity to grow, both the individual and the organization can thrive.
Ricardo Cadena
Career Coordinator - AnnArbour Consultants Inc. | Career Coordinator – Ann Arbor Academy
International education
Ricardo, a professional with experience in international education, academic coordination, operations, and customer service. Over the past few years, he has guided students through their journey to study abroad by providing personalized advice and ongoing support at every stage of their academic process.
His work has extended well beyond student advising. He has led the development and implementation of academic programs, coordinated institutional initiatives, strengthened partnerships with universities and international educational institutions, and contributed to improving internal processes and the overall student experience. This has given him a solid understanding of both the academic and administrative functions of educational institutions, allowing him to effectively connect students, institutions, and stakeholders while fostering strong collaboration.
In addition, his background in hospitality, tourism, and operations management has strengthened his leadership, planning, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
Genelle Payant
Founder | Career Mentor & Professional Growth Coach
23+ Years of Experience
Canadian Employer Insights
For more than 23 years, Sharmila Perera has worked closely with people navigating some of the biggest transitions of their lives—starting over in a new country, rebuilding a career, searching for new opportunities, or simply trying to determine what comes next. Through years of working with professionals, newcomers and Canadian employers, Sharmila began to recognize a recurring problem: highly educated, experienced and capable people were struggling to build the careers they deserved. Often, it wasn't because they lacked qualifications or ability. They simply needed the right strategy, confidence, guidance and understanding of what employers were really looking for. That experience became the inspiration behind Ann Arbour Academy.
As a mentor and coach, Sharmila brings a unique perspective. She understands the challenges candidates face, while her extensive work with Canadian employers has given her valuable insight into how employers think, what makes a candidate stand out, and what helps a new employee succeed long after the interview is over.
Her approach to coaching is practical, personal and straightforward. She believes in identifying what may be holding someone back, challenging them when necessary, building on the strengths they already have, and helping them see possibilities they may no longer see for themselves.
For Sharmila, career coaching isn't simply about creating a better resume or preparing
someone for an interview. It is about helping people rediscover their value,
communicate it with confidence, and develop the skills and mindset to build a career
with purpose and direction.
Her philosophy is simple: Don't just look for your next job. Build the career you
want.
Spencer Burton
Hiring Manager Perspective
Sales Leadership Experience
Spencer Burton is a sales leader, hiring manager, and coach with extensive experience building, developing, and leading high-performing teams. Throughout his career, he has been responsible for hiring, interviewing, onboarding, training, coaching, and performance management across both individual contributor and leadership roles.
Having progressed from an entry-level sales position into senior leadership, Spencer understands what it takes to stand out at every stage of the hiring process. He has personally exceeded aggressive performance targets, trained and developed new hires, led role-playing and live coaching sessions, and built teams focused on consistent growth and accountability.
His experience on both sides of the interview table gives him a practical understanding of what hiring managers are really assessing beyond standard interview questions. He knows how employers evaluate communication, confidence, preparation, problem- solving, coachability, and a candidate’s ability to clearly demonstrate the value they can bring to an organization.
As an Interviewing Coach, Spencer focuses on helping candidates communicate their experience with confidence, structure stronger answers, position their strengths effectively, and better understand the mindset of the person making the hiring decision. His coaching is practical, direct, and designed to help candidates move beyond simply answering questions to clearly showing why they are the right person for the role.