GROUP RELATIONS CONFERENCE KAZAKHSTAN

Leadership, disruption and collaboration in organisations in times of Artificial Intelligence.
Almaty, October 8–11, 2025
To offer memebers the opportunity to explore, understand, and begin recognizing both conscious and unconscious group processes—and to apply this knowledge effectively in teams and organizations.

Purpose
of the Conference

01_________ Goal
Throughout your life, you are part of various groups — from family to organizations — where you may act as a manager, leader, or service provider such as a coach or consultant working with individuals, teams, or entire organizations.

About the Conference

Immersive learning
Leadership development
Learning through personal experience
Expanding and deepening capabilities
Managing and leading teams
Leadership skills and team performance
Organisation effectiveness
02_________About the Conference
We use accelerated immersive learning — that is, learning through direct experience. This conference is radically different from typical leadership seminars or training sessions. The key difference is that memebers don’t just receive information about tools or methods — they learn through their own lived experience
Promotes organizational effectiveness through immersive learning, i.e., learning by experience rather than through traditional instruction.
Memebers form a temporary organization over four days and explore group dynamics “here and now,” including the unconscious influences of emotions.
At the conference the group will have the opportunity to understand their own emotional expressions and become aware of the hidden group processes that arise here and now. As a result, members will be able to view the dynamics within groups and organizations from a new perspective. By applying this experience in their work and daily lives, members will be able to expand and deepen their abilities in team management and leadership, demonstrate their leadership skills, continue exploring their relationships with supervisors, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of team and organizational performance as a whole.

LEARNING METHOD

03_________ method
The learning method takes place through exploration and immersion. Members will be invited to analyze interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup processes occurring "here and now" in a safe learning environment.

Who Is It For?

04_________ for whom
The conference will be of interest to anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of the processes occurring within individual groups, teams, and organizations, and to learn how to apply this knowledge for the benefit of their organizations. This includes, in particular:
Company owners
Top managers
Coaches
HR professionals
Organizational development consultants
EMBA and MBA graduates
Facilitators
Nonprofit sector leaders

What Makes This Conference Unique?

05_________ feature
Unfortunately, the results of our efforts often fall short of expectations. Quite often, we encounter the following phenomena:
People tend to believe that their decisions and behavior are driven by rational, conscious, and transparent motives. This is especially true in a work environment, where we put great effort into clearly defining goals, roles, and responsibilities, and organizing all processes to ensure effective performance.
From the moment we are born, we all participate in various groups and are constantly influenced by the processes of leadership, distribution of authority, and the very nature of these groups. That is why it is extremely important to understand group processes, our role in them, and how they affect us.
01
Overlooked group dynamics
02
Hidden assumptions and roles
05
Destructive Groupthinking
04
Emotional and unconscious group forces
03
Behavior under uncertainty

Benefits for Conference members

06_________ result
Experience and work within — and beyond — established boundaries
Understand principles of group formation, leadership, delegation, and power dynamics
Members will:
Gain insight into how groups draw-in individuals and subtly influence them
Reflect on interpersonal, small-group, and large-group dynamics

PAST CONFERENCES

07_________ photo gallery

Conference Program Summary

08_________ program
Almaty, October 8–11, 2025
Small group sessions:
Focus on tight-knit team dynamics (like project teams or boards).
Large group sessions
Explore dynamics in larger assemblies where close interpersonal connection is reduced.
Evening reflection sessions each day to process learnings
Intergroup sessions
Study power, representation, delegation as groups interact.

THE ROLE OF CONSULTANTS

9_________ THE ROLE OF CONSULTANTS
The learning process we apply is not teaching in the traditional sense of the word. In other words, do not expect consultants to do what teachers or trainers usually do. Their role is to set the structural framework for learning and to share their observations or hypotheses with participants about what is happening at any given moment and what might help your learning. All the work that consultants do aims to help memebers gain the maximum knowledge and experience.

Conference Directors

10_________ our team
Issues of leadership, authority and learning in a complex, nuanced, world are of daily concern, challenge and excitement for her.
Eliat Aram, PhD, is the CEO of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in London, UK. Her GR career spans almost 30 years of conferences in the UK (The Tavistock Clinic, the Grubb Institute) and abroad (India, South Africa, France, The Netherlands, Israel), across cultural and geographical boundaries. She has been very fortunate to develop a capacity to understand the local context of where she works and to immerse in its vicissitudes.
Eliat has shaped, influenced and often directed the Tavistock Institute’s flagship Leicester conference since 2007; directed the AK Rice Institute annual residential 2016-2018, Teachers College Columbia University’s Fall GRC since 2013, and directed conferences in Lithuania (2012), Argentina (2013), Tavistock Institute China GRC (2019), GR Russia (2022) and Kazakhstan (June 2023) and is delighted to return to Kazakhstan in 2025.
Eliat Aram
Eliat Aram – Conference Director
Conference Director
Irina is the director and founder of Group Relations Russia, a management consultant and coach within the EMBA programs at the business schools Skolkovo (Russia), EDHEC (France), CEIBS (China) and IMD (Switzerland). In coaching, she uses a psychodynamic and systemic approach.
She holds a Master’s degree from the Financial Academy and experience in business development and personnel management. She also holds a Master’s degree in Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (HSE).
She took part in the conference "Group relations", Tavistock in England in 2016 and 2019, in the conference "Making the Difference" in Poland in 2017, led by Lionel Stapley, in the international conference in Lithuania in 2018 "Leadership and Authority in the time of complex identities".
Certified consultant in the field of small group dynamics (UK).
Has experience working as a consultant at Group Dynamics Programs in the Netherlands, Poland, at the Leicester Conference 2022 and 2023 (Tavistock).
Irina Ponomarchuk – Associate Director
Irina Ponomarchuk
Associate Director
Diana Umetayeva is an expert in internal communications and employee benefits. With over 4 years of HR experience, she has organized executive strategic sessions, and developed and implemented benefits programs. Known for her empathy and teamwork skills, she creates solutions that enhance employee engagement and well-being.
Diana Umetayeva – Administrative Director
Diana Umetayeva
Administrative Director
Conference Consultants
Tatiana is the scientific editor and translator of the Russian edition of Larry Hirschhorn's book "The Workplace Within: Psychodynamics of Organizational Life."
Her conference participation includes Group Relations conferences in 2019 and 2023 in Russia (Moscow), UK (Leicester, Tavistock Institute), PCCA (2023) and U.S. (AKRI, 2025). She certified in Organizational Consulting Dynamics from CFAR (USA) in 2021 and regularly participates in coaching colloquiums at ESMT (Germany).
She holds master’s degrees in Sociology, International Human Resource Management, and Psychology, with additional professional training in trauma-psychotherapy. Tatiana is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations (ISPSO).
Since 2021, she has been collaborating with Group Relations Russia & Kazakhstan. Tatiana is a supervisor and lecturer at the master’s programme Psychoanalysis and Business Consulting at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Russia), major "Career Counseling" and "Team Consulting." She also serves as a coach for the Skolkovo and INSEAD business schools.
Tatiana Ezhova
Organizational consultant, executive and team development coach.
Rachel Kelly
Rachel Kelly — from the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, based in London in the United Kingdom.  I am Company Secretary, and a Principal at the Institute.  My roles also include Group Relations consultant, Organisational Development & Change consultant and curating our new office.  I have been over 20 years at the Institute and have been on staff in various roles including Director, at 18 Leicester conferences and in other GRCs around the world.
Rachel Kelly — from the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, based in London in the United Kingdom.  I am Company Secretary, and a Principal at the Institute.  My roles also include Group Relations consultant, Organisational Development & Change consultant and curating our new office.  I have been over 20 years at the Institute and have been on staff in various roles including Director, at 18 Leicester conferences and in other GRCs around the world.  With a team, we have produced an introductory online learning course: Team Working: How to Succeed about Group Relations for our website.  I also practice the Alexander Technique — an indirect Zen practice for how we perform, express ourselves, move and do things, through studying the psycho-physical — bringing the unconscious to consciousness, with many correlates with Group Relations.
Collaboration with GRC began in 2022: from a conference participant in Astana to Administrative Director of GRC in Almaty.
Recognized speaker and mentor for top managers and HR leaders. Spoke at international conferences (Central Asia, Russia, China, Spain, Ireland) on corporate culture transformation in times of change and employer brand management.
C 2021 сотрудничает c Group Relations Russia & Kazakhstan. Супервизор и преподаватель кафедры психоанализа и бизнес-консультирования НИУ ВШЭ («Карьерное консультирование», «Консультирование команд»), коуч бизнес-школ Skolkovo и INSEAD. Степень магистра в социологии, международном управлении человеческими ресурсами и психологии, повышение квалификации по работе с психологическими травмами.
Aynura Koshoeva
International expert in HR, organizational development, and change management. Recipient of the awards Best HRD of Kyrgyzstan (2017), Best HRD of Kazakhstan (2022), and Best HRD EMEA (2024). Worked as HR Director in international IT and manufacturing companies (4,000+ employees), implementing projects in leadership, digital transformation, and corporate culture development.
Certified Ericsson coach, Organizational Reinvention practitioner, mentor, and Digital Nomad Woman. Managing Partner of Reinvention Academy in Eurasia.
Holds an Executive MBA from the SKOLKOVO business school (2016), a Master’s degree from Lomonosov Moscow State University in Civil Law (2013) and Biophysics (1999). Completed training at the Moscow Association for Analytical Psychology in Jungian Psychotherapy (2017). A certified coach under ICF standards, an expert in the IDI motivation system, and in the Hogan assessment system, MBTI Step I and II.
Has been studying group dynamics since 2017. A regular participant in international conferences, including “Leadership and Authority in the Time of Complex Identities” (Vilnius, Lithuania, 2018), “Tavistock Group Relations Conference” (Leicester, UK, 2019), IGO Advanced Training in Small Group Processes (London, 2023), Group Relations Conference (Astana, Kazakhstan, 2023), and Group Relations Conference (Dubai, UAE, 2024). Completed training in forum-group facilitation in Moscow and Singapore in 2017. Moderates forums at the First Club in Moscow and Dubai.
Dmitry is an investor in various technology startups related to real estate and others.
Management Consultant, Coach within EMBA programs at SKOLKOVO and CEIBS (China) business schools. Has 20 years of experience in sales and marketing management. Founder and Managing Partner of the ILM/GetHome group of companies in Russia and the UAE. Before joining ILM, Dmitry headed the Tenant representation department at JLL Russia and CIS.
Dmitry Myslin
Entrepreneur, Investor, Top Manager, practicing psychologist, ICF coach, EMBA graduate of Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO.
C 2021 сотрудничает c Group Relations Russia & Kazakhstan. Супервизор и преподаватель кафедры психоанализа и бизнес-консультирования НИУ ВШЭ («Карьерное консультирование», «Консультирование команд»), коуч бизнес-школ Skolkovo и INSEAD. Степень магистра в социологии, международном управлении человеческими ресурсами и психологии, повышение квалификации по работе с психологическими травмами.
Haritha Sarma
Haritha is an Associate Member of Group Relations India and has been on the consulting staff of group relations conferences in India and internationally. He brings a deep interest in leadership, systems psychodynamics and organisational learning and is known for creating reflective, supportive spaces for growth and transformation.
With more than 25 years of experience, Haritha Sarma works as an Organisational Development consultant, leadership coach, and gender trainer. His practice has been shaped by a commitment to supporting groups, organisations, and networks engaged with questions of poverty, marginalisation, and social justice.
In 2006, Evgeny graduated from The London School of Economics. A year later, he completed a leadership and coaching program with INSEAD Professor Stanislav Shekshnia. He studied Transactional Analysis at the Moscow Institute of Analytical Psychology (2008–2009), Psychoanalysis in Business at the Higher School of Economics (2013–2015), and Jungian Psychoanalysis at the Institute of Analytical Psychology (2020–2022). Evgeny holds coaching certifications from ICF and Stakeholder Centered Coaching (Marshall Goldsmith), and is a certified practitioner of psychometric tools such as Hogan, MBTI, Harthill, PCM, and others. Between 2018 and 2025, Evgeny participated as both an attendee and consultant in group dynamics conferences in Almaty, Astana, Moscow, and Leicester (The Tavistock Institute, UK). He actively applies a group psychodynamic approach in client consulting and training, regularly serving as a consultant and supervisor at group dynamics conferences and workshops.
Evgeny Smirnov
Evgeny is a Partner in the Leadership Consulting practice at Boyden Central Asia, as well as an Associate Coach and Consultant for the business schools INSEAD (France) and CEIBS (China). Since 2007, he has specialized in leadership development within organizations, utilizing formats such as executive coaching, team sessions, and strategic workshops.
Currently:
— CHRO of the Cyber Temple (GameDev) and Plexy Group (FinTech) group of companies
— Head of Science at LLP "Codo" (adaptation and psychometric analysis of methodologies for an automated system; adolescent resilience research; trainings on bullying and suicide prevention, resilience development, and integrative program design)
— Director of LLP "Human Factor Consulting" (HR system setup and automation, business trainings, strategic sessions)
— Director of LLP "Center for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy BeAlive" (psychodiagnostics, psychotherapy, well-being services for corporations).
Dana Ferber
Director of LLP "Center for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy BeAlive",
Member of the APA (American Psychological Association, 2023–2025),
Member of the Association for Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy (ACBP, 2023–2024),
Clinical Psychologist, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist.
Tatiana Ezhova
Organizational consultant, executive and team development coach.

Since 2021, she has been collaborating with Group Relations Russia & Kazakhstan. Tatiana is a supervisor and lecturer at the master’s programme Psychoanalysis and Business Consulting at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Russia), major "Career Counseling" and "Team Consulting." She also serves as a coach for the Skolkovo and INSEAD business schools.

She holds master’s degrees in Sociology, International Human Resource Management, and Psychology, with additional professional training in trauma-psychotherapy. Tatiana is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations (ISPSO).

Her conference participation includes Group Relations conferences in 2019 and 2023 in Russia (Moscow), UK (Leicester, Tavistock Institute), PCCA (2023) and U.S. (AKRI, 2025). She certified in Organizational Consulting Dynamics from CFAR (USA) in 2021 and regularly participates in coaching colloquiums at ESMT (Germany).

Tatiana is the scientific editor and translator of the Russian edition of Larry Hirschhorn’s book "The Workplace Within: Psychodynamics of Organizational Life."
Rachel Kelly
Rachel Kelly — from the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, based in London in the United Kingdom.  I am Company Secretary, and a Principal at the Institute.  My roles also include Group Relations consultant, Organisational Development & Change consultant and curating our new office.  I have been over 20 years at the Institute and have been on staff in various roles including Director, at 18 Leicester conferences and in other GRCs around the world.  With a team, we have produced an introductory online learning course: Team Working: How to Succeed about Group Relations for our website.  I also practice the Alexander Technique — an indirect Zen practice for how we perform, express ourselves, move and do things, through studying the psycho-physical — bringing the unconscious to consciousness, with many correlates with Group Relations.
Aynura Koshoeva
International expert in HR, organizational development, and change management. Recipient of the awards Best HRD of Kyrgyzstan (2017), Best HRD of Kazakhstan (2022), and Best HRD EMEA (2024). Worked as HR Director in international IT and manufacturing companies (4,000+ employees), implementing projects in leadership, digital transformation, and corporate culture development.
Certified Ericsson coach, Organizational Reinvention practitioner, mentor, and Digital Nomad Woman. Managing Partner of Reinvention Academy in Eurasia.

Collaboration with GRC began in 2022: from a conference participant in Astana to Administrative Director of GRC in Almaty.
Recognized speaker and mentor for top managers and HR leaders. Spoke at international conferences (Central Asia, Russia, China, Spain, Ireland) on corporate culture transformation in times of change and employer brand management.
Dmitry Myslin
Entrepreneur, Investor, Top Manager, practicing psychologist, ICF coach, EMBA graduate of Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO.

Management Consultant, Coach within EMBA programs at SKOLKOVO and CEIBS (China) business schools. Has 20 years of experience in sales and marketing management. Founder and Managing Partner of the ILM/GetHome group of companies in Russia and the UAE. Before joining ILM, Dmitry headed the Tenant representation department at JLL Russia and CIS.

Dmitry is an investor in various technology startups related to real estate and others.

Holds an Executive MBA from the SKOLKOVO business school (2016), a Master’s degree from Lomonosov Moscow State University in Civil Law (2013) and Biophysics (1999). Completed training at the Moscow Association for Analytical Psychology in Jungian Psychotherapy (2017). A certified coach under ICF standards, an expert in the IDI motivation system, and in the Hogan assessment system, MBTI Step I and II.
Has been studying group dynamics since 2017. A regular participant in international conferences, including "Leadership and Authority in the Time of Complex Identities" (Vilnius, Lithuania, 2018), "Tavistock Group Relations Conference" (Leicester, UK, 2019), IGO Advanced Training in Small Group Processes (London, 2023), Group Relations Conference (Astana, Kazakhstan, 2023), and Group Relations Conference (Dubai, UAE, 2024). Completed training in forum-group facilitation in Moscow and Singapore in 2017. Moderates forums at the First Club in Moscow and Dubai.
Haritha Sarma
With more than 25 years of experience, Haritha Sarma works as an Organisational Development consultant, leadership coach, and gender trainer. His practice has been shaped by a commitment to supporting groups, organisations, and networks engaged with questions of poverty, marginalisation, and social justice.

Haritha is an Associate Member of Group Relations India and has been on the consulting staff of group relations conferences in India and internationally. He brings a deep interest in leadership, systems psychodynamics and organisational learning and is known for creating reflective, supportive spaces for growth and transformation.
Evgeny Smirnov
Evgeny is a Partner in the Leadership Consulting practice at Boyden Central Asia, as well as an Associate Coach and Consultant for the business schools INSEAD (France) and CEIBS (China). Since 2007, he has specialized in leadership development within organizations, utilizing formats such as executive coaching, team sessions, and strategic workshops.

In 2006, Evgeny graduated from The London School of Economics. A year later, he completed a leadership and coaching program with INSEAD Professor Stanislav Shekshnia. He studied Transactional Analysis at the Moscow Institute of Analytical Psychology (2008−2009), Psychoanalysis in Business at the Higher School of Economics (2013−2015), and Jungian Psychoanalysis at the Institute of Analytical Psychology (2020−2022). Evgeny holds coaching certifications from ICF and Stakeholder Centered Coaching (Marshall Goldsmith), and is a certified practitioner of psychometric tools such as Hogan, MBTI, Harthill, PCM, and others. Between 2018 and 2025, Evgeny participated as both an attendee and consultant in group dynamics conferences in Almaty, Astana, Moscow, and Leicester (The Tavistock Institute, UK). He actively applies a group psychodynamic approach in client consulting and training, regularly serving as a consultant and supervisor at group dynamics conferences and workshops.
Dana Ferber
Director of LLP "Center for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy BeAlive",
Member of the APA (American Psychological Association, 2023–2025),
Member of the Association for Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy (ACBP, 2023–2024),
Clinical Psychologist, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist.

Currently:
— CHRO of the Cyber Temple (GameDev) and Plexy Group (FinTech) group of companies
— Head of Science at LLP "Codo" (adaptation and psychometric analysis of methodologies for an automated system; adolescent resilience research; trainings on bullying and suicide prevention, resilience development, and integrative program design)
— Director of LLP "Human Factor Consulting" (HR system setup and automation, business trainings, strategic sessions)
— Director of LLP "Center for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy BeAlive" (psychodiagnostics, psychotherapy, well-being services for corporations)

Participation Details

11_________ information
After your registration, you may receive a call from the organizers to adjust your expectations for the program, as the method is innovative and requires verification at the beginning of the learning process.
Language: :
Place
Business school Narxoz
Address - 050035, 55 Zhandosov Street, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Wednesday - Friday: 9:00 -19.00 Saturday: 9.00 - 14.00
Study hours:
October 8–11, 2025
Dates of the event:
Participation Details:
The working language of the event is Russian
Members are expected to attend all four days to fully benefit from the immersive method.

cost of participation*

12_________ cost
*The payment amount is calculated at the dollar exchange rate on the day the contract is signed.
** Note: Training group attendance requires prior participation in at least two Group Relations Conferences, one of which must have been in-person and involved a large group.
Group rate
(3 + participants):
Fees (per person)
1300 USD
Training group format**
Fees (per person)
1800 USD
Early registration
by September 22, 2025
Fees (per person)
1350 USD
Standard rate
after September 22
Fees (per person)
1600 USD
Please fill out the registration form.
October 3, 2025
Final registration deadline:
13_________ Registration

REGISTRATION OF PARTICIPANTS

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