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About us
A founder-led collective: one person accountable for the work, and the right partners brought in when the work calls for them.
Erica Bordin
I ran the business before I coached the people
For seventeen years I led luxury spas and resorts. A P&L to balance, teams of up to fifty people, international standards to hold, and guests who came back or didn't depending on what we had built. 1711 Ti Sana Detox Retreat & Spa, where I helped create one of Europe's first modern medical spas. Then GOCO Spa at the JW Marriott in Venice. Then Borgo Egnazia, as Director of Wellbeing, where I led the "Happiness Like Nowhere Else" concept.
Then I made the choice that changes everything: I moved to the other side of the table. Today I am an ICF certified professional coach — PCC and ACTC — with more than 2,500 hours of coaching behind me, currently working towards the MCC credential. And the MCS specialisation, which ICF introduced for those who practise mentor coaching, at ACC and PCC levels.
It's a rare combination, and I don't say that to boast. It means that when I work with someone who runs a property, I don't have to imagine what that is like: I have done it. And when I design a spa, I don't design it only to be beautiful — I design it to stand up.
I live near Lugano, in Switzerland. I work in Italian, English and French.
the collective
How we work
HorsePower is not an agency and does not pretend to be one. It is a founder-led model: I remain the reference point for the project from beginning to end, and I bring in the right partners when the work calls for them. In luxury hospitality this reassures far more than an org chart of twenty people, because the client knows exactly who they are talking to.
Miriam Mastrogiovanni
Professional coach certified by AICF and horse assisted coach, with expertise in ethology applied to human–animal interaction and a cognitive-relational approach that holds together the person's journey and the horse's wellbeing. Her facility in Oltrepò Pavese, northern Italy, hosts the team coaching work with horses and the in-person modules of the certification programme.
Valentina Casonato
Faculty of the Horse Empowered Coaching certification programme.
The Spa & Wellness network
Finance, SOP’s and training
For consulting work I bring in specialists who have worked with me for years: senior finance profiles with P&L responsibility in international hotel groups, and technical figures who write operating manuals, SOPs and signature menus — and then train the teams who will have to apply them. They are not occasional collaborators. They change according to what the project needs, and they are introduced to ownership before we begin.
the standard
Why we work to the ICF standard
Coaching is not a regulated profession: not in Switzerland, not in Italy, not in almost any country in the world. Anyone can put "coach" on their business card tomorrow morning, and no law stands in the way.
We work to the standard of the International Coaching Federation because it is the only thing that makes what you are buying verifiable: a code of ethics, defined competencies, practice hours counted one by one, and an exam that someone can fail.
Our credentials are public and take thirty seconds to check. We would like you to do it.
A note on the name
Until 2026 I worked and published as Erica D'Angelo. My ICF credentials, diplomas, awards and press coverage are all registered under that name, and the public ICF register still lists me that way — I will change the registration once I have completed the path to MCC. From here on I sign as Erica Bordin. If you knew me under the other surname: I am the same person, and you will find everything under both names.
PCC — Professional Certified Coach, International Coaching Federation
ACTC — Advanced Certificate in Team Coaching, ICF
MCS — Mentor Coach Specialization, ACC e PCC levels
Certified Horse-Assisted Coach — Experience Academy
Chief Happiness Officer — Istituto Italiano Positive Organizations
Blue Zones Program Manager — certified longevity and lifestyle retreats
Animal Assisted Interventions — foundation level, Regione Marche, Italy
Credentials and training
The Science of Well-Being — Yale University
The Science of Happiness — University of California, Berkeley
Certificate in Business Strategy — Cornell University
Marketing — SDA Bocconi
Trainer — International Coach Academy