Testimonials

  • Matthieu Arrault, International Program Manager
    "Bruno facilitated a two-day workshop with our foundation partners. He proposed a dynamic agenda aligned with our objectives, liaised with speakers and panelists in a flexible and professional way, and facilitated sessions with enthusiasm, humanity, and without losing focus on our expected outcomes. Participant feedback was unanimously appreciative!"
    Matthieu Arrault, International Program Manager
    Kering Foundation
  • Dr Blanca Serrano Ramón,  Secretary General
    « Stephanie played a crucial role in helping us reframe our messaging, and her support was invaluable. She was attentive and structured, yet flexible enough to adapt to our needs. Her resourcefulness and organizational skills kept us on track, and she provided just the right balance of guidance and support throughout the process. Thanks to her efforts, we successfully achieved our goals.»
    Dr Blanca Serrano Ramón, Secretary General
    European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals
  • Emilie REUCHLIN, Director and co-founder
    « Vous savez que vous avez organisé un événement réussi lorsque les participants en parlent encore des mois plus tard. Stephanie a contribué à ce que cela se produise. En novembre 2024, elle a conçu et dirigé notre atelier international de deux jours de création de coalitions pour la réensauvagement marin. Malgré de nombreux changements imprévus avant et pendant l'événement, Stephanie s'est rapidement adaptée, veillant à ce que tout reste sur la bonne voie. Sa capacité à lire la salle et à garder le groupe concentré sur les objectifs finaux a été essentielle pour obtenir des résultats significatifs et créer cet élan « électrique »
    Emilie REUCHLIN, Director and co-founder
    Doggerland Foundation
  • Sietske Steneker, Director
    "Bruno is a very professional and engaging moderator. He did an excellent job in moderating a high-level panel discussion that we organised during the 2019 edition of the European Development Days, and I highly recommend his services as facilitator and moderator."
    Sietske Steneker, Director
    UNFPA Brussels Office
  • Ghazal Keshavarzian, Former Director
    "We hired the Kumquat team in 2018 and 2019 to co-design and facilitate our annual meeting. Bruno and his team were incredibly professional, diligent, and an absolute joy to work with. Kumquat’s facilitation elevated the meetings to another level. A number of participants told us it was one of the best meetings they attended and it was thanks to Bruno’s excellent facilitation and attention to detail."
    Ghazal Keshavarzian, Former Director
    Elevate Children Children Funders Group
  • Neal Cavalier-Smith, Strategy Director
    "Bruno Selun is, without doubt, the most gifted facilitator it has ever been my privilege to witness. In a long career in consulting and politics, I’ve seen countless facilitators, many highly skilled, but none (including myself) beat Bruno for his ability to pin down the objectives of a meeting, and his tenacity in bringing the participants to alignment – all with a playful charm and apparent ease which belies his talent."
    Neal Cavalier-Smith, Strategy Director
    Design Bridge
  • Waltraud Heller, Programme Manager
    "Kumquat provided process planning and expert facilitation for an important meeting between our EU Agency and civil society leaders. We much appreciated the uncomplicated and professional cooperation and their flexibility. They adapted to a tight timeline and took our team's ideas on board. Our meeting participants greatly appreciated the meeting’s facilitation, which clearly contributed to a focused outcome."
    Waltraud Heller, Programme Manager
    EU Agency for Fundamental Rights
  • Helena Duch, Head of Evidence and Solutions of the Prevent Child Sexual Abuse Programme
    "Kumquat supported one of our convenings with great success. Bruno was involved in all stages of planning, worked closely with the speakers and managed the event professionally, ensuring we reached our objectives, managed time and engagement from participants. While facilitating, he also related and brought depth to the topic at hand."
    Helena Duch, Head of Evidence and Solutions of the Prevent Child Sexual Abuse Programme
    Oak Foundation
  • Professor Phil Howard
    Phil Howard
    "Our online facilitation project had unique logistical challenges. The experience Bruno and his team at Kumquat have with efficiently managing prominent people – and getting the most out of them – allowed us to generate unique research and meaningful insights."
    Professor Phil Howard
    Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
  • Laetitia Veriter, Programme Manager
    Laetitia Veriter
    "Of all the facilitation processes we've followed, Kumquat's was the best we experienced as a team – and at a very important transitional moment. Bruno perfectly understood our needs regarding format, methodology and spirit. He developed a process ideally adapted to our situation and wishes, and we really enjoyed the journey! Not only did he greatly deliver as a facilitator, he also gave very good advice and ensured we were aligned all the way. We highly recommend his services!"
    Laetitia Veriter, Programme Manager
    Citizens for Europe
  • Jo Kelcey (Programmes Director) & Gordana Kelava (Programmes Officer)
    "Kumquat worked closely with us to design and implement our first virtual symposium. They were involved with multiple aspects of event planning from advising on the best tech platforms, to supporting external speakers, to developing a communications plan to maximize registration and participation. We also benefited from Bruno and Marie’s facilitation during the event, which was thoughtful, engaging and, most important, appreciated by our members."
    Jo Kelcey (Programmes Director) & Gordana Kelava (Programmes Officer)
    International Education Funders Group
  • Sandro Mameli, Transformation Officer
    "Bruno and Jeffer's constant attention and high professionalism – from ideation right through delivery – created the conditions for our online management retreat to unfold successfully. They offered context analysis, event preparation, and facilitation techniques of outstanding quality. By asking the right questions, they also helped us challenge our assumptions and make our management online away days more effective."
    Sandro Mameli, Transformation Officer
    European Parliament
  • Konstantina Alexopoulou, Research & Programme Officer
    «I asked Stephanie to help us design and facilitate our first online session for our Young Researchers Network, kicking off their two year program. As part of the kick-off, we wanted them to meet each other and understand their needs. But since our researchers are spread over the globe, we knew we could not plan a lengthy meeting. Stephanie set up a fantastic process for us so that the young researchers could start building relationships ahead of the meeting and while during the meeting she carved out ample time for us to listen to the researchers and understand their needs. I enjoyed Stephanie’s professional and dynamic facilitation style - it really helped to get a lively discussion going across different time zones.»
    Konstantina Alexopoulou, Research & Programme Officer
    European Partnership for Democracy
  • Léonie van Tongeren, Fund Manager
    "I cannot recommend Kumquat enough. Bruno and Marie helped us put together tailored meetings and training, both offline and online, on numerous occasions over the past years. All events were highly interactive. I’m very impressed by their skillful facilitation, understanding of the field, creativity, and flexibility and generally feel we got twice as much out of each meeting thanks to them."
    Léonie van Tongeren, Fund Manager
    Civitates
  • Sarah Cayrafourcq, Consulting Partner
    "Bruno delivered positively the best training we have ever had as a team. Bruno is quite simply a virtuoso trainer, with a unique combination of facilitation expertise, didactic talent and technical know-how. He works thoughtfully and flexibly with clients to deliver exactly what people need to learn and can use immediately. His work has already transformed the way we facilitate and has also improved our team cohesion and motivation in the process!"
    Sarah Cayrafourcq, Consulting Partner
    Prospero & Partners
  • Ivan Donadello, Information Management Team Leader
    "Bruno and his team really helped us reach our goal. We defined our purpose together, Kumquat designed an efficient strategy and process and followed them step by step. Their deep understanding of our groups’ dynamics, of our working environment, and their creativity and flexibility brought us to a successful outcome even in time of crisis!"
    Ivan Donadello, Information Management Team Leader
    EU External Action Service
  • Sarah Sommer, Programme Director
    "We selected Kumquat for a sensitive and important exercise because we trusted them and their expertise in facilitating virtual conversations from previous collaboration. The delivery of this exceptional online strategy review process with our governing body exceeded our expectations and gained positive feedback from participants. Bruno has the ability to read the room (even if virtual), show flexibility where needed, and drive conversations to their defined objectives. Kumquat's professionalism with online tools empowered participants to engage meaningfully, whether used to virtual work or not, and even with limited time."
    Sarah Sommer, Programme Director
    European Programme for Integration and Migration
  • Cristina Munteanu (Chief Operations Officer) & Jekaterina Orlova (Chief of Staff)
    Cristina Munteanu and Jekaterina Orlova, Silverbird

    "We hired Kumquat to help our fast-paced startup manage goals with OKRs. Despite a very tight timeline, Kumquat's team was extremely helpful and accommodating. Working with them was easy, enjoyable, and they delivered our workshop within 2 weeks of initial contact. They also delivered a custom OKR manual and templates for our teams to work autonomously. Evaluations were overwhelmingly positive, and we're all set to manage our objectives and key results with a great certainty of success."

    Cristina Munteanu (Chief Operations Officer) & Jekaterina Orlova (Chief of Staff)
    Silverbird
  • Matthew Hart, Director
    Matthew Hart
    "We found in Kumquat a perfect fit, a joyful and highly skilled partner, and an expert facilitator of processes and people. Bruno integrated seamlessly into our team. He helped us finish conceptualising an elaborate 4-month online summit for hundreds of our expert stakeholders. Then, he and his team helped us steer this extraordinary project over nine months through the final closing event. They helped us manage over 70 live online sessions with 120 speakers, some of them executives and artists, together with all the complexity and unforeseen developments that inevitably arose. If you have an ambitious, near-impossible project that might just change the game… call Bruno and make it happen."
    Matthew Hart, Director
    Global Philanthropy Project
  • Konstantina Alexopoulou, Research & Programme Officer
    «I asked Stephanie to help us design and facilitate our first online session for our Young Researchers Network, kicking off their two year program. As part of the kick-off, we wanted them to meet each other and understand their needs. But since our researchers are spread over the globe, we knew we could not plan a lengthy meeting. Stephanie set up a fantastic process for us so that the young researchers could start building relationships ahead of the meeting and while during the meeting she carved out ample time for us to listen to the researchers and understand their needs. I enjoyed Stephanie’s professional and dynamic facilitation style - it really helped to get a lively discussion going across different time zones.»
    Konstantina Alexopoulou, Research & Programme Officer
    European Partnership for Democracy
  • Director, Open Society Fellowship Program
    "Kumquat has done an exceptional job in meeting my needs as Program Director, as well as my team’s needs when navigating a complicated strategy process. We rely on Bruno to provide objective, creative, and timely advice. His follow-through is impeccable. He develops clear and structured processes that take us smoothly through relevant steps, and enable us to navigate seamlessly as organizational priorities and considerations shift."
    Director, Open Society Fellowship Program
    Open Society Foundation
  • Sarah Sommer, Programme Director
    "We selected Kumquat for a sensitive and important exercise because we trusted them and their expertise in facilitating virtual conversations from previous collaboration. The delivery of this exceptional online strategy review process with our governing body exceeded our expectations and gained positive feedback from participants. Bruno has the ability to read the room (even if virtual), show flexibility where needed, and drive conversations to their defined objectives. Kumquat's professionalism with online tools empowered participants to engage meaningfully, whether used to virtual work or not, and even with limited time."
    Sarah Sommer, Programme Director
    European Programme for Integration and Migration
  • Wietse Van Ransbeeck, CEO
    Wietse Van Ransbeeck
    "Stephanie and Bruno trained our team of 35 in facilitation tools and techniques. We all found the training highly engaging and instructive. It will help us run better meetings in ever business domain, from internal development meetings to external client meetings. We greatly appreciated how Kumquat listened to our particular needs and used this input to craft the most relevant agenda."
    Wietse Van Ransbeeck, CEO
    CitizenLab
  • Carin Benninger-Budel, Programme Director
    "Your training and individual coaching on virtual facilitation was very instructive, interactive and pleasant to follow. Several team members said that it helped them better run their online meetings, which has been so crucial this year! We hope to work with you again."
    Carin Benninger-Budel, Programme Director
    World Organisation Against Torture
  • Sarah Cayrafourcq, Consulting Partner
    "Bruno delivered positively the best training we have ever had as a team. Bruno is quite simply a virtuoso trainer, with a unique combination of facilitation expertise, didactic talent and technical know-how. He works thoughtfully and flexibly with clients to deliver exactly what people need to learn and can use immediately. His work has already transformed the way we facilitate and has also improved our team cohesion and motivation in the process!"
    Sarah Cayrafourcq, Consulting Partner
    Prospero & Partners
  • Paul Hagan, Second Secretary
    "The shift to working remotely due to COVID-19 brought profound challenges. That’s where Bruno and Kumquat came in. Learning from a professional like Bruno helped open our eyes to the new possibilities that the current situation has brought. Our office has proceeded to confidently organise even more online events, based on the advice Bruno gave us."
    Paul Hagan, Second Secretary
    UK Mission to the EU
  • Tamara Fox, Director of Evaluation and Learning
    Open Society Foundations
    "Over the last three years, Bruno and his colleagues at Kumquat have worked with a dozen teams at Open Society. They have helped design and deliver events that consistently achieved their goals and received positive feedback; trained dozens of colleagues in online and in-person facilitation; and created first-rate resources on how to run effective online meetings that were widely distributed and easy to use. Kumquat has been technically excellent, a joy to work with, and delivered effective services while mindfully navigating what they demand of their partners."
    Tamara Fox, Director of Evaluation and Learning
    Open Society Foundations