Why I Left My High-Flying Corporate Career at HSBC to Become an Executive Coach
- Jun 21
- 6 min read
Daniele Forni is an executive coach for non-standard and neurodivergent leaders and the founder of The Human Spikes Labs. A former Director at HSBC with fifteen years in banking across Europe and Asia, he is a University of Cambridge alumnus and the author of books on leadership, neurodiversity, strategy, and meditation.
At the beginning of 2026, I walked out of a steady, well-paid corporate career and into my vocation. I had the tattoos, the earrings, tattoos, and the long hair, but I also had the salary, so for years I pretended everything was fine. Then my health forced the question I had been avoiding, what the hell am I actually doing with my life?
I finally took the classic shot next to the lions, the bronze pair guarding HSBC's headquarters in Hong Kong, like any respectable ex-employee of the “Bank” must do. So here is the full story of why I left, and what I am building instead.
Why does a steady, well-paid job stop being enough?
I left because I truly realised I do not belong in corporate anymore. The bureaucracy, the frustration of delivering large-scale projects, and the technology that always seems to be broken. The tattoos, earrings, and long hair were external evidence that part of me did not want to belong or keep compromising. But a steady and large salary was enough motivation to keep me going.
So I pretended everything was alright while silently creating a crack between my internal identity and my external one. Guess what? It was only a matter of time before the bond between the two started to break down. All I needed was a trigger.
When your body forces the decision
Unfortunately, that trigger was health, a combination of mine and my family's. The year before, I had to take time off, measuring my blood pressure every day and starting new medication. For the first time in a decade, I spent four weeks away from work to recover. That time forced me to reassess what the hell I was doing and, more importantly, why. This is not a rare story. The World Health Organization now classifies burn-out as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, and I had been managing mine for far too long.
The result was simple. I realised I needed to get back control of my life and my health. If you are living in that same gap between a job that pays and a body that is begging you to stop, you are not weak and you are not alone, and there is a growing conversation about burn-out and stress worth leaning into.
The moment I said 'f*ck it, I quit'
So, f*ck it, I quit. Letter printed, signed, and delivered by hand. What do I do now? Well, it is complicated, mainly because the months afterward have been really wild. I was supposed to start a new job in London, but I did not want to keep living the same life in a different building. I had enough of steering committees and Outlook email pings.
People might not know, but for the past decade, I had been quietly coaching senior managers at HSBC, some of whom now sit on its board and run companies across the City. I thought to myself, could I make this into a career?
From corporate manager to executive coach
Not that I knew at the time what executive coaching even was. It took me a year at Cambridge to realise that was exactly what I had been doing all along.
I have always been the person who says what everyone is thinking but is scared to say out loud. The challenger to the status quo, asking the difficult questions. The creative one is looking outside the box. As an employee, these are terrible traits. You are asking for trouble. As a coach, they are precisely what you need.
There it was, my vocation. I could be authentically myself while helping other people find their true selves and excel at their work. The solution was simple. I changed the focus from me to others. Apparently, I have been doing it quite well, or so my clients' results tell me.
What I actually do now
Fast forward three months. My coaching practice is coming along nicely, with happy clients and new ones every week. I have also found the time to build an app for coaches and for people who want to develop themselves, called squirrelcoach.com, after the teachers at Cambridge who looked like, well, two squirrels.
I have accepted a new role as a holistic healer. I took the time to become a Reiki Master after having spent years guiding meditation sessions.
My life is now dedicated to helping others reach their goals and feel better about themselves. There is no better feeling than watching someone else succeed, knowing you helped a little.
Was giving up the salary worth it?
Yes, I have given up steady money. Yes, I have given up stability. But I have found myself more fulfilled and freer to pursue my goals. If you are weighing up a career transition of your own, my honest answer is that the scariest decision became the most freeing one I have made.
My life motto is:
"Easy things are not worth doing."
The 'f*ck it, I quit' zodiac, sign by sign
Because I completely accept my role as a wacky Reiki spiritual executive coach cum tech executive, I have written a horoscope on life transitions outside of corporate. Find your sign and notice which line stings a little. If it feels uncomfortable, then it is usually your hidden truth trying to communicate with you.
Aries: The corporate box is officially too small for you. Your urge to say what everyone else is scared to say makes you a terrible employee but an incredible catalyst for others. Stop compromising and start challenging the status quo.
Taurus: You love the comfort of a steady, large salary, but pretending everything is fine is taking a toll on your health. Trade the golden handcuffs for a life where your external and internal identities actually align.
Gemini: Your communication skills are your true vocation. Shift your focus from bureaucratic projects to conversations that change people's lives. The transformation starts when you listen and guide.
Cancer: A health trigger, whether yours or your family's, is the universe forcing you to pause and take time off. Use the space to reassess your path and embrace the role that is quietly emerging.
Leo: You have taken your obligatory photo with the corporate bronze lions, now leave them behind. You do not need a massive corporation to validate your worth. Lead by helping others find their authentic selves.
Virgo: The bureaucracy and broken technology of large-scale projects are draining you. Channel your analytical mind into something meaningful, like building your own tools to help people grow.
Libra: You have been silently creating a crack between your internal and external identities. Drop the disguise. Realign your outward expression, tattoos, earrings, and all, with your inner truth.
Scorpio: You are primed for a radical moment of rebirth. Let the old corporate identity break down completely so the coach and challenger can rise from the ashes.
Sagittarius: Your pursuit of knowledge, perhaps a year of study or deep reflection, has finally clicked. Guiding others to excel is the adventure you have been seeking all along.
Capricorn: You have spent a decade dealing with senior managers, now redefine success. Your real power is not in climbing the ladder but in coaching the people at the top of it.
Aquarius: You have always been the creative one outside the box. Do not hide your rebel spirit to fit in. Use your unconventional perspective to innovate and build.
Pisces: The solution to your frustration is simple. Change the focus from you to others. Lean fully into your empathy. Nothing feels better to you than seeing someone else succeed because of you.
Want to talk about your own next chapter?
If you want to know more about personal transformation, or if you are standing at your own crossroads, I would love to talk. Send me a message and let us organise a coffee chat.
Read more from Daniele Forni
Daniele Forni, Executive Coach and Tech Founder
Daniele Forni, known as "The Data Shaman," is not your average executive coach. He helps senior professionals leverage their unconventional traits into tangible ROI using rigorous science, AI tools, and strategic wit. As the founder of the SquirrelCoach platform, he champions the "Spiky Profile" concept, exceptional leaders are defined by their peaks. An alumnus of the University of Cambridge and a 6x author on leadership, neurodiversity, and meditation, Daniele previously spent 15 years driving technology and risk management as an Investment Banking Director across Europe and Asia.
