From hypergrowth tech to nervous system leadership
I am Raza Rifat, an Executive Coach and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner based in Amsterdam.
Before founding Embodiwise, I spent years in high-growth technology companies including Uber, Booking.com, and Roku. I know what it feels like to operate in environments where the stakes are high, the pace is relentless, and the pressure to perform is constant.
I also know what it costs.
The patterns that help you succeed early in your career become the patterns that limit you as a leader. The always-on mentality that got you promoted becomes the burnout that undermines your effectiveness. The urgency that drove results becomes the reactivity that erodes trust with your team.
I left the corporate world because I saw too many talented leaders burning out, not from lack of skill or strategy, but from dysregulated nervous systems trying to sustain unsustainable pace.
I trained as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner because I wanted to work with what frameworks and strategy miss: the body's capacity to regulate under pressure, make clear decisions in uncertainty, and lead from groundedness instead of reactivity.
Now I work with founders and CEOs who are navigating the internal challenges of building and scaling companies. The work we do together is not therapy. It is executive coaching grounded in nervous system science.
Why I Do This Work
Most leadership development treats the nervous system as irrelevant to performance. It focuses on frameworks, communication techniques, and strategic thinking as if leaders operate in a vacuum.
But you do not lead from a vacuum. You lead from a body.
Your nervous system determines whether you can think clearly under pressure or default to reactivity. Whether you can delegate effectively or micromanage out of anxiety. Whether you can hold complexity or collapse under overwhelm.
No amount of strategy fixes a dysregulated nervous system.
I work with founders and CEOs because the challenges you face require more than new frameworks. They require increased internal capacity to execute those frameworks without burning out yourself or your team.
How I Work
Sessions integrate Somatic Experiencing, a body-based approach to nervous system regulation, with executive coaching frameworks.
We work with what is happening in your body in real time. The tension you hold when making difficult decisions. The collapse you feel when overwhelmed. The hypervigilance that keeps you scanning for threats even when things are stable.
These are not problems to solve with more strategy. They are nervous system patterns to work with directly.
The outcome is not just insight. It is increased capacity to lead through complexity, make clear decisions under pressure, and sustain high performance without constant burnout cycles.
Training and Background
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) - Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute
Certified Master Executive Coach - Elementum Coaching Institute
Corporate experience at Uber, Booking.com, and Roku .
Based in Amsterdam, working with founders and CEOs globally via video and in-person sessions.
Who I Work With
I work with founders and CEOs who understand that sustainable high performance requires more than willpower and strategy.
You are smart enough to know the frameworks. What you need is the internal capacity to execute them without burning out.
You recognize that the patterns that got you here will not get you through the next phase of growth.
You are willing to do the internal work that most leaders avoid.
If that sounds like you, let's talk.
WORK WITH ME
If you are a founder or CEO navigating scaling challenges and want to strengthen the nervous system behind your leadership, schedule an exploratory call.